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of  California 
'n  Regional 


vuv 


VOL.    III. 


dilurltffi 


MARTYROLOGIA ; 


RECORDS  OF  RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION: 


A  NEW  AND  COMPREHENSIVE 


BOOK    OF    MARTYRS, 


OF    ANCIENT    AND    MODERN    TIMES. 


THE  ACTS  AND  MONUMENTS  OF  JOHN  FOXE, 


AND   PARTLY   FROM  OTHER 


GENUINE  AND  AUTHENTIC  DOCUMENTS, 

PRINTED  AND    IN    MANUSCRIPT. 


VOL.    III. 


LONDON  : 
PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  MASON,  14,  CITY-ROAD  ; 

SOLD  AT  66,  PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
1851. 


LONDON  : 

•PRINTED   BY   JAMES  NICHOLS, 
HOXTON-SQTIARE. 


CONTENTS. 


( The  names  of  martyrs,  or  the  words  indicating  martyrdoms  when  the  names 
are  not  given,  are  in  italics.  An  asterisk  *  is  placed  before  the  numbers,  in  the 
margin  of  dates,  which  fall  out  of  the  regular  order.) 


CHAPTER  I. 

TIMES    IMMEDIATELY    PRECEDING    THE    REFORMATION. 

A.D.  Page. 

Providential  succession  in  the  Church,  of  God  1 

Wycliffe.     Oxford  and  Bohemia 2 

1390.  BOHEMIA — Prayer  in  Vernacular  Language,  and  Eucharist  in  both 

kinds 2 

1400 — 1411.  John  Huss  and  others  in  Prague — Beginning  of  the  Reform- 
ation    3 

1414,1415.  Council  of  Constance — John  Huss    8 

1415.  Jerome  of  Prague — Resistance  to  the  Council  in  Bohemia 15 

1417.  Ziska  and  the  Taborites — War  begins 21 

1420,  1421.  Massacres  of  the  Taborites — Archbishop   of  Prague  forms  a 

Utraquist  Consistory   23 

1433.  Council  of  Basil — Concession  of  Compactates  to  the  Bohemians 26 

1451.  First  settlement  of  "  the  Bohemian  Brethren "  at  Lititz 27 

Persecutions  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia    30 

1467.  First  Synod  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum  at  Lhota  32 

1480.  Stephen,  the  last  Waldensian  Bishop,  and  many  others   33 

1481.  Bohemian  and  Moravian  Brethren  migrate  into  Moldavia 34 

*1416 — 1491.  POLAND — Awakenings  and  Persecutions 34 

1500.  Spanish  Convicts  first  Missionaries  in  Brazil 37 

The  Modern  Inquisition    37 

Invention  of  Printing    , 43 

Revival  of  Literature 45 

Geographical  Discoveries 47 

Precursors  of  Evangelical  Reformation  49 

II. 

EUROPE,    TO   THE   CONFESSION   OF   AUGSBURG. 

State  of  the  See  and  Court  of  Rome     52 

1 505.  Martin  Luther  enters  an  Augustinian  Monastery 53 

1516.  Ulric  Zuinglius  preaches  in  his  Monastery 54 

1517,  1518.  Luther  and  Zuinglius  resist  the  Sale  of  Indulgences  54 

1520.  Pope  Leo  X.  excommunicates  Luther 57 

1521.  Luther  goes  to  Worms  61 

Luther  in  the  Wartburg    69 

Jacob  Spreng  in  BELGIUM v 77 

1522.  Luther  changes  the  Baptismal  Service    79 

Persecution  begins  in  HOLLAND,  &c 80 

1523—1532.  Persecution  in  FRANCE 82 

*1521.  Diet  of  Nuremberg  sends  "Hundred  Grievances"  to  the  Pope 89 

1524.  The  Nuncio  at  Ratisbon  heads  Papist  Princes  to  enforce  the  Edict  of 

Worms  ..  .92 


2032492 


VI  CONTENTS. 

A.D.  Page. 

1524.  Henry  of  Z-uiphen — Dithmarsch 93 

Luther  puts  off  the  Cowl  97 

1 525.  Death  of  Frederic,  Elector  of  Saxony— Peasant  War    98 

*1524.  Image- worship  abolished  in  Zurich 101 

Three  Zuinglians,  Baden 103 

1525.  Mass  abolished  in  Zurich 103 

Anabaptists  in  Germany  and  Switzerland 105 

Popish  Reaction  in  BOHEMIA,  and  Martyrdoms 106 

1527.  The  Germans  sack  Rome  and  imprison  the  Pope 109 

1529.  Flisted  and  Clarenbach,  Cologne 112 

*1525— 1527.  Backer  and  Wendelmutha,  the  Hague   112 

*1528,  1529.  The  Monk  Henry  and  Zwott,  Tournay  and  Mechlin 115 

*1526.  Conference  at  Baden  against  Zuinglius  115 

*1527.  George  Carpenter  and  Leonard  Keyser,  BAVABIA    116 

*1530.  ITALY— Increase  of  Evangelical  Doctrine   118 

1529.  The  PROTEST  at  Spire 119 

1530.  The  Confession  of  Augsburg 121 


CHAPTER  III. 

ENGLAND,    TO   THE   DEATH   OF   HENRY   VIII.,   AND   SCOTLAND. 

1498.  A  Lollard,  Canterbury;  and  another,  Smithfield 124 

1500.  Bahram,  Norfolk   124 

1503.  R.  Smart,  Salisbury  124 

1506.  William  Tylesworth  and  others,  Amersham — Roberta,  Buckingham — 

Penances  124 

1 507.  Tliomos  Norria,  Norwich — "  Great  Abjuration "  126 

1508.  Lawrence  Ohest,  Salisbury — A  Woman,  Chipping-Sudbury  126 

1509.  Henry  VIII.  begins  to  reign 127 

1511.  Congregation    at  Tenterden — W.  Carter,  A.  OreviU,  R.  Harrison, 

J.  Brown,  E.  Walker 128 

W.  Sweeting  and  J.  Brewster,  Smithfield 129 

1513.  Disagreement  between  Parliament  and  Clergy 130 

Henry  VIII.  in  Arms  for  the  Pope  and  Emperor 131 

1514.  Hun  murdered  in  the  Lollards'  Tower  131 

1517.  J.  Browne,  Ashford    136 

1518.  T.  M an  and  another,  Smithfield — C.  Shoemaker,  Newbury   139 

1519.  Mrs.  Smith,  R.  Hatchets,  Archer,  Hawkins,  T.  Bond,  Wrigsham, 

Laudsdale,  Coventry  140 

1521.  R.  Silkeb,  Coventry    140 

Wolsey  persecutes — Henry  styled  "  Defender  of  the  Faith "    142 

Longland,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  makes  Inquisition — T.  Bernard,  J. 
Morden,  R.  Rave,  J.  Scrivener,  J.  Norman,  T.  Holmes 143 

1523.  Embassy  to  Archduke  Ferdinand  of  Austria 144 

1524.  Bull  of  Clement  VII.  to  incite  Persecution    144 

Tyndale,  and  others,  leave  England    144 

Clement  VII.  and  Wolsey  suppress  Monasteries 145 

Readers  of  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  Universities 146 

1525.  Wolsey  discontented  with  the  Court  of  Rome   147 

Tyndale  prints  New  Testament  at  Cologne    148 

1526.  First  List  of  Prohibited  Books  in  England    150 

1527.  Wolsey's  Court  of  Inquisition   151 

Affair  of  Divorce  begins — Pope  suppresses  more  Monasteries 1 53 

*1407.  James  Resby,  Glasgow  154 

*1431.  Paul  Craw,  St.  Andrews  154 

*1494.  "  The  Lollards  of  Kyle  " 154 

1528.  Patrick  Hamilton,  St.  Andrews  154 

1533.  Henry  Forrest,  St.  Andrews     157 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

A.D.  Page. 

1534.  Norman  Ourley  and  David  Straton,  Holyrood    158 

*1528.  "  The  Supplication  of  Beggars "  distributed  at  Westminster-Abbey  ...  158 

Sir  Thomas  More's  "  Poor  Puling  Souls  "   160 

Anne  Boleyn  favours  the  Reformation 161 

*1529.  Wolsey  under  Praemunire — Cranmer  first  known 162 

Persecuting  Proclamations  of  Henry  VIII 163 

Humphrey  Mummuth  imprisoned — released — knighted 164 

*1530, 1531.  Imprisonments — Abjurations — Deaths 164 

Thomas  Hitten,  Maidstone   165 

Thomas  Benet,  Exeter  166 

Thomas  Bilney,  Norwich 169 

Sir  Thomas  More  hunts  Heretics 175 

Richard  Bayfield,  Smithfield  175 

John  Tewkesbury,  Smithfield  177 

John  Randall,  Cambridge 177 

Fruitless  Embassy  to  Rome  178 

Henry  VIII.  Head  of  Church  of  England  178 

Hugh  Latimer  preaches,  and  is  persecuted    181 

*1532.  Robert  King,  Nicholas  Marsh,  Robert  Gardner,   Robert  Debnam 

burnt  the  "Rood  of  Dover-Court"    182 

Thomas  Harding,  Chesham 183 

James  Bainham,  Knight,  Smithfield 184 

John  Bent,  Devizes — Trapnel,  Bradford    185 

Body  of  William  Tracey  exhumed  and  burnt 185 

*1533.  John  Frith  &n&  Andrew  Hewet,  Smithfield  186 

*1534.  Advancement  of  Cranmer — Separation  from  Rome   188 

Popish  Preachers — "  Maid  of  Kent,"  &c.,  resist  the  King    191 

Reforms  and  first  Reforming  Convocation 192 

1536.  Execution  of  Anne  Boleyn    194 

Further  Reforms    195 

Visitation  of  Monasteries,  &c. — Rebellion  in  the  North  196 

*1534.  Alexander  Seyton  escapes  from  Scotland   197 

1538.  John  Lin,  John  Keiller,  Friar  Beveridge,  Duncan  Simpson,  Robert 

Forrester,  Thomas  Forrest,  Edinburgh    199 

1540.  Persecuting  Laws  in  Scotland 199 

Hieronymus  Russell,  —  Kennedy,  Glasgow  200 

Buchanan  and  Borthwike  escape  from  Scotland 201 

1 543.  Scottish  Parliament  permits  the  Bible  to  be  read 202 

1545.  William  Anderson,  Robert  Lamb,  James  Ronald,  James  Hunter, 

James  Finlayson,  Helen  Stark,  Perth 203 

1546.  George  Wishart,  St.  Andrews 207 

Cardinal  Beaton  murdered   210 

*1538.  John  Lambert,  Smithfield    211 

Robert  Pachington  and  others,  London — Suffolk  213 

*1539.  The  "Six  Articles"  against  the  Gospel 214 

*1540.  Lord  Cromwell  beheaded 215 

Dr.  Robert  Barnes,  Thomas  Garret,  and  William  Jerome,  Smithfield  215 

John  Porter,  Newgate  216 

Thomas  Bernard  and  James  Morton,  Lincoln 217 

*1543.  Greek-pronunciation  Controversy    217 

Quinby  and  others,  Oxford   218 

Anthony  Peerson,  Robert  Testwood,  Henry  Filmer,  Windsor    218 

Plots  and  Conspiracies  of  Bishop  Gardiner  and  others 219 

Adam  Damlip,  Calais  1 220 

*1544.  —Dodd,  Calais 223 

*1545.  —  Saxy,  London — A  Gentleman  and  his  Servant,  Colchester — Roger 

Clarke,  Bury — Kerby,  Ipswich 223 

*1546.  AnneAskew,  Nicholas  Belenian,  John  Adams,  John  Lacells,  Smithfield  224 
—  Wriothesley,  London    226 


V1jj  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

A.D.  907 

*1 546.  Cranmer  and  Queen  Catharine  Parr  m  danger "  yu 

1547.  Henry  VIII.  dies    


CHAPTER  IV. 

ENGLAND,    TO    THE    ACCESSION    OF    ELIZABETH,    AND    SCOTLAND. 

1547.  Edward  VI 9on 

State  of  Scotland    JJJ 

1550.  Adam  Wallace,  Edinburgh  ^ 

*1549.  Anabaptism  in  England  ;  Joan  of  Kent *°£ 

Troublous  State  of  England £*° 

1551.  English  Liturgy  printed  in  Dublin ^ 

1553.  Character  of  Edward  VI.— His  Death *&> 

Mary  I. — her  Dissimulation **0 

Restoration  of  Popery  begins 242 

Parliament  and  Convocation  Popish  again •«*•> 

1554.  Political  and  Religious  Persecution— Spanish  Marriage  247 

Cranmer,  Ridley,  and  Latimer  condemned  at  Oxford  250 

Bishop  Hooper  and  others  refuse  a  Disputation  at  Cambridge   254 

Mary  marries  with  Philip  II.  of  Spain    254 

Reconciliation  of  England  and  Rome 2 

1 555.  A  Congregation  in  London  seized  and  imprisoned   258 

Master  John  Rogers,  the  Marian  Protomartyr,  Smithfield 259 

Laurence  Saunders,  Coventry 260 

Bishop  Hooper,  Gloucester 264 

Dr.  Rowland  Taylor,  Hadleigh  269 

Thomas  Tomkins,  Smithfield  275 

William  Hunter,  Brentwood    276 

Thomas  Causton,  Thomas  Higbed,  William  Pygott,  Stephen  Knight, 

John  Laurence,  Essex 277 

Bishop  Ferrar,  Caermarthen   277 

Rawlins  White,  Cardiff 278 

Philip  and  Mary  command  the  Justices  to  persecute    279 

George  Marsh,  Chester 281 

William  Flower  burnt,  Westminster  281 

John  Cardmaker,  John  Warne,  Smithfield — John  Simson,  Rochford 

— John  Ardeley,  Rayleigh 283 

Thomas  Haukes,  Coggeshall 283 

Thomas    Wats,    Chelmsford — Nicholas    Chamberlain,    Colchester — 

Thomas  Osmond,  Manningtree — William  Bamford,  Harwich 284 

John  Bradford,  John  Leaf,  Smithfield 284 

John  Bland,  a  Priest,  Nicholas  Sheterdon,  John  Frankesh,  Humphrey 
Middleton,  Canterbury — Nicholas  Hall,  Rochester — Christopher 

Wade,  Margaret  Policy,  Dartford 287 

Dirick   Carver,  Lewes — John  Launder,  Steyning — Thomas  Iveson, 

Chichester — John  Aleworth,  Reading 288 

Popular  Tumults  take  place,  but  are  quelled '. 288 

James  Abbes,  Bury  St.  Edmund's    289 

John  Denley,  Robert  Smith,  Uxbridge    290 

Elisabeth  Warne,  Stephen  Harwood,  Stratford-le-Bow — Thomas  Fust, 
Ware  —  George  King,  Thomas  Leyes,  John  Wade,  William 
Andrew,  London — William  Coker,  William  Hopper,  Henry 
Laurence,  Richard  Colliar,  Richard  Wright,  William  Stere,  Can- 
terbury—  William  Hale,  Barnet—  George  Tankerfield,  Patrick 

Packingham,  St.  Alban's 290 

—  Samuel,  Ipswich— John  Newman,  Saffron  Walden — Richard  Hook, 
Chichester — William  Allen,  Walsingham — Roger  Coo,  Yoxford — 


CONTENTS.  IX 

A.D.  Page. 

TJiomas  Cob,  Tbetford  —Tliomas  Hay  ward,  John  Ooreway,  Lich- 
field — George  Calmer,  Robert  Streater,  A  nthony  Burward,  George 

Brodbridge,  James  Tutty,  Canterbury 291 

Robert  and  John  Glover,  Cornelius  Bungey,  Lichfield 292 

William  Wolsey,  Robert  Pygott,  Ely  293 

Bishops  Ridley  and  Latimer,  Oxford 293 

William  Dighel,  Banbury     299 

Parliamentary  Opposition  to  the  Clergy — Death  of  Gardiner 299 

John   Webbe,   George  Roper,  Gregory  Parke,  Canterbury — William 

Wiseman,  London — James  Gore,  Colchester 300 

John  Philpot,  Knight,  Smithfield    300 

1556.  Thomas  Whittle,  Bartlet  Green,  Thomas  Brown,  John  Tudson,  John 

Went,  Isabella  Foster,  Joan  Warne,  Smithfield — Agnes  Snoth, 
Anne  Albright,  Joan  Sole,  Joan  Catmer,  John  Lomas,  Canter- 
bury— A  gnes  Potter,  Joan  Trunchfield,  Ipswich  302 

ArchbisJwp  Cranmer,  Oxford  302 

John  Spicer,  William  Coberley,  John  Maundrel,  Salisbury — Robert 
Drakes,  William  Tyms,  Richard  and  Thomas  Spurge,  George 
Ambrose,  John  Cavel,  Smithfield — John  Harpole,  Joan  Beach, 
Rochester — John  Hullier,  Cambridge — Christopher  Lyster,  John 
Mace,  John  Spencer,  Richard  Nichols,  Simon  Joyne,  John 
Hamond,  Colchester — Hugh  Laverock,  John  Apprice,  Stratford- 
le-Bow — Catherine  Hut,  Elisabeth  Thackvel,  Joan  Horns,  Smith- 
field — Thomas  Croker,  Thomas  Drowry,  Gloucester — Thomas 
Spicer,  John  Denny,  Edmund  Poole,  Beccles—  Thomas  Harland, 
John  Oswald,  Thomas  A  vington,  Thomas  Read,  Thomas  Whood, 
Thomas  Milles,  Lewes—  A  Servant,  Leicester — Henry  Adding- 
ton,  Laurence  Parnam,  Henry  Wye,  William  Hallywel,  Thomas 
Bowyer,  George  Searles,  Edmund  Hurst,  Lyon  Cawch,  Ralph 
Jackson,  John  Derifall,  John  Routh,  Elisabeth  Pepper,  Agnes 
George,  Stratford-le-Bow — Roger  Bernard,  Adam  Foster,  Robert 
Lawson,  Bury  St.  Edmund's — Julius  Palmer,  John  Gwin,  Thomas 
A  skin,  Newbury — Thomas  Dungate,  John  Foreman,  Mother 
Tree,  Grinstead — John  Hart,  Thomas  Ravensdale,  two  others, 
Mayfield— Edward  Sharp,  and  a  Carpenter,  Bristol — A  Shoe- 
maker, Northampton Hooke,  Chester 306 

Magistrates  silently  refuse  to  persecute  307 

Inquisitorial  Visitation  at  Cambridge     308 

1557.  John    Philpot,    Mattheio    Bradbridge,    Nicholas    Final,     William 

Waterer,  Thomas  Stephens,  Stephen.  Kempe,  William  Hay. 
Thomas  Hudson,  William  Lowick,  William  Prowling,  Canter- 
bury, Wye,  and  Ashford — Thomas  Loseby,  Henry  Ramsey, 
Thomas  Thirtel,  Margaret  Hide,  Agnes  Stanley,  Smithfield — 
Steplien  Gratwick,  William  Morant,  —  King,  Southwark — 
Richard  Sharp,  Thomas  Benion,  Thomas  Hale,  Bristol — Joan 
Bradbridge,  Walter  and  Petronil  Appleby,  Wife  of  John  Man- 
ning, Edmund  and  Catherine  Allin,  Elisabeth  —,  Maidstone — 
"  Two  Persons,"  Newington — John  Fishcock,  Nicholas  White, 
Nicholas  Pardue,  Barbara  Final,  —  Bradbridge,  —  Wilson, 
—  Benden,  Canterbury — Richard  Woodman,  George  Stevens,  W. 
Mainard,  Alexander  Hosman,  Thomasin  a  Wood,  Margery  and 
James  Moris,  Dennis  Burgis,  —  Ashdon,  —  Grove,  Lewes — 
Simon  Milkr,  Elisabeth  Cooper,  Norwich — William  Bongeor, 
William  Purcas,  Thomas  - Benold,  Agnes  Silverside,  Helen 
Ewring,  Elisabeth  Folkes,  William,  Alice,  and  Roue  Mount, 
John  Johnson,  Colchester — George  Eagles  and  his  Sister,  Frier, 
Rochester — Richard  Crashfield,  Norwich — Joyce  Lewes,  Lichfield 
— Ralph  Allerton,  James  and  Margery  Austoo,  Richard  Roth, 
Islington — Agnes  Bongeor,  Margaret  Thurston,  Colchester— John 
VOL.  III.  b 


:  CONTENTS. 

A.D. 

Kurde,  Northampton— John  Noyes,  Laxfield—  Cicely  Ormes, 
Norwich — John  Foreman,  Anne  Try,  Thomas  Dougate,  John 
Warner,  Christian  drover,  Thomas  Athoth,  Thomas  Avington, 
Dennis  Burgis,  Thomas  Ravensdale,  John  MiUes,  Nicholas 
Holden,  John  Hart,  James  and  Margery  Morice,  John  Oseward, 
Thomas  Harland,  John  Ashedon,  Colchester — Thomas  Spur- 
dance,  Bury — John  Hallingdale,  William  Sparrow,  Riclmrd 

Gibson,  John  Bough,  Margaret  Hearing,  Smithfield    309 

1558.  Calais  lost   310 

Cuthbert  Symson,  Hugh  Foxe,  John  Devenish,  Smithfield —  William 
Nichol,  Haverford-west — William  Seaman,  TJiomas  Carman, 
Thomas  Hudson,  Norwich — William  Harris,  Richard  Day, 
Christian  George,  Colchester — Matthew  Wythers,  T.  Taylor, 
London — Henry  Pond,  Reinald  Easttand,  Robert  Southam,  Mat- 
thew Ricarby,  John  Floyd,  John  Holiday,  Roger  Holland, 
Smithfield — Robert  Mills,  Stephen  Cotton,  Robert  Dynes,  StepJien 
WigJit,  John  Slade,  William  Pikes,  Brentford — Richard  Yeoman, 
Norwich — John  Alcoclc,  Newgate — Thomas  Benbridge,  Win- 
chester— John  Cooke,  Robert  Miles,  Alexander  Lane,  James 
AsMey,  Bury  St.  Edmund's — Edward  Home,  Newent — Alexander 
Gouch,  Alice  Driver,  Ipswich Prest,  Exeter — John  Gome- 
ford,  Christopher  Brown,  John  Herst,  Alice  Snoth,  Catherine 

Knigltt,  Canterbury 311 

Mary  dies  of  epidemic  Fever    312 

Queen  Elizabeth  is  proclaimed — Cardinal  Pole  dies     312 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   EMPIRE,    THE    NETHERLANDS,    AND   SPAIN. 

1630.  THE  EMPIRE — Recess  of  Augsburg 313 

League  of  Smalcald   315 

1532.  Pacification  of  Nuremberg   316 

1535.  Vergerio  and  Luther  meet  in  Germany 317 

A  General  Council  again  demanded   318 

1541.  Diet  of  Ratisbon 320 

1542.  Indiction  of  Council  of  Trent  320 

1545.  Council  of  Trent  is  begun 321 

1546.  Luther  dies 321 

Juan  Diaz,  Bavaria  321 

Empercr  and  Pope  in  League 322 

The  Protestants  in  Arms 324 

1547.  The  Elector  of  Saxony  defeated  325 

Popish  League  weakened — Council  dispersed    325 

1548.  The  Interim  of  Charles  V.— It  fails 326 

1550.  Charles  V.  erects  an  Inquisition  in  the  Netherlands     327 

1551.  Council  of  Trent  re-opened 327 

Persecution  at  Augsburg,  Memmingen.  &c 328 

Maurice  of  Saxony  takes  Augsburg— The  Council  is  scattered   329 

1552.  Treaty  of  Passau 330 

1555 — 1558.  Charles   V.  gives  the   Netherlands  and    Spain  to    Philip — 

Abdicates — Dies 332 

1531.  NETHERLANDS — Severe  Edicts,  &c 332 

1532.  Nine  Men,  Amsterdam 333 

1533.  Anabaptists  murdered — Four  Persons,  Bois-le-duc  333 

1534.  William  Wiggertson,  Schagen Joost,  Bois-le-duc — Isbrand  Schol, 

Brussels....  ..  333 


CONTENTS.  XI 

A.D.  Page. 

1536.    William  Tyndale,  Vilvoord 333 

1539.   Thirty-one  English  Refugees,  Delft — General  Persecution  335 

1544.  Placards — Inquisitions 336 

1546 — 1549.  Peter  Brully,  Tournay — Many  in  many  Places    337 

1550.  Inquisitorial  Edicts,  &c 339 

1 553.  Walter  Capel,  Dixmuiden — Simon,  Bergen-op-Zoom   341 

1554.  Galein  de  Mulere,  Oudenarde 342 

1555.  Controversy  at  Louvain     343 

Philip  II.  renews  Persecution       344 

1557.  Robert  Oguier,  Wife,  and  two  Sons,  Lille 344 

Charles  Regius,  Bruges — A  ngel  Mervla,  Mons    345 

Burnings — Revolt — Reformation — Confederacy 350 

1565.  The  "  Gueux,"  or  Beggars — Demolition  of  Popish  Mummeries — War .  358 

1567.  The  Duke  of  Alva  enters  Brussels— 120,000  Persons  flee  the  Country 

— Carnage     361 

Philip  II.  charged  with  murdering  his  Son,  Don  Carlos  363 

1567 — 1576.  Prince  of  Orange  heads  the  Confederates — Alva  beaten  363 

1581.  The  States  declare  themselves  Independent  365 

1582.  Prince  of  Orange  assassinated  363 

1530.  SPAIN,  &c.— Inquisition  in  Granada    367 

1534.  Inquisition  in  Lisbon    368 

1541.  Juan  Valdes — Rodrigo  de  Valero    368 

1544.  Francisco  San  Roman,  Yalladolid 370 

1552.    William  Gardiner,  Lisbon  372 

1556.  Bibles.  Catechisms,  &c.,  in  Spain — Dr.  Egidio  in  Valladolid 373 

1 557.  General  Imprisonment  in  Seville  and  Valladolid 375 

1559.  Paul  IV.  gives  a  Bull  to  burn  Lutherans — Auto  de  Fe  in  Valladolid  .  376 
Agustin   Cazalla,  Beatriz  de    Vibe.ro,    Alonso   Perez,    Cristdbal  de 

Ocampo,  Cristobal  de  Padilla,  and  seven  others,  Francisco  de 
Vibero  Cazalla,  Antonio  Herrezuelo  380 

Auto  in  Seville — Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  Juan  Gonzalez,  four  Monks, 
Fernando  de  S.  Juan,  Cristobal  Losada,  Isabel  de  Baena,  Maria 
de  Virues,  Maria  Cornel,  Maria  Bohorques,  and  six  others — 
Eighty  Penitents— One  Effigy  382 

Another  Auto  at  Valladolid — Carlo  di  Sesso,  Pedro  de  Cazalla, 
Domingo  de  Rojas,  Juan  Sanchez,  a  Nun,  and  eight  others 384 

1560.  Auto  in  Toledo,  several ;  and  in  Murcia,  five  Penitents 385 

Auto    in    Seville — Julian  Hernandez,   Nicholas    Burton,    William 

Brook,  Barthelemi  Fabianne,  and  ten  others — Three  Effigies — 

Thirty-four  Penitents 385 

Mark  Surges,  Lisbon  387 

1561 — 1565.  Martyrs  at  Toledo,  Seville,  Logrono,  Valladolid,  Barcelona, 

Zaragoza  388 

1574.  Martyrs  in  Mexico 388 

1620 — *1714.  William  Lithgow,  tortured  in  Malaga — Isaac  Martin  in 

Granada  388 

1659.  William  Lambert,  Mexico  388 

1805.  Miguel  Juan  Antonio  Solano,  Zaragoza  388 

1808.  Spanish  Inquisition  abolished  by  Napoleon  388 

1826.  A  Spanish  Quaker,  Valencia  389 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FRANCE,  TO   THE    DEATH    OF   C1IARLKS    IX. 

Comparative  Advance  of  the  Reformation  in  France    390 

1534.  "  The  Year  of  Placards  " — Controversy  and  Persecution 391 

1535.  Francis  I.  bums  BuH/n'U'nii  Mi/mi.  Nicolas  Valeton,  Jean  de  Bourg, 

b  2 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

A.I>.  Page. 

Etienne  de  Laforge,  —  la  Catelle,  A  ntoine  Pottle,  and  twelve 

otliers  in  Paris 392 

Exiles — Laurent  de  la   Croix,  Paris — Marie  Becauddle,  Poitou — 
Jean  Cornon,  Mascon 394 

1536.  Martin  Gonin,  Grenoble  395 

1539.  Jerome  Vindocin,  Agen — Andre  Berthelin,  Nonnay  395 

1540.  Etienne  Brun,  Recorder — Claude  le  Peintre,  Paris 396 

1541.  Aymon  de  la  Joye,  Agenais 396 

1542.  — Constantine,  and  three  others,  Rouen 396 

1544.  Pierre  Bonpain,  Paris 396 

*1543.  Part  of  a  Congregation  drowned,  Metz — Guillaume  Hudson,  Blois  ...  396 

1545.  Four  thousand    Waldenses  in   Merindol,   &c.,   twenty- two  Villages 

destroyed,  and  seven  hundred  Men  sent  to  the  Galleys 397 

1546.  Fourteen  at  Meaux,  and  many  Penitents    403 

1547.  franfois  d'Augy,  Toulouse— Jean  Chapot — Seraphin,  and  four  others, 

Paris — Jean  I'Anglais,  Sens — Jean  Brugtre,  Issoire,  and  many 

others    404 

Francis  I.  dies,  and  Henry  II.  succeeds  him 405 

1549.  Many  burnt  in  Paris 406 

1 551 — 1 553.  Edict  of  Chateau-Briant  and  a  general  Persecution  407 

1555.  Reformed  Church  of  Paris    407 

1 557.  Parliament  of  Paris  rejects  a  Bull  for  Inquisition 408 

Congregation  of  St.  Jacques — Nicolas  Clinet,   Taurin  Gravelle,  La 

Baronne  de  Graveron,  and  many  others,  in  Paris 409 

Gospel  advances — A  multitude  of  Martyrs — Psalmody    412 

1558.  High  Personages  promote  the  Reformation  412 

1559.  First  Synod,  Confession,  and  Constitution  of  the  Reformed  Churches  .  415 

Court  of  the  "  Mercuriale  " — Members  of  it  imprisoned  416 

Death  of  Henry  II.,  succeeded  by  Francis  II 419 

The  Councillor  Du  Bourg,  Paris — Horrible  Persecutions   419 

1560.  The  "Tumult  of  Amboise" — Slaughter  of  twelve  hundred  Men — 

Castelnau  and  fifteen  others  beheaded,  and  Civil  War  begins    422 

"  The  Cardinal's  Mouse-Trap  "  to  ensnare  all  the  Reformed    427 

The  Prince  de  Condg  in  Prison — Navarre  in  peril    429 

Death  of  Francis  II.,  succeeded  by  Charles  IX 431 

1561.  Persecution  slightly  checked — Priests  pray  Philip  II.  to  help  them  ...  432 

Mobs  let  loose  on  the  Reformed  in  the  Provinces 434 

Colloquy  of  Poissy 435 

1562.  "Edict  of  January"  for  Toleration 438 

Massacre  of  Vassy  , 439 

Conde  heads  the  Reformed — Queen  and  Court  flee — Sanguinary  War.  442 

1563.  Pacificatory  "Edict  of  Amboise" 445 

1564.  Pius  IV.  excommunicates  Queen  of  Navarre 446 

1568.  Charles  IX.,  Catherine,  and  Duke  of  Alva,  contrive  other  Methods, 

and  agree  to  "  the  uneasy  Peace  " 447 

Conde  and  Coligny  occupy  Rochelle    448 

1569.  Battle  of  Jarnac  lost— Cond6  murdered — Defeat  at  Moncontour     450 

1570.  Treaty  of  St.  Germain    451 

Secret  Conspiracy- — The  Huguenots  deluded ' 453 

1572.  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  457 

Massacres  in  the  Provinces  468 

Joy  in  Rome 470 

1574.  Death  of  Charles  IX. .. 471 

CHAPTER  VII. 
ITALY;  TO  THE  LAST  MASSACRE  OF  THE  WALDKNSKS. 

1530.  State  of  Italy  473 

1534.  The  Diike  of  Savoy  sends  Troops  to  murder  the  Waldenses.. 476 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

A.B.  Page. 

1536.  Bull  of  Paul  III.  against  the  Waldenses 476 

Charles  V.  persecutes  at  Naples  477 

1540.  The  Company  of  Jesus  sanctioned  at  Rome    478 

1542.  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Office  479 

1543.  A  Reformed  Church  in  Pisa 479 

1543 — 1545.  Modena,  Mantua,  Ferrara 479 

1546.  Jayme  Encinas,  Rome — Fannio,  Ferrara  480 

Capo  d'Istria,  Pola,  Florence    482 

1547.  Inquisition  resisted  at  Naples  483 

1548 — 1555.  Persecution  at  Venice — Pomponio  Algieri    486 

1562 — 1567.  Giidio  Guirlanda,  Antonio  Ricetto,  Francesco  Sega,  Fran- 
cesco Spinula,  Baldo  Lupetino,  Venice    487 

*  1550— 1569.  The  Milanese— Domenico — Galeazzo  Trezio,  some  others  489 

*1554.  Francesco  Oamba,  Brescia  490 

*1546 — 1555.  The  Locarno  Emigration 493 

*1553 — 1560.  Rome — Giovanni    Mollio,    a    Weaver,    Giovanni    Aloisio, 

Lodovico  Paschali  495 

1563,  1564.  Doings  of  the  Cardinals-Inquisitors 497 

1567.   Pietro  Carnesecchi,  Rome 498 

Many  Martyrs  in  the  Papal  State  500 

1 569.  Francesco  Cellario,  Bartolommeo  Bartoccio,  Rome 500 

1570.  A  onio  Paleario,  Rome 501 

1581.  Richard  Atkins,  Rome 505 

*1566.  Dr.  Thomas  Reynolds,  Rome 507 

1588.  Sixtus  V.  institutes  the  fifteen  Congregations  of  Cardinals 507 

1595.  An  Englishman  and  a  Silesiau  burnt  in  Rome 507 

1659.  Catherine  Evans  and  Sarah  Cheevers  imprisoned  in  Malta 508 

1662.  Daniel  Baker  at  Gibraltar 513 

*1555.  Bartolommeo  Ectore,  Turin 515 

*1557.  Commissaries  to  the  Waldenses  of  Piedmont — Geoffreddo  Varaglia, 

Turin — Nicholas  Sartor  is,  Aosta 515 

*1560.  Waldenses  of  Calabria — Stefano  Carlino,  Pietro  Marzone,  another, 
Montalto — Bernardino  Conte,  a  Pastor,  Cosenza — Anotlier,  Rome 

— Imprisonments,  Torments,  Butcheries...  517 

Waldenses  of  Piedmont — Marcellin,  his  wife  Giovanna,  Giovanni 
Cartignano,  Carignano — Jean  — ,  S.  Germano — A  Minister,  Su.sa 

— Military  Invasion  of  the  Valleys    518 

*1561.  A  Capitulation  never  ratified 5-!l 

*1565 — 1572.  Renewed  Persecution — Resistance — Orders  of  St.  Maurice  and 

St.  Lazarus    522 

*1633.  Persecution  in  Saluzzo 523 

*1623 — 1655.  Sebastiano  Bassano,  Turin — Gastaldo  leads  a  Massacre 523 

Jean  Paillas,  Paolo  Clemente  di  Rossani,  La  Torre    528 

Remonstrances  of  Protestant  States — Mr.  Morland  sent  to  the  Duke 

of  Savoy — Subscriptions  in  England  for  the  Survivers  528 

1663-1686.  Persecution 532 

1694.  Partial  Restoration 532 

1848.  Charles  Albert  gave  Liberty  of  Worship — Wesleyan-Methodist  Mission 

in  the  Alps    532 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SLAVONIAN    CHURCHES,    AND    HUNGARY. 

1530.  BOHEMIAN  Brethren  favoured  by  Ferdinand  I 533 

1532.  George  the  Hermit  imprisoned  at  Prague  533 

1533.  Bohemian  Confession  published  at  Wittemberg 533 

1 538.  Persecution  in. Bohemia 5:j4 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

A.D.  Page. 

1539.  Catlierine  Zalaszowska,  Prague  534 

1544.  Churches  closed — Imprisonments — Banishments   535 

1 545—1 554.  Gamrat,  Primate  of  POLAND,  a  Fanatic— Exiles  535 

1553 — 1570.  "  Agreement  of  Sendomir  " 538 

*  1533.  NicJwlas  —,  Lublin  541 

*  1551 — 1554.  Secret  Congregation  in  Poland — Czarnkowski,  Bishop  of  Posen  541 

1556.  Lodovico  Lippomano,  first  Nuncio 543 

1563.  RUSSIA—  Tlwmas  of  Polozk,  Polozk    545 

1565 — 1574.  Persecutions  in  Bohemia 546 

Foreign  Kings  of  Poland     546 

1574 — 1581.  Jesuits  incite  tumultuary  Persecutions  in  Cracow  and  Vilna  ...  551 
1589—1593.  The  Legate  Aldobrandino— Sixtus  V.— The  Jesuits  and  their 

Mob  553 

Martin  — ,  Lublin 554 

*1624.  Twenty-seven  Noblemen,  some  Ministers,  a  great  Emigration,  Bohemia  554 

1 611.  Francesco  di  Franco,  Vilna  555 

Jesuit  Outrages — Baltliasar  Crosnieviski,  Martin  Terttdlian,  Vilna...  557 

1618.  Origin  of  the  Thirty  years' War 558 

1621.  Great  Martyrdom  at  Prague — Joachim  Andreas  Schlik,  Wenzel 
Bndowecz,  Christopher  Harant,  Oaspar  Kaplirz,  Procopius 
Dworschezky,  Lords  of  Rzcldowicz  and  Komarow,  Czernin,  Lords 
of  Spiticz  and  Ruwenitz,  Valentine  Kochan,  Tobias  Steffck,  Chris- 
toplier  Kohr,  —  Schvbz,  —  Hostialek,  —  Kutnaiter,  and  seven 

others,  with  Banishments  and  Confiscations 563 

1 623.  Evangelical  Clergy  driven  out  of  the  Kingdom 570 

1 625.  Matthaus  Ulizky,  Czaslau  571 

*  1622.  Jesuits  seize  the  University  of  Prague — Books  destroyed 572 

*  1 623—1627.  Edicts  and  Dragonnades 575 

Lorenz  Karlik,   Kossenberg — John  Burjan  Kochowez,   Raudnitz — 
Another,  Leitomischl — A  Clerk,  Welhartiz,  and  many  Confessors  .  576 

1629.  —  Balzer,  Schlan    577 

Forest-Congregations— Thirty-six    thousand    Families  expatriated — 

Bohemia  ruined     . . .  .„ 578 

1 631.  Elector  of  Saxony  in  Prague — Lutheran  Worship 579 

1632 — 1652.  Prague  retaken — Jesuits  return,  Christians  flee Peschek, 

Hradek 580 

*1773— 1781.  Expulsion  of  Jesuits— "Toleration-Edict"  of  Joseph  II 581 

*1618— 1633.  Persecutions  in  Poland    581 

*  1604 — 1614.  Kepressive  Laws  in  HUNGARY,  partially  removed    582 

*1616— 1672.  Religious  and  Political  Contentions    .' 584 

An  Anathema 585 

1672 — 1676.  Abjurations — Three  hundred  Confessors  imprisoned,    exiled, 

enslaved     588 

"1670.  Seizure  of  Churches  in  Zips    591 

1675 — 1687.  Successive  Persecutions — Four  Men,  five,  nine,  Eperies 591 

1705 — 1742.  Various  Condition  of  the  Evangelicals    592 

1743.  Conversion-Societies — Conversion-Fund — Iniquitous  Law 593 

1763.  Maria  Theresa  employs  the  Archbishop  of  Gran  to  enforce  her  Law . . .  593 
1781.  Toleration-Edict  of  Joseph  II 594 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AUSTRIA    FROM    1558    TO   1837 FRANCE   FROM    1587   TO    REVOCATION   OF 

EDICT   OF   NAMES. 

1558.  AUSTRIA— Brief  and  partial  Toleration   595 

1559.  Episcopal  Visitation    595 

1;}79.  Persccuti'oii  breaks  out  at  Vienna  593 


CONTKNTS.  XV 

A.D.  Page. 

1582 — 1588.  States  remonstrate,  and,  at  length,  revolt    597 

1585 — 1 589.  Ministers  persecuted  and  banished  597 

1590.  Melchior  Clesel,  "  Reformer-General,"  conducts  a  general  Persecution.  598 

1594—1 603.  Civil  War,  provoked  by  Clesel  and  the  Jesuits    600 

1603 — 1609.  Protestant    Alliance  of    Heidelberg — Temporary   Liberty    of 

Worship 601 

1614.  Protestants  lose  Aix-la-Chapelle  and  Miilheim  (Diisseldorf)   601 

1619.  Ferdinand  II.  and  Caraffa  begin  Anti-Eeformation    602 

1624 — 1626.  Persecution  and  Revolt  in  Bavaria  604 

1627 — 1632.  Extinction  of  Protestant  Worship  in  Austria  605 

1648.  Peace  of  Westphalia— Momentary  Liberty  607 

1651.  Compulsory  "  Reformation  "  renewed 607 

1685,  1686.  Teffereckenthal  Emigrations 608 

1729 — 1732.  Von  Firmian,  Archbishop  of  Salzburg — Salzburg  Emigration.  .  608 
1743.  The  "  Rack-Tower  "  of  Werfen — Inquisition — Banishment 612 

*1733 — 1747.  Dragonnades,  Imprisonments,  Exiles,  many  Deaths   612 

1747.  Jacob  Schmidli,  Sulzig,  Switzerland  612 

1782.  Peregrination  of  Pius  VI.  to  Vienna  613 

1837.  The  Zillerthal  Emigration  613 

FRANCE — State  of  the  Reformed  after  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  618 

1598.  Edict  of  Nantes  622 

1610.  Henry  IV.  assassinated  by  Ravaillac — Persecution  revives     623 

1615.  Romish  Synod  in  Paris  incites  Louis  XIII.  to  persecute     623 

1617.  Another  Romish  Synod  in  Paris  demands  Persecution  624 

1619.  Mass  restored  in  Navarre    625 

1 621,  1622.  Crusade  on  the  Reformed  in  all  France     625 

1 629.  Rochelle  taken  by  Louis  XIII. — Cautionary  Towns  lost     628 

Missionary  Disputants    629 

1643.  Louis  XIV.— He  favours  the  Reformed  at  first 629 

1656.  Legal  Persecution  begins     629 

1659.  National  Synods  of  the  Reformed  Churches  suppressed — Notices  of 

the  last  Six  Synods   630 

1666.  "  Declaration  of  Fifty-nine  Articles  "  nullifies  the  Edict  of  Nantes    ...  636 

Psalmody  forbidden — Preachers  silenced    636 

Manifold  Methods  of  Oppression  and  Perversion    637 

1 668.  "  Chambers  of  the  Edict "  finally  suppressed 638 

1 679.  "  Chambres  miparties "  also  suppressed  638 

Dragonnades — The  Dame  Du  Chail    639 

1682.  1683.  Ineffectual  Efforts  to  recover  Liberty  of  Worship 641 

A  most  sanguinary  Dragonnade — Many  thousands  horribly  murdered  642 

1683.  Isaac  Homel,  Vivarais    643 

Bishops  and  Ladies  direct  the  atrocious  Persecution — Churches  closed   644 

1684.  1685.  A  Succession  of  Royal  Orders  and  of  Inhumanities,  preparatory 

to  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 646 

1685.  Edict  of  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes    650 

Absolute  Prohibition  of  the  Reformed  Religion  enforced   652 

Universal  Inquisition — Jesuits  assist  Soldiers  to  torment  the  People...  653 

1686.  —Ouizard,  Nerac  654 

1687.  Confessors  imprisoned  and  sent  to  the  Galleys  and  to  the  West  Indies 

as  Slaves    655 

1689.  "Pastors  of    the   Desert"— Many  hundred*   killed   in  the  Desert- 
Congregations   i 655 

—  Tommeiroles — Manuel,  Nismes°— Meirieu  and  Salendre,  Ledignan 
— Many  othirs  in  many  Places 656 


DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  BINDER, 


VOL.  I. 

Facing  Title-Page.  Hebrew  Children  in  the  Furnace. 

Page  104.  Murder  of  the  Innocents. 

•  129.  Stephen's  Martyrdom. 

•  1 65.  Nero. 

—  317.  Ignatius. 

-  385.  Polycarp. 

—  453.  Irenaeus. 

—  475.  Cyprian. 

VOL.  II. 

Facing  Title-Page.  Lord  Cobham's  Martyrdom. 

Page  581.  Wycliffe. 

—  599.  Burning-place  in  Smithfield. 

—  601.  John  Badby's  Martyrdom. 

VOL.  III. 

Facing  Title-Page.  Auto  de  F6. 

Page      3.  Huss. 

—  14.  Huss's  Martyrdom. 

—  53.  Luther. 

—  54.  Zuinglius. 

—  98.  Frederic  of  Saxony. 

—  121.  Melancthon. 

—  163.  Cranmer. 

-  229.  Edward  VI. 

—  283.  John  Cardmaker's  and  John  Warne's  Martyrdom. 

—  284.  Thomas  Hawkes's  Martyrdom. 

—  293.  Ridley's  and  Latimer's  Martyrdom. 

—  295.  Latimer. 

—  309.  The  Colchester  Martyrs. 

—  436.  Beza. 

—  456.  Margaret  of  Navarre. 

—  464.  Coligny. 


MARTYROLOGIA, 


PROTESTANT  MARTYRS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Providential  Succession  in  the  Church  of  God — John  Huss — Jerome  of  Prague — The 
Hussites — The  Bohemian  Brethren  and  Unitus  Fratrum — The  Inquisition  rein- 
forced— The  Invention  of  Printing  and  Revival  of  Literature — Geographical  Dis- 
coveries— Persons  and  Events  precursory  of  Separation  from  Ike  Papal  Church. 

THERE  is  a  succession  in  the  church  of  God.  Not  hereditary 
succession,  for  that  was  wrecked  with  the  genealogies  of  the  Hebrew 
people.  Not  official,  because  the  givers  and  receivers  of  designation 
to  the  ministerial  office  may  be  destitute,  and,  for  many  ages,  were 
generally  destitute,  of  divine  grace  and  sanction ;  and  as  a  succession 
of  this  kind  does  not  appear  in  history,  neither,  as  we  think,  was  it 
promised  by  Christ,  or  contemplated  by  his  Apostles.  A  just  and 
scriptural  regard  to  ecclesiastical  order,  and  an  original  idea  of  pure 
discipline,  imperceptibly  degenerated  into  the  notion  of  such  a  succes- 
sion. But  in  the  church  of  God, — comprehending,  under  our  description 
of  a  church,  both  Ministers  and  people,  having  evangelical  doctrine, 
discipline,  and  worship,  with  holy  living, — there  is  a  providential  suc- 
cession. Even  in  the  darkest  age  there  were  living  witnesses  and 
confessors  martyred  for  the  faith  of  Christ.  The  practice  of  perse- 
cuting ripened  into -system.  An  apparatus  for  the  extirpation  of 
heresy,  according  to  ritual  forms,  under  authoritative  decrees,  and  by 
tribunals  established  in  a  fallen  Church,  was  sufficient  to  attest,  even 
had  there  not  been'  direct  historical  evidence,  the  presence  of  another 
set  of  persons  in  the  world, — the  persons  who  suffered  persecution. 
But  we  possess  their  history,  and,  on  examining  it,  find  that  many, 
if  not  most,  of  them  held  evangelical  doctrines,  and  persevered  in 
holy  conduct.  They,  if  no  others,  were  the  church  of  the  living 
God.  Their  life  was  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  and  therefore  could 
not  be  destroyed.  The  gates  of  hell  could  not  prevail  against  them. 
They  were  found  in  every  generation,  and  were  perpetuated  in 
spite  of  every  human  effort  to  destroy.  As  death  for  confessing 
Christ  came  to  be  the  law  of  an  antichristian  hierarchy,  and  as  civil 
statutes  and  inquisitorial  canons  multiplied  and  were  enforced  with 
increasing  rigour,  -the  life  of  this  body  of  confessors  became  more 

VOL.    III.  B 


2  CHAPTER    I. 

vigorous,  and  the  interpositions  of  Divine  Providence  in  behalf  of  this 
immortal  cause  more  signal.  "  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed 
of  the  church."  And  this  is  providential  succession.  Let  us  endea- 
vour to  trace  its  continuity  from  the  Lollards  to  the  Protestants. 

The  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  were  united  in  England 
against  Wycliffe  and  his  followers,  and  the  strength  of  Lollardism,  as 
they  called  it,  gradually  declined  until  it  was  nearly  extinct  when 
Henry  VIII.  ascended  the  throne.  But  in  eastern  Europe  relative 
positions  were  different.  In  the  remote  kingdom  of  Bohemia  the 
more  powerful  nobility,  supported  by  many  of  the  people,  for  many 
years  maintained  a  most  arduous,  but  not  unsuccessful,  struggle  with 
Romish  ascendency.  When  Wycliffe  was  buried,  his  books  condemned, 
and  while  the  inquisitors  of  heresy  were  cleansing  Oxford  from  his 
writings,  and  the  high  Clergy  contriving  how  to  make  profession  of  his 
doctrine  a  capital  offence  in  England,  they  could  not  suspect  that  stu- 
dents in  Oxford  were  learning  from  those  very  books  how  to  prepare 
Christendom  for  a  general  reformation,  and  that  their  own  Queen  was 
unconsciously  opening  the  way  for  a  successful  mission  of  those  youth 
to  her  own  country.  Yet  so  it  was.  Anne,  sister  of  the  Emperor  Wen- 
ceslaus,  King  of  Bohemia,  "  the  good  Queen  Anne,"  read  the  Bible  in 
German,  Latin,  and  Bohemian,  had  heard  from  childhood  doctrines 
opposed  to  those  of  Rome,  lived  under  the  influence  of  the  truth  she 
learned  from  the  sacred  volume,  and  was  extolled  for  her  veneration 
for  the  word  of  God  even  by  the  sanguinary  Arundel,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  By  her  means  England  was  in  communication  with 
Bohemia ;  some  Bohemians  prosecuted  their  studies  at  Oxford,  and 
some  Englishmen  went  over  to  Bohemia.  Jerome  of  Prague  was  an 
Oxford  student,  and  on  his  return  to  that  city  took  with  him  the 
works  of  Wycliffe.  Peter  Payne,  an  Englishman,  and  a  Lollard  too, 
went  over  to  Prague,  and  took  other  copies.  Perhaps  he  expected 
more  religious  liberty  there  :  certainly  he  was  zealous  in  propagating 
Wycliffe's  doctrine,  became  a  Minister  in  the  national  Church,  asso- 
ciated with  the  seceders  from  Romanism,  and  remained  in  that 
connexion  until  old  age.  Others  returned  to  Bohemia  when  their 
sojourn  in  England  was  completed ;  and  some  went  thither  from  time 
to  time  after  the  martyrdom  of  Sautre,  to  avoid  a  like  fate,  and  found 
multitudes  willing  to  receive  them  and  profess  their  doctrine.  For  in 
that  country  worship  had  been  solemnized  in  the  vernacular  language, 
and  the  sacrament  of  the  eucharist  administered  in  bread  and  wine, 
("  sub  utraque  specie,"  as  they  say,  whence  the  term  "  utraquists,") 
from  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  five  hundred  years  before,  and 
was  formally  allowed  by  Boniface  IX.,  so  late  as  the  year  1 390.  The 
arrogance  of  the  Popes  had  always  been  resisted,  and  would  have  been 
still  powerless,  had  not  Italian  and  other  foreign  Priests  supplanted 
natives  in  the  parishes.  The  Bohemian  patriot,  therefore,  gave  ready 
hearing  to  the  prayer  offered  in  Sclavonic,  and  powerful  nobles,  actu- 
ated by  a  feeling  of  nationality,  preserved  primitive  worship  and 
maintained  better  preaching  on  their  estates.  The  University,  too, 
enjoyed  a  slight  degree  of  independence ;  and,  profiting  by  the  dis- 
tance of  its  head  the  Pope,  often  set  at  nought  the  pleasure  of  the 


JOHN    HtTSS.  3 

Bishops,  and,  when  Wycliffe's  books  were  brought  from  England,  freely 
admitted  them,  while  some  of  his  pieces  were  translated  into  Bohe- 
mian, and  circulated  among  the  people. 

Just  then  (A.D.  1400)  a  young  Priest,*  of  energetic  eloquence,  was 
invited  to  minister  in  the  new  church  of  Bethlehem  in  Prague,  which 
had  been  founded  by  a  Prior  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  and  a  merchant 
of  the  city,  for  the  sake  of  preserving  worship  in  the  language  of  the 
people,  together  with  preaching,  which  was  so  generally  neglected, 
that  a  sermon  was  seldom  to  be  heard.  This  was  John  Huss.  Jerome 
put  Wycliffe' s  books  into  his  hands,  and,  as  one  already  devoted  to  the 
instruction  of  the  people  by  means  of  their  own  language,  he  trans- 
lated them  into  Bohemian.  The  translator  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the 
author,  enriched  his  discourses  by  an  infusion  of  their  contents,  soon 
gained  eminence  as  a  Preacher,  and  acquired  great  influence  over  the 
public.  For  some  years  nothing  occurred  to  interrupt  his  ministra- 
tions. He  was  Confessor  to  the  Queen,  was  extensively  learned  for 
the  age,  and,  far  from  being  thought  heretical,  was  appointed  to  preach 
(A.D.  1405)  before  a  provincial  Synod,  with  the  Prelate  at  their  head. 
But  he  openly  commended  Wycliffe,  encouraged  English  refugees,  and, 
with  increasing  knowledge,  zeal,  and  eloquence,  encroached  so  far  on 
the  patience  of  Sbinko,  the  Archbishop,  and  of  the  priesthood,  that  they 
made  an  attack  on  the  writings  of  the  Englishman,  and  thus  opened  a 
breach  that  Papal  ingenuity  could  never  close.  Not  the  University 
of  Prague,  as  some  have  written,  but  a  select  company  of  Priests, 
employed  by  the  Bishop,  condemned  the  works  of  Wycliffe ;  and  this 
being  done,  (May  24th,  1408,)  Sbinko  made,  or  pretended  to  make, 
an  inquisition  of  his  province,  convened  a  Synod,  (July  17th,)  and 
there  reported  that  he  had  found  the  province  free  from  heresy. 
The  favourable  report  was  forwarded  to  Rome,  to  the  credit,  as  the 
Archbishop  might  have  thought,  of  his  pastoral  vigilance.  But 
"  heresy  "  could  not  be  concealed  ;  and  the  very  next  year  we  find 
the  Pope  writing  a  letter  to  the  Archbishop  condemnatory  of  the 
followers  of  Wycliffe  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia. f  Of  all  these  Huss 
was  the  chief ;  but  the  missive  of  an  Antipope  could  not  reach  him, 
and,  on  the  separation  of  the  Germans,  as  foreigners,  from  the  govern- 
ment of  the  University,  his  appointment  by  the  Bohemians,  who  alone 
remained,  to  the  dignity  of  Rector,  enabled  him  to  take  the  lead  in 
efforts  to  restore  the  religious  independence  of  his  country. 

Sbinko,  on  the  other  side,  began  the  usual  work  of  persecution.  The 
German  members  of  the  University,  before  their  departure,  Jean  Gerson, 
Chancellor  of  Paris,  Andrew  of  Broda,  a  papistical  Bohemian,  and  the 
ultramontane  Clergy  generally,  had  urged  him  to  collect  and  burn  the 
obnoxious  books.  By  dint  of  active  perquisition,  many  copies  were 
taken  from  their  owners,  and  twice  did  the  Prelate  commit  the  spoil 
to  burning  in  his  palace-yard.  The- second  time,  not  fewer  than  two 
hundred  volumes,  bound  in  wood,  covered  with  rich  stuffs,  and  heavy 
with  bosses  and  clasps  of  silver,  and  even  of  gold,  were  heaped  on 
the  fire,  the  sumptuousness  of  the  books  showing  how  highly  they 
must  have  been  valued  by  persons  in  the  highest  circles  of  society. 

*  Then  about  twentyrseven  years  of  age.  f  Raynaldus,  an.  1409,  num.  89. 

B    2 


CHAPTER    I. 


The  University  regarded  this  interference  as  an  infringement  on  their 
authority,  and  appealed  from  the  Prelate  to  the  Pope,  real  or  pre- 
tended,— for  whether  John  XXIII.  was  Pope  or  not  was  then  a 
question, — and  His  Holiness  cited  the  zealous  expurgator  to  answer 
for  himself.  Sbinko,  however,  made  a  private  communication  which 
fully  satisfied  the  Papal  court  of  his  loyalty  to  them  ;  and  his  mes- 
sengers brought  back  a  Bull  condemning  the  books,  requiring  four 
persons  who  were  accused  of  retaining  copies,  to  give  them  up  within 
six  days,  forbidding  all  Priests  and  Ecclesiastics  to  preach  in  particular 
places,  in  privileged  chapels,  (so  including  Bethlehem,)  in  cathedral 
and  parochial  churches,  or  in  monasteries,  under  pain  of  deposi- 
tion, excommunication,  imprisonment,  and  even  severer  punishment. 
Against  this  Bull,  which  would  have  silenced  every  voice,  and  obli- 
terated every  sentence  of  religious  truth,  Huss  appealed,  as  he  had 
done  before.  In  his  church  of  Bethlehem,  (June  25th,  1410)  before 
seven  witnesses,  deputed  by  those  of  the  nobility  and  University  who 
adhered  to  him,  and  by  the  hand  of  a  Notary  Public,  he  represented  to 
the  Pope  that  the  sentence  empowering  the  Archbishop  to  act  against 
the  University  was  a  breach  of  privilege  :  that  Huss,  and  a  multitude 
of  other  Preachers  in  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  other  provinces,  had  been 
falsely  charged  with  heresy,  and  that  by  means  of  a  secret  cabal  in  the 
court  of  Rome  :  that  orders  like  those  of  John  XXIII.  and  Sbinko  were 
scandalous,  contrary  to  common  right  and  public  good,  and  especially 
contrary  to  the  Gospel,  and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  obeyed  :  that 
Sbinko  had  already  acknowledged  Bohemia  to  be  free  from  heresy : 
that  even  were  it  not  so,  the  proceedings  against  Wycliffe's  writings, 
having  been  taken  on  orders  received  from  Alexander  V.,  since 
deceased,  were  canonically  null :  that  many  of  the  books  condemned 
were  scientific  treatises,  and,  as  such,  not  susceptible  of  heresy  :  that 
the  Pope's  sentence  to  burn  them  was  against  the  honour  of  the 
kingdom  of  Bohemia,  the  marquisate  of  Moravia,  and  the  other 
provinces,  as  well  as  against  the  honour  of  the  University,  which  had 
solemnly  determined  to  appeal  against  the  outrage  committed  by 
Sbinko  on  its  liberties. 

The  Pope  answered  this  appeal  by  excommunicating  Huss,  (A.D. 
1411,)  and  placing  Prague  under  interdict  until  he  should  have  left 
the  city.  Foreseeing  that  resistance  would  cause  a  tumult,  he  retired 
to  hi*  native  town  Hussinets,  where  he  was  hospitably  entertained  by 
a  relative,  Nicholas  of  Hussinets,  lord  of  the  place  ;  and,  making  a 
circuit  of  the  neighbouring  towns  and  villages,  often  preached  in  the 
open  air  to  immense  congregations,  notwithstanding  the  excommunica- 
tion. At  Hussinets  he  wrote  a  paper  in  the  form  of  an  appeal  to  God, 
the  Pope  having  failed  to  do  him  justice,  and  justified  that  recourse 
by  the  example  of  Christ  himself,  followed  by  Chrysostom,  Andrew,  a 
former  Archbishop  of  Bohemia,  who  died  in  exile,  and  Robert,  Bishop 
of  Lincoln,  who  had  committed  their  causes  to  the  Sovereign  Judge  of 
the  universe.  During  this  retreat  he  also  wrote  a  defence  of  Wycliffe's 
books,  in  reply  to  Stokes,  an  Englishman,  and  maintained  that  even 
heretical  writings  should  be  read  and  refuted,  but  not  burnt.  Mean- 
while, the  inhabitants  of  Prague  entreated  him  to  return,  and  Sbiuko 


HUSS    PREACHES    AGAINST    CRUSADES.  5 

saw  fit  to  go  iuto  Hungary,  where  he  soon  died.  Some  unfriendly 
historians  have  said  that  the  Hussites  poisoned  him  ;  but  this  is  one 
of  those  after-thoughts  that  serve  to  fill  up  narratives  compiled  to 
serve  a  purpose,  and  is  triumphantly  disproved  by  the  evidence 
of  the  hostile,  but  contemporary,  authority  quoted  by  the  Romish 
biographer  himself.* 

Huss  returned  to  Prague,  and  was  met  by  new  personages,  Legates 
from  John  XXIII.,  bearing  two  Bulls,  one  addressed  to  all  Chris- 
tendom, and  the  other  to  the  dioceses  of  Passau,  Saltzburg,  Prague, 
and  Magdeburg,  calling  on  all  persons  to  unite  in  cursing  Ladis- 
laus,  King  of  Sicily,  with  whom  John  was  at  war,  but  likely  to  be 
beaten,  and  inviting  them  to  a  crusade  against  Ladislaus  and  his 
supporters.  It  did  seem  to  the  people  of  Prague  that,  for  a  Pope  to 
excite  Christians  to  murder  one  another  merely  on  his  own  account,  and 
to  offer  them  plenary  absolution  and  eternal  life  for  such  a  service,  was 
a  scandalous  and  monstrous  thing.  Wenceslaus,  the  King,  being  an 
enemy  of  Ladislaus,  was  well  pleased  with  the  project  of  crusade,  and 
the  clerical  partisans  of  the  Pope  gave  their  full  support  to  the 
Preacher  of  indulgences.  But  Huss,  who  had  studied  the  subject  in 
Wycliffe's  books,  reproduced  the  arguments  against  crusades  in  public, 
and,  from  his  pulpit  in  Bethlehem,  exhorted  the  people  not  to  waste 
their  blood  for  the  Pope,  who  ought  not  to  seek  defence  for  the 
Church  in  carnal  weapons.  The  Legates  summoned  him  to  appear  in 
their  presence,  and  answer  to  the  new  Archbishop  Albicus,  whether  he 
would  obey  the  Pope  and  preach  the  crusade.  He  promptly  appeared, 
and  told  them  that  he  would  most  heartily  obey  the  apostolic  precepts. 
"  You  see,  now,  Sir  Archbishop,"  said  the  Legates,  "  that  he  is  willing 
to  obey  the  Pope."  For,  in  the  style  of  the  court  of  Rome,  "  papal " 
and  "  apostolical"  are  terms  equivalent.  Not  so  thought  Huss.  He  told 
them  plainly  that  between  the  commandments  of  Popes  and  those 
of  Apostles  there  was  the  xttmost  difference,  and  that  he  would  rather 
be  burnt  than  obey  the  former  in  violation  of  the  latter.  Being  thus 
committed  to  the  controversy,  he  determined  to  persevere,  and  forth- 
with caused  the  following  programme  to  be  affixed  to  the  doors  of  all 
the  churches  and  monasteries  in  Prague,  with  a  challenge  to  all 
Doctors,  Priests,  Monks  and  Scholars,  to  come  forward  and  dispute 
against  the  theses  he  had  already  published.  The  question  was  stated 
thus  : — "  According  to  the  law  of  Jesus  Christ,  can  Christians,  with  a 
good  conscience,  approve  the  crusade  ordered  by  the  Pope  against 
Ladislaus  and  his  accomplices  ;  and  can  such  a  crusade  tend  to  the 
glory  of  God,  to  the  salvation  of  Christian  people,  and  to  the  welfare 
of  the  kingdom  of  Bohemia  1  "  On  the  day  appointed  for  the  dis- 
putation all  sorts  of  people  crowded  into  the  collegiate  hall  to  hear  or 
to  take  part.  The  Rector  of  the  academy,  alarmed  at  the  concourse, 
and  fearing  tumult,  exhorted  the*  people  to  retire.  Speaking  in 
Bohemian,  he  said,  "  I  pray  you,  friends,  withdraw  for  a  little.  This 


CHAPTER    I. 


business  does  not  concern  you,  and  very  few  of  you  will  understand 
us."     But  this  exhortation  only  provoked  to  impatient  curiosity,  and 
caused  sucli  confusion  that  Huss  was  obliged  to  interfere  ;  and  having 
allayed  the  uproar  with  difficulty,  he  suggested  that  those  who  could 
not  understand  their  language,  (Latin,)  should  withdraw.     The  dispu- 
tation began.     A   Doctor   of  canon   law   argued  for  the  Pope.     A 
Doctor  in  civil  right  contended  that  the  Pope  had  violated  the  rights 
of  the  Emperor  and  Princes.     When  the  contest  had  run  high,  an 
aged  Doctor  arose  and  remonstrated  with  Huss  :   "All  the  academy  is 
astonished  that  you,  young  as  you  are,*  should  entertain  such  high 
designs.     Do  you  think  that  you  are  wiser  than  all  others  ?   Certainly 
there  are  men  here  far  abler  than  you,  but  not  one  of  them  ventures 
on  questions  so  subtle  and  profound.     Consider  the  judgment  of  the 
Doctors  and  of  all  the  academy,  and  you  will  see  that  your  enterprise 
contains  nothing  but  the  seed  of  seditions  and  intestine  wars.     What ! 
would  you  oppose  the  Roman  Pontiff?     Go  to  Rome.     Go,  and  tell 
him  to  his  face  what  you  say  here ;  for  it  is  most  unfair  to  trouble 
people  who   do   not  understand  you,  and  know  not  how  to  answer. 
Besides,  being  Priest,  as  you  are,  whence  have  you  your  priesthood  ? 
'  From  the  Bishop,'  you  will  say  ;  but  the  Bishop,  whence  has  he  his  ? 
From  the  Pope.     So  you  must  come  to  the  Pope,  who  is  your  spiritual 
father,  after  all.     Bad  birds  are  they  that  forsake  their  own  nest,  and 
cursed  was  Ham  who  uncovered  the  nakedness  of  his  father."     The 
rude  audience,  who   sided  with  Huss,  answered  the  Doctor  with  a 
shout,  and  would  have  stoned  him  could  they  have  torn  up  the  pave- 
ment.    They  were  again   hushed   into   silence   by  the  Preacher  of 
Bethlehem.     Then  Jerome  of  Prague  stood  forth,  and,  rushing  at  that 
moment  into  the  heat  of  a  battle  in  which  he  soon  should  fall,  made 
a  long  and  very  eloquent  discourse,  ending  in  these  words  :    "  Let 
them  who  are  on  our  side  follow  us.     John  Huss  and  I  will  go  to  the 
palacef   to  expose  the  vanity  of  indulgences."     This  was  received 
with  a  cry  of,  "  Well  said  !     That  is  true."     The  two  reformers,  how- 
ever,  yielding  to  the   entreaty  of  some  who   feared   greater  tumult, 
separated.     The  students  followed  Jerome,  as  the  more  learned,  and 
the  people  went  with  Huss  to  his  church.     Next  day  there  was  a 
great  meeting  of  the  people,  who  resolved  to  give  no  quarter  to  the 
Preachers  of  indulgences.     A  barbarian  resolution,  no  doubt ;  but  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  what  would  be  intolerable  in  the  present  state 
of  society,  and  especially  in  England,  was  a  matter  of  course  in  the 
fifteenth  century.     The  Rector  of  the  academy,  fearing  for  his  life, 
sent  for  Huss  and  Jerome,  and  implored  them  in  the  name  of  God  and 
all  saints  to  use  their  credit  and  influence  with  the  people  to  prevent 
revolt  and  massacre.     The  Doctors  joined  their  entreaties,  and  even 
tears  were  shed.     They  readily  promised  to  do  their  best,  yet  main- 
taining   their   opposition     to    crusade    and   indulgences,    and    really 
succeeded  in  pacifying  the  people.     But  the  Preachers,  on  the  other 
side,  observed  no  prudence.     One  Sunday,  a  Preacher  of  indulgences, 
not   satisfied  with   recommending   his  wares,  launched   an    invective 
against  John  Huss.     A  shoemaker  in  the  congregation  denied  the 

*  Thirty-eight  years  of  age.  t  Maison  de  Ville,  "Court-house." 


PREACHERS  OF  INDULGENCES  AT  PRAGUE.  7 

calumny  aloud.  In  another  church  an  equally  intemperate  Preacher 
was  interrupted  by  a  man,  who  exclaimed  that  the  Pope  was  Anti- 
christ, because  he  shed  Christian  blood.  They  were  both  Poles.  A 
third,  a  Bohemian,  contradicted  a  Friar  during  sermon  in  his 
monastery.  The  three  were  imprisoned.  Huss,  with  a  company 
of  students,  went  to  the  palace  to  demand  their  release,  which  was 
promised ;  but  the  promise  was  not  fulfilled.  The  Senate  secretly 
caused  an  executioner  to  behead  them  in  the  night  within  that  build- 
ing, and  the  murder  was  discovered  early  in  the  morning  by  a  stream 
of  blood  that  ran  out  under  the  door.  The  people  broke  in,  took 
away  the  bodies,  and  buried  them  with  great  solemnity.  And  Huss, 
notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  the  Senate,  afterwards  made  refer- 
ence to  the  murder  in  his  sermons,  and  continued  to  preach,  in  spite 
of  excommunication,  and  the  efforts  of  his  enemies  to  put  him  to 
silence,  and  committed  to  writing  refutations  of  the  principal  errors 
of  Romanism.  Not  the  least  important  of  those  productions  was  a 
defence  of  the  articles  of  Wycliffe.  Eight  theologians,  it  is  related, 
endeavoured  to  vanquish  him  in  argument ;  and  he  not  only  persisted 
in  a  literary  contest,  but  challenged  them  all  to  meet  him  in  an  ordeal 
by  fire.  One  had  courage  enough  to  accept  the  challenge ;  but  he 
replied  that,  after  having  been  attacked  by  eight  men,  and  defended 
himself  singly,  he  expected  them  all  to  go  into  the  fire  as  readily  as 
they  had  got  into  the  fight.  That,  however,  was  more  than  their 
courage  or  their  prudence  would  dare  to  hazard ;  and  they  set  their 
hearts  on  bringing  him,  not  to  a  fiery  trial,  but  to  a  fiery  death.* 
We  must  now  follow  him  to  Constance.^ 

*  L'Enfant,  "  Histoire  da  Concile  de  Pise,"  gives  a  mass  of  copious  and  carefully- 
anthenticated  information  of  Huss,  especially  relating  to  the  years  1409,  1410,  1411, 
1412.  The  English  reader  will  find  notices  of  this  Reformer's  earlier  history  in  Foxe,  but 
ill  arranged  ;  and  there  are  cursory  sentences  in  most  ecclesiastical  histories.  Fleury  and 
his  continuator  give  the  facts,  but  distort  them  ;  and  the  Romish  Annalists,  of  course, 
treat  him  as  a  criminal.  L'Enfant,  who  quotes  at  length  from  the  original  authorities, 
Cochloeus,  /Eneas  Silvius,  the  Bohemian  historians,  and  the  works  of  Huss,  is  by  far 
the  best  narrator  of  these  events  that  the  author  has  yet  seen. 

t  Observing  by  the  way  that,  partly  in  consequence  of  an  edict  of  pacification,  given 
by  the  Princes  and  the  King's  Counsel,  between  the  late  Archbishop  Sbinko,  on  the  one 
part,  and  the  Rector  of  the  University  and  John  Huss,  on  the  other,  Huss  had  a  legal 
position  secured  to  him  at  Prague,  previously  to  his  excommunication ;  that  even  after- 
wards, the  Papal  sentence  not  being  universally  admitted,  the  King  being  favourable  to 
Huss,  a  large  number  of  Priests,  known  as  Evangelical  Clergy,  and  described  as  his 
Clergy,  constituted  a  distinct  and  formidable  party.  When  Conrad,  Administrator 
of  the  archbishopric,  (A.D.  1413,)  called  a  provincial  Council,  Hnss  assembled  his 
Clergy  also,  and  the  two  companies  drew  up  opposite  "counsels;"  the  one  for  the 
extirpation  of  heresy,  and  the  other  "  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  free  preaching 
of  his  Gospel ;  to  re-establish  the  renown  of  the  kingdom  of  Bohemia,  the  marquisate 
of  Moravia,  the  city  and  the  university  of  Prague  ;  to  restore  peace  and  union  between 
the  Clergy  and  the  Academy."  The  King  then  condescended  to  rescind  the  edict 
of  pacification  ;  but  the  Hussite  Clergy  being  far  in  the  majority,  the  pulpits  of  Prague 
resounded  with  remonstrance ;  and  the  controversy  concerning  the  adverse  claims 
of  Papal  authority,  (for  there  were  then  three  persons  claiming  the  triple  crown,)  and 
of  divine  authority,  occupied  every  mind ;  and  the  higher  Clergy  could  not  subdue  the 
disobedience  of  their  Priests  and  the  revolt  of  the  people.  Again  the  King  endeavoured 
to  satisfy  both  parties,  by  a  measure  of  external  reform,  depriving  notoriously  wicked 
Priests  of  their  tithes  and  other  income.  This  gave  a  great  advantage  to  the  Hussites, 
end  lowered  the  crest  of  their  enemies.  Conrad  met  this  humiliation  by  laying  an 
interdict  on  Prague.  Huss  retired  again  to  Hussinets,  or,  rather,  continued  there, 
without  visiting  Fragile,  .as  he  had  been  wont  to  do  since  his  first  retreat :  but  the  pro- 


8  CHAPTER    I. 

For  healing  the  schism  of  the  Papacy,  which  the  Council  of  Pisa 
had  ineffectually  attempted,  and  also  for  the  suppression  of  heresy  in 
Bohemia,  a  Council  was  convened  at  Constance,  a  town  on  the  border 
of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  and  on  the  lake  of  its  own  name.  To 
heal  the  schism  was  the  object  contemplated  by  Sigismund,  Emperor 
of  Germany.  To  suppress  heresy  was  that  of  John  XXIII.,  Pope 
"concurrent,"  who  summoned  the  Council,  and  went  thither  with 
trembling.*  Mounted  on  horseback,  and  followed  by  a  long  train 
of  Cardinals,  Prelates,  and  courtiers,  he  entered  the  town  (October 
28th,  1414).  A  procession  of  Clergy,  bearing  relics  of  saints, 
real  or  artificial,  met  him  on  the  way ;  four  chief  Magistrates 
received  him  under  a  canopy  of  cloth  of  gold ;  two  Counts  took  the 
bridle ;  and  he,  thus  canopied  and  led,  amidst  a  multitude  of  sight- 
seekers,  went  to  the  Episcopal  palace,  preceded  by  the  host,  carried 
on  a  cushion.  There  he  reposed,  and,  with  seeming  promptitude, 
but  meditated  delay,  convened,  and  then  again  prorogued,  the 
dreaded  Council.  John  Huss  had  been  summoned  to  appear  at  that 
tribunal.  Without  delay  he  prepared  for  the  journey,  first  asking 
^for  a  hearing  in  a  provincial  Synod  then  assembled  at  Prague,  but 
without  obtaining  one.  He  then  affixed  papers  to  the  church  and 
palace  doors  of  the  city,  inviting  his  accusers  to  meet  him  at  Con- 
stance, and  to  convict  him,  if  they  could,  of  heresy.  Strange  to 
tell,  he  received  certificates  of  orthodoxy  from  Conrad,  Adminis- 
trator of  the  archbishopric  of  Prague,  and  from  Nicholas,  Bishop 
of  Nazareth,  Inquisitor  of  Bohemia.  From  the  King  he  obtained  a 
safe-conduct  to  Constance.  Thus  furnished,  he  crossed  the  present 
kingdoms  of  Bavaria  and  Wurtemburg,  at  each  town  causing  chal- 
lenges to  his  accusers  to  be  posted  in  public  places.  At  Nuremberg 
the  announcement  was  as  follows  : — "  Master  John  Huss  is  going  to 
Constance,  there  to  make  declaration  of  the  faith  which  he  always 
held,  which  he  still  embraces,  and  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he 
will  adhere  to  until  death.  Therefore,  as  he  has  given  public  notice, 
throughout  the  whole  kingdom  of  Bohemia,  that  he  was  willing, 
before  his  departure,  to  give  an  account  of  his  faith  in  a  general 
Synod  of  the  Archbishop  of  Prague,  and  to  answer  all  things  that 
might  be  laid  to  his  charge,  he  gives  the  same  notice  to  the  imperial 
city  of  Nuremberg,  that  if  any  person  has  any  error  or  heresy  to 
reproach  him  with,  he  need  only  repair  to  the  Council  of  Constance, 
because  he  is  ready  there  to  give  an  account  of  his  faith."  Yet, 
amidst  this  confidence,  he  secretly  foreboded  a  cruel  death,  as  appears 

hibition  to  preach  was  evaded  at  Bethlehem,  by  the  reading  of  his  treatise  on  the 
Church ;  a  crude  composition,  as  to  theology,  erroneous  in  many  points,  but  in  others 
calculated  to  keep  the  public  mind  awake  to  points  at  issue.  Until  his  departure  for 
Constance  he  indefatigably  plied  the  pen.  This  note  is  accessary,  to  account  for  the 
interval  not  noticed  in  the  text,  because  not  affording  material  so  appropriate  to  the 
design  of  this  work.  ("  Concile  de  Pise,"  liv.  viii.) 

#  Popes  have  not  been  the  most  fortunate  riders,  except  on  the  necks  of  Princes. 
As  John  XXIII.  was  being  jolted  over  an  eminence  of  the  Voralberg,  his  clumsy  car, 
riage  turned  over  with  him.  Stretched  on  the  ground,  he  grumbled  out  a  pettish  jest, 
too  coarse  to  be  translated  :  "  Jaceo  hie  in  nomine  diaboli."  Soon  afterwards,  on  get- 
ting the  first  view  of  Constance  in  the  distance,  he  greeted  the  un welcome  object  with, 
"  There  is  the  ditch  where  they  catch  foxes."  Which  did  he  mean,  Autipopes  or  here- 
tics ?  (L'Enfant,  Hist.  Coun.  Constance,  English  edit.,  i.,  18.) 


HTJSS    AT    CONSTANCE.  9 

from  letters  written  before  setting  out.  His  reception  was  everywhere 
respectful,  and  in  some  places  cordial,  even  to  enthusiasm.  Attended 
by  three  Bohemian  Lords,  John  of  Chlum,  Henry  of  Latzenbock,  and 
Wenceslaus  of  Duba,  to  whose  care  the  Emperor  and  the  King  had 
confided  him,  with  their  train,  Huss  entered  Constance  six  days  after 
the  Pope,  and  was  entertained  at  the  house  of  a  well-disposed  widow. 
Next  day  two  of  them  waited  on  the  Pope,  to  announce  the  arrival 
of  Huss,  and  inform  him  that  he  had  received,  while  on  his  way,  at 
Nuremberg,  a  safe-conduct  from  the  Emperor,  in  addition  to  that 
given  by  the  King  of  Bohemia.  John  protested  that,  even  if  Huss 
had  killed  his  own  brother,  he  would  use  all  his  power  to  prevent 
any  injustice  being  done  him  while  he  should  stay  at  Constance. 
The  following  day  (November  4th)  the  Pope  announced  his  arrival  in. 
the  consistory  of  Cardinals,  and  was  so  kind  as  to  revoke  the  sentence 
of  excommunication.  After  a  general  congregation,*  this  famous 
Council  was  opened  with  great  solemnity  and  pomp,  November  16th, 
1414  ;  and  a  contest  began  between  the  "concurrents,"  John  XXIII. 
and  Gregory  XII.,  which  it  is  beside  our  present  purpose  to  narrate.f 
Two  inveterate  enemies  of  Huss  were  now  arrived  at  Constance, 
Stephen  Paletz,  Professor  of  Theology  at  Prague,  and  Michael  de 
Causis,  a  parish  Priest  of  doubtful  reputation.  These  men,  after  the 
fashion  of  their  times,  posted  up  bills,  and  distributed  papers,  in  Con- 
stance, denouncing  Huss  as  a  heretic ;  and  the  Pope,  when  appealed 
to  for  the  protection  he  had  promised,  declared  himself  unable  to 
afford  it.  They  also  complained  that  he  celebrated  mass  daily,  and 
conversed  on  religious  subjects  with  undue  freedom.  Having  thus 
marked  their  victim,  the  leading  members  of  the  Council  assembled  in 
congregation  at  the  Pope's  apartments,  and  sent  two  Bishops  to  call 
him  into  their  presence.  They  delivered  the  summons  with  great 
courtesy,  yet  taking  care  to  have  a  body  of  soldiers  in  the  street 
ready  to  enforce  it,  if  the  Bohemians  should  resist ;  and  Huss,  accom- 
panied by  his  faithful  friend,  John  of  Chlum,  proceeded  with  the 
Bishops,  to  answer  for  himself.  He  denied  the  charge  of  heresy,  and 
professed  willingness  to  submit,  if  it  could  be  proved  that  he  was  in 
any  error.  The  Cardinals  professed  to  be  satisfied,  and  retired  to 
dinner,  but  left  him  and  his  friend  under  arrest  until  their  return, 
when  they  placed  him  in  close  custody,  without  any  further  ceremony. 
At  first  he  was  confined  to  a  private  house ;  while  Chlum  laboured  to 
obtain  redress  from  the  Pope,  and  demanded  his  liberty,  according  to 
the  terms  of  the  imperial  safe-conduct.  But  it  was  determined  to 
crush  the  Bohemian  Preacher ;  and  therefore,  at  the  end  of  a  week, 
he  was  incarcerated  in  the  Dominican  monastery.  The  two  perse- 
cutors presented  a  paper  to  the  Pope,  containing  several  articles 
of  offensive  doctrine  ; — such  as,  that  the  eucharist  should  be  adminis- 
tered in  both  kinds,  and  not  by  Priests  living  in  mortal  sin  ;  that  the 
Church  does  not  consist  of  the  Clergy  only,  and  that  Church  property 
may  be  confiscated  to  the  state  ;  that  endowments  and  Episcopacy 

*  A  congregation  is  an  assemblage  of  Ecclesiastics  to  prepare  business  for  the  Coun- 
cil at  the  ensuing  session. 

t  The  schism  of  the  Papacy  is  described  in  the  preceding  volume,  book  v.  chap.  5. 
VOL.    III.  C 


10  CHAPTER    I. 

are  unscriptural,  sinful  men  incapable  of  holding  the  priestly  office, 
and  their  acts  of  excommunication  unworthy  of  respect.  They  also 
charged  him  with  circulating  the  doctrines  of  Wycliffe,  and  with 
being  followed  by  none  but  heretics.  Hence  they  inferred  that,  if  he 
were  not  put  out  of  the  way,  he  would  do  more  harm  to  the  Church 
than  any  other  heretic  had  done  from  the  days  of  Constantine  ;  and 
prayed  that  Commissioners  might  be  appointed  to  examine  the  case. 
Meanwhile  Huss  fell  sick,  and  was  attended  by  the  Pope's  Physicians, 
sent,  as  it  has  been  thought,  to  keep  him  alive,  that  he  might  not  die 
a  natural  death.  A  Patriarch  and  two  Bishops  went  to  his  prison, 
read  the  charges,  and  required  him  to  answer.  He  pleaded  sickness 
as  a  reason  for  indulgence,  and  desired  that  he  might  be  allowed  an 
advocate  to  plead  his  cause ;  but  they  told  him  that  the  canon  law 
prohibited  espousing  or  pleading  the  cause  of  a  person  even  suspected 
of  heresy.  Yet  men  who  had  been  principally  irritated  by  his  preach- 
ing at  Prague,  were  brought  to  Constance  as  witnesses  against  him ; 
and,  while  he  languished  in  prison,  no  one  was  suffered  to  act  on  his 
behalf.  Besides  those  deputies,  a  numeroxis  commission  of  high  dig- 
nitaries was  appointed  to  examine  and  condemn  his  doctrine.  Mean- 
while Chlum  had  written  to  the  Emperor,  who  sent  a  peremptory 
requisition  for  the  release  of  Huss,  and  ordered  that,  if  necessary,  the 
prison  should  be  broken  open.  But  the  order  was  not  executed. 
Sigismund  himself  came  to  the  Council  on  Christmas-day ;  but, 
dazzled  by  the  splendour  of  the  scene,  and  overcome  by  the  arts 
of  the  Ecclesiastics,  he  gave  up  the  man  whom  he  was  bound  in 
honour  to  protect,  and  allowed  the  Council  to  do  with  him  as  they 
pleased ;  being  superior  to  himself,  he  said,  in  spirituals,  and  not 
bounden  to  keep  faith  with  heretics ;  personal  liberty  and  life,  in  his 
estimation,  being  rightly  abandoned  to  the  guile  of  the  Priest,  rather 
than  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Prince.  Moreover,  Sigismuud  put  off 
his  imperial  robe,  and,  in  the  simple  habit  of  a  Deacon,  read  the  Gospel 
for  the  day,*  at  first  mass ;  which  Gospel,  remarkably  enough,  begins 
with  these  words  :  "  At  that  time  there  went  out  a  decree  from  Caesar 
Augustus  that  all  the  world  should  be  taxed ; "  an  evil  augury  for  the 
Fathers  of  Constance.  The  intelligence  of  their  perfidy  reached 
Prague,  and  the  Bohemian  nobility  wrote  to  Sigismund,  desiring  the 
liberation  of  Huss,  and  wrote  again ;  but  he  was  deaf  to  all  but  those 
who  taught  him  that  he  was  not  to  keep  faith  with  heretics.  John 
XXIII.,  whom  he  had  patronized,  shamefully  fled  from  Constance, 
disguised  as  a  groom,  to  avoid  the  importunity  of  the  Council,  who 
wished  to  get  rid  of  all  three  pretenders  to  the  Pontificate ;  and 
Huss  was  transferred,  by  the  Bishop  of  Constance,  to  another  place 
of  durance,  the  castle  of  Gotleben,  where  he  suffered  extreme  anxiety. 
Jerome,  his  friend,  having  promised  that,  if  he  should  be  ill  treated 
at  Constance,  he  would  come  thither  to  plead  for  him,  fulfilled  the 
promise,  and,  contrary  to  the  entreaty  of  Huss,  ventured  to  appear  in 
Prague,  (April  4th,  1415,)  with  only  one  companion;  but,  hearing 
that  there  was  some  design  to  deprive  him  also  of  liberty,  withdrew  to 

*  According  to  the  order  of  the  Missale  Romanum,  where  the  same  Gospel  stands 
for  the  first  mass  on  Christmas-day. 


HUSS    AT    CONSTANCE.  11 

Uberlingen,  and  thence  applied  to  the  Emperor  for  a  safe-conduct, 
which  he  obtained,  after  great  difficulty ;  but  only  to  go  to  Constance, 
not  to  return  to  Bohemia  :  neither  was  the  passport  from  the  Emperor, 
but  from  the  Council ;  and  was,  in  fact,  an  order  to  appear  before 
them  within  a  fortnight,  with  an  express  reservation  in  favour  of  the 
demands  of  "justice  and  the  orthodox  faith."  It  is  not  certain  that 
he  received  a  copy  of  that  document,  which,  however,  was  published 
at  Constance ;  but,  on  some  pretext,  he  was  arrested,  and  brought 
in  custody  to  the  Council,  laden  with  chains.  After  a  tumultuary 
sentence  of  the  congregation  to  which  they  carried  him,  he  was  thrown 
into  prison,  subjected  to  extremely  cruel  treatment,  and  remained  in 
that  condition  until  his  death  by  fire,  more  than  a  year  afterwards. 

After  Huss  had  lain  in  the  fortress  of  Gotleben  about  two  months, 
an  assembly  of  nations  *  was  held  to  consider  his  case,  where  the 
Bohemians,  supported  by  Sigismund,  at  last  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  reluctant  promise  that  he  should  have  a  public  hearing.  But 
to  avoid  such  a  procedure,  if  possible,  the  Council  appointed  a 
deputation  to  visit  him  in  prison,  and  endeavour  to  extort  a  re- 
tractation. Those  visits  were  frequent,  and  the  deputies  employed 
the  most  insolent  and  threatening  language,  in  order  to  overcome  his 
constancy.  "Michael  de  Causis,"  says  Huss  himself,  in  a  letter 
describing  one  of  those  visits,  "  was  there,  holding  a  paper  in  his 
hand,  and  stirring  up  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  to  oblige  me 
to  answer  to  every  article.  He  is  contriving  fresh  mischief  every  day. 
God  has,  for  my  sins,  permitted  him  and  Paletz  to  rise  up  against  me. 
Michael  examines  all  my  letters  and  words,  with  the  air  of  an  inqui- 
sitor ;  and  Paletz  has  set  down  all  the  conversations  we  have  had 
together  for  many  years.  The  Patriarch  says  aloud  that  I  have  a 
great  deal  of  money.  An  Archbishop  said  to  me,  in  the  hearing 
of  all,  that  I  had  seventy  thousand  florins.  'Ha!  ha!'  said  Paletz  to 
me,  'what's  become  of  that  robe  so  lined  with  florins?'  I  have  this 
day  suffered  great  vexation."  As  if  to  avoid  owning  that  their  labour 
had  been  spent  in  vain,  the  Commissioners  circulated  a  report  that  he 
was  willing  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  Council ;  but,  agreeably 
to  his  constant  profession,  both  before  and  afterwards,  and  to  his 
language  in  private  correspondence,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  he  only  expressed  a  willingness  to  yield  when  it  should  be 
proved  that  he  was  in  error.  Many  errors,  no  doubt,  were  contained 
in  his  writings  ;  but  they  were  chiefly  errors  of  the  Romish  Church, 
points  of  agreement  with  his  persecutors,  not  of  difference.  His 
faith  in  God  stood  unshaken. 

From  Gotleben  he  was  taken  to  Constance  again,  with  promise 
of  a  public  hearing,  and  placed  in  the  Franciscan  monastery,  where 
almost  all  the  Cardinals,  Prelates,  and  other  Clergy  assembled,  for 
the  examination  of  the  articles  extracted  from  his  books ;  and 
were  proceeding  to  condemn  him  unheard,  when  a  Hussite  Notary, 
who  was  present,  hurried  away  to  inform  his  friends,  Duba  and 

*  The  members  of  this  Council  were  classified  according  to  their  countries.  Those 
of  the  same  nation  sometimes  sat  separately ;  at  other  times  "  the  nations "  met,  as 
above,  in  a  general  assembly. 

c  2 


12  CHAPTER    I. 

Chlum,  who   instantly  obtained  from    Sigismund    an    injunction  to 
stay  proceedings    until    further    examination.      He  was    then    called 
into  the  assembly,   (June  5th,)  but  treated  with  boisterous  derision 
when    he    attempted    to    answer   for   himself.     Again    he    was    per- 
mitted to  appear,  the  Emperor  being  present,  at  the  desire  of  the 
Bohemians,  to  enforce  order ;  and  the  entire  time  of  the  session  was 
that  day  spent  in  endeavouring  to  force  on  him  heretical  opinions 
that  he  had  never  entertained,  and  to  prove  him  guilty  of  offences  at 
Prague  that  he  had  not  committed ;  and,  after  ah1,  the  feeble  Emperor 
gave  him  to  understand  that,  notwithstanding  the  safe-conduct  he  had 
given  him,  he  should  abandon  him  to  the  decision  of  the  Council, 
which  would  be  assuredly  fatal,  unless  he  would   submit.     But  to 
have  submitted  would  have  involved  a  retractation  of  propositions  he 
had  never  maintained  ;  or  of  truths,  in  regard   to  the  corruptions 
of  the  Clergy,  and  the  exorbitant  pretensions  of  the  Popes,  that  he 
could  not  conscientiously  deny ;  and  the  Archbishop  of  Riga  recon- 
ducted  him  to  his  cell  in  the  monastery.     A  third  public  examination 
(June  8th)  was  conducted  in  a  similar  manner,  and  with  the  like 
result.     New  accusations  were  brought,  menaces  and  entreaties  were 
tried ;  but  he  resisted  all,  and,  attended  by  his  noble  friend,  John 
of  Chlum,  and  laden  with  irons,  was  carried  back  to  prison.     Thither 
a  form  of  abjuration  was  sent  him,  which  he  might  have  signed,  as  the 
terms  were  general,  and  even  the  same  as  he  had  himself  employed  ; 
but  he  knew  that  by  such  an  abjuration  he  would  seem  to  have  swerved 
from  strict  integrity,  and  therefore  humbly,  but  steadfastly,  refused. 
Efforts    to    subdue   his    constancy  were   incessantly   repeated.     The 
Council  wished,  at  least,  to  humble  him  into  the  condition  of  a  self- 
convicted  penitent,  while  Sigismund  faltered  in  giving  up  a  man  who 
had  come  to  the  Council  under  the  faith  of  his  own  safe-conduct ; 
and,  although  he  had  said  that  he  would  readily  bring  the  fire  to  burn 
him  with   his   own    hand,  still   hesitated.     After   some  weeks   had 
passed  thus,  the  Archbishop  of  Riga  came  to  the  prison,  (July  6th,) 
and  required  him  to  appear  again  before  the  Council.     A  Cardinal 
presided.     The  Emperor  and  all  the  Princes  of  the  empire  were  there, 
with  an  immense  multitude  of  spectators.  As  Huss  reached  the  church- 
door  they  were  singing  mass,  and  he  was  made  to  wait  on  the  outside 
until  the  mysteries  were  over,  lest  they  should  be  profaned  by  the 
presence  of  a  heretic.     In  the  body  of  the  church  was  a  high  table, 
on  which  were  laid  a  suit  of  Priest's  habits,  and  behind  it  a  lofty 
stool,  on  which  the  obstinate  Bohemian  was  to  be  seated.     He  took 
the  seat,  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the  vast  congregation,  bowed  his 
head,  and  offered  silent  prayer.     As  he  thus  cast  himself  into  the 
hands  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  supreme  Judge,  the  Bishop  of  Lodi  mounted 
the  pulpit ;  and,  taking  for  his  text  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  That  the 
body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,"    began  with  describing  the  evils  of 
the  schism  of  the  Church  by  Antipopes  ;  advanced  to  those  of  heresy, 
as  a  consequence  of  schism ;  and  then,  addressing  the  Emperor,  and 
pointing  to  Huss,  said,  "  Destroy  heresies  and  errors,  but  chiefly  that 
obstinate  heretic"     Sermon  being  ended,  the  Bishop  of  Concordia 
arose,  and  read  a  decree  of  the  Council,  commanding  all  present,  even 


HUSS    MARTYRED.  13 

Emperor,    Kings,    Cardinals,  and    Bishops,  to    keep    perfect    silence 
during    the    ceremony    to    follow,    under   penalty   of   imprisonment. 
Several  articles,  said  to  be  taken  from  WycliftVs  •writings,  were  then 
recited,  and  declared  heretical ;  and  others,  attributed  to  Huss,  were 
treated   in   the  same  manner.     He   endeavoured   to    disclaim   some 
of  them,  but  was  silenced ;  and,  neither  being  permitted  to  address 
his  Judges  nor  the  assembled  multitude,  fell  on  his  knees,  raised  his 
hands  towards  heaven,  and  in  a  loud  voice  repeated  his  appeal  to 
Jesus  Christ,  the  sovereign  Judge  of  all.     The  Council  and  the  spec- 
tators were  mute,  in  fear  of  the  punishment  denounced  on  any  who 
should  speak  or  break  silence  by  any  movement  of  hand  or  foot,  a 
few,  perhaps,  excepted,  who  endeavoured  to  enforce  the  prohibition 
upon  him.     But  he  would  not  keep  silence.     He  prayed  fervently  to 
Christ ;  and  then,  standing  up,  briefly  justified  himself  in  answer  to  a 
reproach  for  having  preached  at  Prague  when  under  excommunica- 
tion, complained  of  the  contempt  and  violence  inflicted  on  his  Proc- 
tors, whom  he  had  sent  to  Rome  to  answer  in  his  cause,  and  declared 
that   he   had  freely  come   to  that   Council,  because  under  the  safe- 
conduct  of  the  Emperor  there  present ;  on  whom,  speaking  thus,  he 
fixed  his  eyes.     Sigismund  could  not  conceal  a  blush  ;  and  the  inci- 
dent was  not  forgotten  when,   a  century  afterwards,   Luther  stood 
before  Charles  V.  at  Worms.     Solicited  to  give  up  Luther  to  the  ven- 
geance of  his  enemies,  Charles  replied,  "  I  do  not  care  to  blush  with 
my  predecessor,  Sigisraund."     The  Proctor  of  the  Council  then  called 
on  the  Bishop  of  Concordia,  who  read  two  sentences ;  one  condemn- 
ing the  books  of  Huss  to  be  burned,  and  the  other  himself  to  be 
degraded.     A  company  of  Bishops  were  appointed  to  carry  the  degra- 
dation into  effect  forthwith.     He  was,  therefore,  robed  and  unrobed, 
according  to  the  form  prescribed.     Throughout  the  whole  process  he 
neither  betrayed  fear  nor  kept  silence,  but  made  every  objectionable 
sentence,  and  each  ceremonial  act,  a  subject  of  observation.     From 
degradation  the  Council  proceeded  to  deliver  him  over  to  the  secular 
arm,  as  his  soul  had  been  already,  to  use  their  words,  "  committed  to 
the  devils."      Sigismund  received  him  accordingly,   as  Advocate  and 
Protector  of  the  Church ;  and  commanded  the  Elector  Palatine,  as 
Vicar  of  the  empire,  to  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  justice.     The 
Elector  handed  him  over  to  the  Magistrates  of  Constance ;  and  the 
city  Sergeants  and  executioner  were  ready  to  do  their  work.     With 
this  began  a  new  •  ceremony.     Four   Sergeants  placed  him  between 
them,  and  moved  out  of  the  church.     The  Princes  of  the  empire  fol- 
lowed, and  after  them  a  large  body  of  armed  men.     The  procession 
passed  slowly  through  a  dense  mass  of  spectators,  taking  the  episcopal 
palace  in  their  way,  that  Huss  might  see  there  a  bonfire  of  his  books. 
He  did  see  the  fire,  but  could  not  forbear  smiling  at  the  impotence 
of  a  persecution  that  was  wreaking,  its  vengeance  on  parchment  and 
paper,   after  the   truths   thereon  written   had  gone  forth   into  the 
world.     But,   mindful   of  his   nearness    to   the  divine  tribunal,  he 
approached    the   place   of    execution   with    solemnity,    knelt   down, 
recited  some  passages  from  the  penitential  psalms,  and  said,  "  Lord 
Jesus,   have  mercy,   on  me !   into  thy  hands   I  commit  my  spirit." 


14  CHAPTER    I. 

Having  expressed  a  desire  to  confess,  a  Priest  came  to  him,  and 
desired  that  he  should  first  recant,  as,  according  to  canon  law,  a 
heretic  can  neither  administer  nor  receive  a  sacrament.  But  that  was 
to  him  impossible.  Once  more  he  called  on  the  Saviour :  "  Lord 
Jesus,  I  humbly  suffer  this  cruel  death  for  thy  sake ;  and  I  pray 
thee  to  forgive  all  my  enemies."  He  was  then  bound  to  the 
stake,  with  many  marks  of  ignominy,  which  he  meekly  suffered ; 
and  the  wood  was  piled  round  him.  At  that  moment  the  Elector 
Palatine  and  the  Marshal  of  the  empire  came  forward,  and  exhorted 
him  to  retract,  and  save  his  life.  But  he  declared  that  what  he  had 
written  and  taught  was  only  to  rescue  souls  from  the  power  of  the 
devil,  and  deliver  them  from  the  tyranny  of  sin  ;  and  that  he  was 
glad  to  seal  his  doctrine  with  his  blood.  The  Elector  withdrew,  the 
wood  was  kindled,  and  John  Huss,  suffocated  in  the  flames,  quickly 
ceased  to  suffer. 

They  say  that  the  Hussites  gathered  earth  from  the  spot,  and  carried 
it  to  Prague  ;  and  that  a  Cardinal,  on  the  other  hand,  caused  a  dead 
mule  to  be  buried  there.*  Those  expressions  of  malice  and  venera- 
tion were  equally  trivial ;  and  whether  or  not  this  victim  of  Papistical 
hatred  should  be  associated  with  martyrs  to  Gospel  truth,  is  still  a 
question.  His  doctrine,  as  his  works  show,  was  not  in  all  points  evan- 
gelical ;  and  he  was  rather  eminent  as  an  antagonist  of  ecclesiastical 
wickedness  than  as  a  preacher  of  saving  truth.  Heresy,  indeed,  is  the 
name  of  every  offence  committed  against  Rome,  and  it  was  therefore 
applied  to  him  ;  but  he  faithfully  acted  up  to  what  he  knew,  and 
chose  to  die  rather  than  break  the  law  of  God.  His  real  offences 
appear  to  have  been  these  :  Approving  of  the  writings  of  Wycliffe, 
although  he  never  adopted  all  Wycliffe's  doctrine  ;  offending  the  Ger- 
mans in  a  quarrel  between  them  and  the  Bohemians  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Prague  ;  being  a  realist,  whereas  the  Clergy  at  Constance  were 
principally  nominalists,  and  the  Doctors  of  those  philosophical  sects 
hated  each  other  with  bitterest  aversion.  And  it  has  been  affirmed, 
that  the  higher  Clergy,  mortified  at  the  effects  of  his  preaching  at 
Prague  in  promotion  of  the  ancient  usages  of  the  Bohemian  church, 
and  to  the  discredit  of  the  foreign  Priests,  employed  bribery  and 
intrigue  to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  those  who  might  otherwise  have 
exerted  themselves  to  save  his  life  ;  while  his  firmness  was  regarded 
as  obstinacy,  and  irritated  even  those  who  otherwise  would  have  been 
willing  to  pronounce  a  milder  sentence. f  Yet  the  event  of  his  death, 
and  that  of  his  friend  Jerome,  was  so  influential  on  the  subsequent 
state  of  Europe,  that  a  distinct  narration  of  their  sufferings  could  not 
be  omitted. 

We  pause  for  a  moment  to  mark  an  impression  which  con- 
stantly characterized  the  mind  of  Huss.  He  felt  that  he  had  still 
much  to  learn ;  believed  that  Gospel  truth  would  yet  be  better  under- 
stood ;  and,  while  in  custody  at  Constance,  writing  to  Prague,  expressed 
a  hope  that,  if  spared  to  return  home,  he  might  be  favoured  with 
grace  to  attain  to  greater  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  in 

*  L'Enfant,  Council  of  Constance,  books  i.,  ii.,  iii. 
t   Mosheim, 'Eecles.  History,  cent,  xv.,  part  2, 


HUSS    PREDICTED    A    REFORMATION.  15 

order  that  he  might  destroy  that  of  Antichrist.  This  idea  possessed 
his  mind,  was  produced  in  letters  and  in  conversation,  until  his  perse- 
cutors feared  to  leave  him  at  large,  lest  he  should  commit  further 
innovations,  and,  as  a  cherished  hope  that  occupied  the  imagination, 
appeared  to  himself  in  dreams.  One  night,  either  at  Constance  or 
Gotleben,  he  dreamt  that  he  was  in  his  church  of  Bethlehem,  painting 
on  the  wall  a  representation  of  Jesus  Christ.  While  admiring  the 
figure,  some  one  came  and  defaced  it ;  but  next  day  other  painters 
came,  far  more  skilful  than  he,  and  covered  the  walls  with  pictures 
of  the  Saviour,  far  surpassing  his :  a  crowd  of  Bishops  and  Priests 
came  in,  and  bade  those  also  be  defaced  ;  but  the  artists  defied  the 
Clerks,  the  people  applauded,  the  paintings  remained,  and  Christ  was 
exhibited  at  Bethlehem  in  spite  of  them.  During  the  last  hours 
of  his  life,  when  appealing  from  the  iniquitous  sentence  of  the  Council 
to  that  of  Christ,  he  appears  to  have  said  many  things  under  the 
influence  of  this  hope.  Those  sentences  were  not  prophetic,  in  the 
proper  acceptation  of  the  word,  but,  dictated  by  a  strong  persuasion 
that  a  reformation  was  at  hand,  were  remembered  by  some  who  heard 
them,  were  repeated  in  Bohemia,  and  one  was  thought  remarkable 
enough  to  be  perpetuated  on  a  medal  struck  to  commemorate  his 
martyrdom.  The  medal  is,  or  was,  in  the  cabinet  of  the  King 
of  Prussia,  with  a  portrait  of  Huss  on  one  side,  his  name,  (Joa.  Hus.,) 
and  a  legend  on  the  margin,  "  Credo  unam  ecclesiam  sanctam  cato- 
licam,"  "I  believe  one  holy  catholic  church;'*  and  on  the  reverse, 
Huss  at  the  stake,  with  an  inscription,  "  Jo.  Hus.  anno  a  Christo 
nato  1415  condemnatur,"  "John  Huss  is  condemned  in  the  year 
1415  from  the  birth  of  Christ."  And  a  legend,  "  Centum  revolutis 
annis  Deo  respondebitis  et  mihi : "  "  When  a  hundred  years  are  past, 
ye  shall  answer  to  God  and  to  me."  A  hundred  years  afterwards,  or 
little  more,  (A.D.  1517,)  Luther  appeared,  like  Huss,  as  the  antagonist 
of  Tetzel,  a  seller  of  indulgences  ;  and  so  striking  is  the  coincidence, 
that  some  Romanists  have  disputed  the  authenticity  of  the  medal  with 
the  same  argument  as  that  which  Porphyry  levelled  at  the  book 
of  Daniel :  "  It  is  so  exactly  true,  that  the  prediction  must  have  been 
written  after  the  event."  But  numismatists  allow  that  the  medal 
is  of  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and,  therefore,  whenever  struck,  at  what- 
ever time  during  the  Hussite  war,  it  was  anterior  to  the  event,  and 
earlier  than  any  indication  of  the  rise  of  Luther.*  From  such  facts 
as  these  our  conclusion  is,  that  Huss  and  his  contemporaries  did  not 
regard  their  own  affairs  as  distinct  from  a  general  renovation  of  the 
Church,  nor  their  labours  as  independent  of  the  agency  of  God. 

We  now  return  to  Jerome.  Five  months  had  elapsed  from  the  time 
of  his  arrest  on  the  way  towards  Constance.  During  this  period  of  sick- 
ness and  imprisonment  he  had  been  subjected  to  several  examinations 
and  innumerable  visits,  for  the  sake  ef  extorting  a  confession  of  heresy, 
and  gathering  materials  to  justify  a  condemnatory  sentence.  The 
burning  of  his  friend,  too,  whom  he  came  at  first  to  defend,  was 
enough  to  convince  him  that  his  death  was  desired.  Thus,  when  every 

*  L'Enfant,  Council  of  Constance,  i..  446 — 449 ;  Gerdesii  Historia  Refomnationis, 
i..  51,52. 


16  CHAPTER    I. 

thing  conspired  to  overcome  him,  he  was  taken  before  a  public  con- 
gregation (Sept.  llth)  in  St.  Paul's  church,  and  induced  to  sign  a 
writing  condemnatory  of  the  forty-five  articles  of  Wycliffe,  and  the 
thirty  articles  of  Huss.  But  he  added  some  limitations  that  spoiled 
the  triumph  of  the  fathers.  Encouraged,  however,  by  so  great  a  con- 
cession, they  redoubled  their  efforts  to  weary  or  frighten  him  into  a 
retractation  of  whatever  heterodoxy  in  religion  or  scholasticism  had 
been  laid  to  his  charge  ;  and  by  the  next  session  of  the  Council, 
(Sept.  23d,)  a  form  of  retractation  was  prepared.  First,  the  Cardinal 
of  Cambray,  one  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  confer  with  him, 
read  the  document  in  full  Council ;  and  then  Jerome  himself  read  it 
aloud,  anathematizing  all  heresies,  especially  those  of  Wycliffe ;  the 
doctrine  which  he  had  learned  at  Oxford,  and  sedulously  promoted  in 
Bohemia  and  in  many  other  countries  ;  and  that  of  his  martyred 
friend,  whose  cause  he  had  vowed  never  to  desert.  None  of  the 
usual  terms  of  detestation  were  wanting,  nor  any  profession  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  Church.  But,  after  all,  instead  of  receiving  solemn  abso- 
lution and  reconciliation  to  the  Church,  he  was  remanded  to  prison, 
and  merely  allowed  a  little  mitigation  of  severity,  with  permission  to 
move  about  within  the  walls.  And  his  worst  forebodings  were  to  be 
realized.  Michael  de  Causis  and  Stephen  Paletz,  the  two  chief  ene- 
mies of  Huss,  had  been  collecting  new  charges,  and  demanded, 
together  with  the  Carmelites  of  Prague,  that  he  should  be  tried  again. 
The  Cardinal  Commissioners,  who  thought  they  had  conducted  the 
negotiation  to  a  satisfactory  issue,  objected  to  the  trial  of  one 
whom  the  Council  had  admitted  to  reconciliation  ;  but  the  accusers 
pressed  for  a  second  hearing  ;  some  one  remonstrated  with  them  on 
their  reluctance  to  try  so  notorious  a  disturber  of  the  Church,  and 
even  uttered  a  suspicion  that  they  had  been  bribed  to  intercede  for 
him  by  the  King  of  Bohemia,  or  by  the  Hussites.  The  Cardinals, 
indignant  at  the  imputation  of  complicity  with  heretics,  resigned  their 
commission,  and  others  were  immediately  appointed  to  act  in  their 
stead.  Tn  addition  to  mere  dogmatizing,  the  Carmelites  accused  him 
of  monstrous  offences  against  God  and  man,  outrages  of  humanity 
and  decency,  which,  notwithstanding  the  length  of  time  that  had 
passed  since  the  alleged  perpetration  of  no  less  crimes  than  sacrilege, 
incest,  and  even  murder,  had  not  been  thought  of  until  then.  But 
it  was  enough.  The  accusation  was  gravely  admitted  by  the  Council, 
and  Jerome  was  again  set  before  them  (May  23d,  1416).  But  he  seemed 
to  be  another  man.  Disgusted  at  their  conduct,  and  repentant  of  his 
fall,  he  had  refused  to  be  examined  on  oath  by  the  new  Commission- 
ers ;  and  refused  also  to  be  sworn  before  the  Council,  unless  they 
would  previously  allow  him  perfect  liberty  of  speech.  That  was 
refused,  and  the  matter  adjourned  to  an  early  day,  when  he  was 
brought  to  a  congregation,  and,  still  without  submitting  to  be  sworn, 
briefly  denied  the  charges,  recapitulated  their  proceedings  towards  him 
from  the  first,  and  closed  by  making  public  confession  of  his  coward- 
ice. "  Nothing,"  said  he,  "  but  the  fear  of  punishment  by  fire  made 
me  consent  basely,  and  against  my  conscience,  to  the  condemnation 
of  the  doctrine  of  Wycliffe  and  John  Huss."  And  he  described  his 


JEROME    OF    PRAGUE    IS    BURNT.  17 

recantation  as  the  greatest  crime  he  had  ever  been  guilty  of.  Nothing 
therefore  remained  for  his  enemies  to  do  but  to  condemn  him  to  the 
stake.  The  sentence  was  read  in  the  next  session  of  the  Council, 
(May  30th,)  when  the  Bishop  of  Lodi,  who  had  officiated  in  the  same 
way  at  the  degradation  of  Huss,  preached  a  sermon.  Jerome  stood  on 
a  bench  and  made  a  speech  that  still  remains  as  reported  by  Poggio 
of  Florence,  who  acknowledged  that  all  present  were  deeply  affected  by 
his  resistless  eloquence  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  some,  even  then,  compas- 
sionately entreated  him  to  recant  again.  But  he  was  not  to  be  moved. 
The  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  read  the  sentence  of  "  the  sacred 
Synod,"  casting  him  out  as  a  withered  branch,  a  heretic  relapsed,  ex- 
communicated, and  accursed.  They  forthwith  delivered  him  to  the 
secular  power,  with  a  charge  that,  whatever  they  might  do  with  him,  he 
should  be  treated  with  humanity,  and  not  insulted.  Being  a  layman, 
there  was  no  ceremony  of  degradation  ;  a  paper  cap  or  mitre  was  put 
on  his  head,  like  that  which  Huss  had  worn,  with  devils  painted  on 
it ;  the  Sergeants  laid  hold  on  him,  and  led  him  away  to  the  place 
of  burning.  He  walked  steadily,  singing  hymns  as  he  went,  and  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  At  the  stake,  he  knelt  down  and  made  a  long 
prayer,  but  in  a  low  voice,  and  was  then  bound,  and  faggots  heaped 
round  him  to  the  chin.  While  they  were  arranging  the  wood,  he 
sang  the  Paschal  hymn, 

"  Salve,  festa  dies  toto  venerabilis  aevo, 

Qua  Deus  iufernum  vicit,  et  astra  tenens." 

"  Hail !  happy  day,  and  ever  be  adored, 
When  hell  was  conquer'd  by  great  heaven's  Lord." 

He  told  the  people  that  as  he  had  sung  so  he  believed ;  but  that  he 
suffered  there  because  he  would  not  consent  to  the  counsel  of  the 
Priests  who  had  condemned  John  Huss,  an  upright  and  holy  man,  a 
true  Preacher  of  the  law  and  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  For  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  struggled  with  the  pain  of  martyrdom,  pray- 
ing in  Bohemian  as  long  as  he  could  articulate.  JEneas  Sylvius 
(afterwards  Pope)  wrote  of  these  martyrs,  that  "  they  suffered  death 
with  very  great  constancy,  and  went  to  the  fire  as  if  it  had  been  to  a 
feast,  without  complaint.  While  the  fire  was  kindling  about  them, 
they  sang  a  hymn,  which  neither  the  flame  nor  the  crackling  of  the 
burning  faggots  interrupted.  We  do  not  find  that  any  of  the  philo- 
sophers suffered  death  with  so  much  courage  as  theirs  amidst  the 
fire."  *  In  the  same  session  of  this  Council,  when  Jerome  was  con- 
demned, the  notorious  declaration  was  made,  that  faith  is  not  to  be 
kept  with  heretics ;  f  a  doctrine  which  it  is  easy  for  Romanists  to  dis- 

*  L'Enfant,  Council  of  Constance,  books  iii.,  iv. 

t  Such  a  declaration  was,  doubtless,  made,  and  the  understanding  that  faith  was  not 
to  be  kept  with  heretics,  must  have  been  general  among  the  clerical  part  of  the  great 
assemblage  at  Constance,  and  acquiesced  in  by  the  laymen,~the  Bohemians  and  Poles 
excepted.  But  the  fathers  were  not  so  imprudent  as  to  embody  the  principle  of  perfidy 
in  so  many  written  words.  The  decree  relating  to  this  subject  is  to  be  found  in  the 
printed  Acts  of  the  Council,  and  is  thus  literally  translated  :  "  The  present  holy  Synod 
declares,  that  no  safe-conduct  whatsoever,  granted  by  Emperor,  Kings,  and  other 
secular  Princes  to  heretics,  or  to  persons  under  the  infamy  of  heresy,  thinking  (that  is, 
the  grantors  of  safe-conduct  thinking)  to  recall  the  same  from  their  errors,  by  what- 
VOL.  111.  D 


IS  CHAPTER    I. 

own,  but  which  their  Church  has  not  yet  relinquished.  Their  chief 
business,  the  healing  of  the  schism,  was  completed  in  the  enthrone- 
ment of  Martin  V.  ;  but  the  disastrous  consequences  of  burning  the 
two  Bohemians  extended  through  the  century,  yet  attended  with  other 
results  of  a  very  different  kind,  of  which  the  existence,  at  this  day, 
of  the  United  Brethren,  or  Moravians,  is  a  triumphant  evidence.  As 
fcr  Constance,  it  was  ruined  by  the  Council,  and  has  not  recovered  to 
this  day.  The  Hussite  war,  as  it  is  called,  and  the  rise  of  the  Bohe- 
mian Brethren,  are,  therefore,  the  two  great  events  that  now  demand 
attention. 

Between  the  Bohemian  nobles  and  others  at  Prague,  representatives 
of  Bohemia  at  Constance,  and  the  Council,  there  had  been  much  cor- 
respondence ;  but  their  countrymen  were  sacrificed  to  sectarian  malig- 
nity, in  spite  of  every  remonstrance.  Passing  by  the  laity  as  if  they 
were  not  entitled  to  any  consideration,  the  Council  sent  a  letter  to 
the  Archbishop,  Chapter,  and  Clergy  of  Prague,  a  few  days  after  the 
execution  of  Huss,  to  inform  them  that,  after  long  patience  and 
innumerable  efforts  to  retrieve  him  from  the  unutterable  and  detest- 
able heresy  of  Wycliffe,  and  hearing  unexceptionable  evidence  that  he 
had  laboured  to  subvert  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  to 
engage  the  people  in  his  damnable  doctrine,  they  had  been  compelled 
to  condemn  him  as  a  notorious  heretic,  degrade  him  from  the  priest- 
hood, and  deliver  him  to  the  secular  arm  for  final  punishment.  They 
then  exhorted  the  Bohemians  to  be  animated  with  the  like  zeal  for  the 
extirpation  of  heresy,  and  to  excite  their  King  to  do  the  same ;  but 
enjoined  the  Clergy  to  use  all  diligence  in  that  holy  work,  under  pain 

of  excommunication,  deprivation  of  their  benefices,  and  degradation. 

0 

ever  obligation  (quocunque  vinculo)  they  may  bind  themselves,  either  can  or  ought 
to  cause  any  prejudice  to  Catholic  faith,  or  obstruction  to  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  ;  but 
that  it  is  lawful,  notwithstanding,  to  a  competent  and  ecclesiastical  Judge,  to  inquire 
concerning  the  errors  of  this  kind  of  persons,  and  otherwise  to  proceed  duly  against 
them,  and  punish  them,  as  far  as  justice  shall  require,  (sztadebit,)  if  they  pertinaciously 
refuse  to  retract  their  errors,  even  if,  trusting  in  a  safe-conduct,  they  come  to  the  place 
of  judgment,  which  otherwise  they  would  not  have  done.  (And  the  Synod  declares 
that)  neither  does  the  (Prince)  so  promising,  when  they  shall  have  done  as  is  herein 
expressed,  any  longer  remain  under  any  obligation.  Which  statute,  or  ordinance,  Lav- 
ing been  read,  the  same  statute  was  approved  by  the  Lord  Bishops  in  the  name  of  the 
four  nations,  and  by  the  most  reverend  father,  the  Lord  Cardinal,  Bishop  of  Ostia,  in  the 
name  of  the  College  of  Cardinals,  by  the  word  Placet."  (Binii  Cone.  Gen.  et  Provinc., 
torn,  iii.,  pars  2  :  Cone.  Const.  Sessio.  XIX.)  The  truth  is,  that  the  Church  ignores 
the  authority  of  Princes  to  protect  their  subjects,  or  themselves  either,  from  penalties 
inflicted  by  the  ecclesiastical  Judge.  Not  only  does  the  decree  mean  that  faith  is  not  to 
be  kept  with  heretics,  but  that  it  is  to  be  withheld  from  them  ;  that  the  heretic,  real  or 
even  reputed,  is  outlawed,  ipso  facto ;  that  when  a  man  is  harcseos  imputatus,  under 
the  imputation  of  heresy,  though  that  imputation  be  never  so  false  and  malicious,  he  is  at 
once  withdrawn  from  secular  to  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  Faith  is  not  kept,  because,  in 
such  cases,  faith  is  out  of  the  question.  The  decree  is,  in  form,  a  simple  assertion  of  ec- 
clesiastical superiority  over  all  earthly  tribunals  ;  but,  in  reality,  is  all  that  the  most  partial 
Protestant  expositor  could  represent  it  to  be.  But  we  must  not  overlook  an  important 
fact,  that  the  "  Placet,"  or  affirmative  vote,  was  only  given  by  Cardinals  and  Bishops  ;  and 
that  the  cowardice  and  perfidy  of  Sigismnnd  towards  John  Huss  did  not  suffice  to  raise 
this  outrage  on  common  justice  and  humanity  by  their  hands,  into  an  acknowledged 
precedent.  At  the  diet  of  Worms,  Charles  V.  refused  to  blush  with  hin  predecessor,  Sigis- 
mund,  rightly  considered  the  imperial  sword  to  be  better,  in  such  a  case,  than  the  cro- 
zier,  and  protected  Lnther,  in  spite  of  solicitations  to  give  him  up  to  the  inquisitors 
of  heresy.  It  is  the  pretension  that  shows  the  spirit  of  the  Latin  Church,  whatever  bv 
its  power  or  its  weakness. 


REMONSTRANCE  OF  THE  BOHEMIANS.  19 

On  hearing  of  this  letter,  about  sixty  chief  persons,  being  the  most 
powerful  of  the  Bohemian  nobility,  and  not  fewer  than  four  hundred 
others,  assembled  in  the  church  of  Bethlehem,  (Sept.  5th,  1415,) 
decreed  the  honours  of  martyrdom  to  John  Huss,  and  to  his  friend 
Jerome,  whom  they  supposed  to  have  been  already  executed.  They 
unanimously  gave  the  fathers  of  Constance  the  titles  of  murderers 
and  hangmen,  and  declared  their  sentence  to  be  nothing  less  than  an 
insult  to  the  Sovereign  and  to  the  nation  of  Bohemia.  A  letter, 
previously  written,  and  therefore  conveying  their  deliberate  judgment, 
was  read  again,  received  their  signatures,  and  was  intrusted  to  a 
faithful  messenger.  They  therein  told  the  Council  that  the  reverend 
master  John  Huss,  Bachelor  of  Divinity  and  Preacher  of  the  Gospel, 
had  been  condemned  and  put  to  a  cruel  death  as  a  heretic,  without 
having  been  convicted  of  any  error  or  heresy,  on  the  false  accusation 
of  his  enemies,  and  those  of  the  kingdom,  by  the  instigation  of 
traitors,  and  to  the  eternal  scandal  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia.  That 
this  had  been  already  said  in  a  writing  sent  through  Sigismund  the 
Emperor,  and  successor  to  the  throne  of  Bohemia,  which  writing, 
instead  of  being  read  in  Council,  was  contemptuously  burnt.  They 
therefore  protested,  with  heart  and  voice,  that  Huss  was  a  most 
honest,  just,  and  catholic  man,  long  known  and  honoured  by  them, 
and  his  writings  still  held  in  high  esteem.  Not  content  with  this, 
the  Council,  they  complained,  had  proceeded  against  Jerome,  and, 
probably,  put  him  also  to  death ;  and,  as  if  those  outrages  were  too 
little,  had  admitted  slanderous  accusations  of  heresy  against  the  King 
and  people.  Therefore,  by  those  presents,  they  solemnly  made  known, 
that  whosoever  had  affirmed  that  heresy  was  propagated  in  Bohemia 
and  Moravia,  lied  capitally,  and  was  himself  guilty  of  villany,  treason, 
and  heresy ;  excepting,  however,  Sigismund,  whom  they  believed  to 
be  innocent  of  calumniating  them.  They  left  the  guilty  to  the  judg- 
ment of  God  ;  reserved  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Pope,  when  there 
should  be  a  Pope  over  all  the  Church  ;  but  prayed  that  effectual 
remedies  might  be  applied  to  the  evils  of  the  kingdom,  and  declared 
themselves  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  law  of  Christ, 
and  of  his  faithful  Preachers,  who  expounded  that  law  with  zeal, 
humility,  and  constancy,  notwithstanding  any  human  constitutions  to 
the  contrary.  And  they  passed  some  resolutions  in  the  same  assem- 
blv,  amounting  to  a  withdrawal  of  their  national  Church  from  foreign 
jurisdiction,  leaving  the  appointment  of  Pastors  to  the  secular  autho- 
rity, and  the  administration  of  orders  and  internal  discipline  to  the 
Bohemian  episcopate  alone.  A  most  important  determination,  indica- 
tive of  the  doctrine  of  episcopal  independence  ;  a  doctrine  constantly 
repeated  all  over  Popedom,  and,  ever  since,  threatening  the  disinte- 
gration of  the  Papal  system. 

On  the  receipt  of  the  remopstrance,  the  fathers  thought  it 
desirable  to  appease  the  indignation  of  the  writers,  if  that  could 
be  done  by  sparing  Jerome,  who  was  still  languishing  under  dis- 
ease and  anxiety  in  his  prison,  and  therefore  made  extraordinary 
efforts  to  extort  from  him  a  recantation  ;  but,  as  we  know,  without 
ultimate  success  : .  for  the  zealots,  by  intemperance,  frustrated  the 

D  2 


20  CHAPTER    I. 

endeavour  of  the  more  sagacious,  whose  prudence  was  only  mo- 
mentary. The  Council  issued  an  edict,  (Feb.  23d,  1416,)  to  be 
affixed  to  all  the  church-doors  of  Constance,  reciting  the  proceedings 
of  the  heresiarchs,  or  ministers  of  damnation,  as  they  chose  to  call 
them,  who  had  set  themselves  up  above  the  hierarchy  of  the  Church 
militant,  and  were  followed  by  increasing  multitudes  in  Bohemia  and 
Moravia.  "Adding  iniquity  to  iniquity,"  said  they,  "they  write 
defamatory  letters,  sealed  with  their  seals,  in  which  they  under- 
take the  vindication  and  praise  of  John  Huss,  who  was  burnt  by 
the  just  judgment  of  God  and  our  sentence."  They  spurned  the 
men  who  had  presumed  audaciously  to  address  the  sacred  Coun- 
cil ;  resolved  to  smother  and  crush  the  spreading  doctrine  ;  declared 
all  the  signers  of  the  letter,  who  were  none  other  than  the  flower 
and  strength  of  the  Bohemian  nobility,  to  be  publicly  defamed, 
and  suspected  of  heresy ;  and,  as  they  could  not  be  come  at  with 
safety  in  their  dwellings,  summoned  them  to  appear  before  the 
high  tribunal  at  Constance. 

No  more  appears  to  have  been  done  until  four  or  five  months 
afterwards,  except  deliberation  in  the  congregations,  until  the 
edict  was  read  in  Council ;  and  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
already  honoured  with  the  office  of  Inquisitor  extraordinary,  was 
appointed  to  examine  any  Hussites  who  might  make  their  appear- 
ance, and  report.  But  one  only,  and  he  a  political  conformist, 
was  the  trophy  won  by  the  perseverance  of  the  sacred  Synod. 
Henry  of  Latzenbock,  a  man  distinguished  in  high  office,  and 
once  a  friend  of  Huss,  abjured  his  doctrine ;  but,  unlike  most  rene- 
gades, was  very  lukewarm  in  the  bad  cause  of  persecution.  They 
next  wrote  to  Sigismund,  soliciting  his  help  to  resist  a  persecution 
which,  they  said,  the  Catholic  Church  was  suffering  in  Bohemia, 
where,  in  fact,  the  declamations  of  their  adherent  Clergy  provoked 
reprisals  from  those  who  had  seceded,  and  aroused  the  anger  of  a  rude 
and  often  furious  population.  Wenceslaus,  the  King,  was,  no  doubt, 
mortified  at  seeing  the  Council  lay  his  kingdom  under  excommunica- 
tion, or  a  charge  of  prevailing  heresy,  which  was  almost  equivalent 
with  interdict,  and  perplexed  at  finding  his  brother  Sigismund  sub- 
servient to  the  Council.  He  could  neither  suppress  the  tumult,  nor 
assume  a  position  hostile  to  the  Church. 

But  there  were  two  nobles  whose  courage  and  patriotism  urged 
them  to  head  a  revolt  against  the  alien  oppressors.  One  was 
Nicholas  of  Hussinetz,  already  mentioned  as  a  relative  and  prote  tor 
of  Huss.  The  other  was  John  of  Trocznou,  "  the  formidable  Ziska."* 
He  had  served  as  a  General  in  foreign  war,  received  many  wounds, 
and  won  the  respect  of  his  countrymen  and  the  favour  of  his 
Sovereign.  He  despised  the  licentious  priesthood ;  and  the  dis- 
honour of  a  sister  had  deepened  his  contempt  into  hatred  of  the 
monastic  orders.  But  Huss  he  had  revered  as  the  great  Doctor 
and  advocate  of  his  country.  Just  after  the  intelligence  of  the  death 

*  They  who  understand  Bohemian  say,  that  Ziska  means  "  oiie-eyed,"  John  of 
Trocznou  having  lost  an  eye  in  battle. 


ZISKA    AND    HUSSINETZ.  21 

of  Huss  had  reached  Prague,  he  was  walking  thoughtfully  in  the 
court-yard  of  the  royal  palace,  absorbed  in  sad  reflection  on  the  wrongs 
inflicted  on  Bohemia.  Wenceslaus  was  near,  but  unobserved,  and, 
walking  over  to  the  veteran,  pleasantly  asked  what  he  was  think- 
ing about.  "  I  was  thinking,"  said  he,  "  of  the  insult  inflicted  on 
Bohemia  by  the  execution  of  John  Huss."  "  Neither  you  nor  I," 
said  the  King,  "  have  power  to  help  ourselves.  But,  if  you  know 
how  to  do  it,  take  courage,  and  avenge  your  countrymen."  No  more 
\vas  said  ;  but  from  that  moment  Ziska  thought  of  nothing  else.  He 
retired  from  Prague,  and,  attended  by  Coranda,  a  zealous  Preacher, 
laboured  to  instruct  people  in  the  doctrine  of  Huss.  Hussinetz, 
unlike  him,  was  dreaded  by  the  King,  and  disliked  Wenceslaus  in 
return.  Assembling  a  large  body  of  men,  he  encamped  on  a  hill 
near  Prague,  afterwards  called  Tabor,  gathered  multitudes  of  the 
citizens,  and  had  the  eucharist  administered  to  them  in  both  kinds, 
not  so  much  in  memory  of  the  great  sacrifice,  as  in  token  of  opposi- 
tion to  Rome,  and  defiance  of  the  Council.  In  a  short  time,  sur- 
rounded by  forty  thousand  armed  followers,  he  meditated  insurrection, 
and  proposed  that  another  King  should  be  elected,  which  would 
probably  have  been  done,  had  not  the  Priest  just  mentioned,  as  the 
associate  of  Ziska,  suggested,  that  as  they  had  one  who  allowed  them 
to  do  as  they  pleased,  a  change  might  be  for  the  worse. 

Carnal  weapons  were  thus  raised  for  the  overthrow  of  Antichrist ;  but 
being  carnal,  they  were  powerless  for  the  higher  service  by  which  alone 
Antichrist  can  be  overthrown.  The  party  then  raised,  and  afterwards 
largely  multiplied,  were  the  Taborites  of  the  Hussite  war.  All  over 
the  kingdom  the  communion  was  celebrated  in  both  kinds  (March 
17th,  1417).  The  University  published  their  approbation  of  the 
practice ;  and  Peter  of  Wintzov,  a  Professor  of  Divinity,  who  had 
hitherto  opposed  Huss,  now  made  a  public  profession  of  adherence  to 
the  doctrine.  Wenceslaus  shut  himself  up  in  a  fortress,  gave  no 
one  audience,  and  left  Bohemia  without  an  earthly  governor.  Lords 
followed  the  new  worship  ;  Priests  did  the  same ;  and  churches, 
with  permission  of  the  King,  were  taken  into  the  exclusive  pos- 
session of  the  Hussites,  constituting  a  formal  secession  from  Rome 
at  that  time  unprecedented.  The  residuary  Clergy  were  the  minority. 
Their  followers  were  few ;  their  churches  few  ;  their  revenue  dimi- 
nished. Wenceslaus,  who  had  been  persuaded  to  return  to  his  resi- 
dence at  Prague,  'sanctioned  all  by  feeble  assent,  but  supported 
nothing.  Law  was  set  at  nought  by  both  parties.  The  cities  were 
scenes  of  petty  warfare,  and  the  highways  infested  with  robbers. 
Sigismund  wrote  a  letter  of  expostulation  and  threatening,  (Sept.  3d, 
1417,)  addressed  to  a  town  called  Launy,  where  the  defection  appears 
to  have  been  general ;  but  his  language  was  too  lofty,  and  aggravated 
the  strife.  He  sent  a  general  safe^conduct  to  those  who  had  been 
cited  to  the  Council ;  but,  even  if  they  had  been  disposed  to  go,  the 
decree  cited  on  a  former  page  must  have  deterred  every  one  from 
going  to  Constance,  where  no  faith  was  to  be  kept  with  heretics. 
And  the  Council  displayed  that  impotence  and  blindness  which  so 
frequently,  in  their- acts,  remind  us  of  the  infatuation  of  Ahithophel, 


22  CHAPTER    I. 

by  the  enactment  of  a  set  of  articles,*  to  the  effect,  that  the  timorous 
Wenceslaus  should  swear  to  protect  the  Church  in  its  liberties  and 
revenues ;  that  every  Hussite  should  abjure,  or  suffer  the  utmost 
penalty,  as  if  the  majority  of  the  Bohemians  could  be  burnt ;  that 
the  Clergy  should  be  reinstated,  and  the  Church  property  restored ; 
that  the  University  of  Prague  should  be  reformed,  and  all  the 
Wycliflites,  that  is  to  say,  almost  every  member,  be  turned  out  ;  that 
the  leading  heretics  should  appear  at  Rome  ;  and  that  several  other 
things,  equally  impossible,  should  be  done.  Martin  V. — for  by  this 
time  the  Council  had  beaten  off  the  Antipopes,  except  one,  of  whom 
death  disembarrassed  them,  and  created  a  Pontiff  so  designated — 
Martin  V.  followed  this  up  by  a  Bull,  too  insignificant  to  be  recited, 
and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  nobles,  charged  with  the  usual  amount  of 
threatening,  (March,  1418,)  and  only  remarkable  for  allegations,  pro- 
bably true,  that  images  were  broken,  trampled  under  foot,  and  burnt ; 
and  that  laymen  intruded  on  the  priestly  office.  One  or  two  persons 
now  again  abjured  Hussitism  ;  and  in  this  terminates  the  sorry  contest 
of,  the  Council  of  Constance  with  the  insurgents  of  Bohemia  (April 
13th,  1418).  f 

About  sixteen  months  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Council,  (April 
22d,  1418,)  the  King  of  Bohemia  died,  and  Sigismund,  Emperor 
of  Germany,  succeeded  to  the  throne.  A  few  days  (July  30th,  1419) 
before  the  death  of  the  King,  there  was  a  great  tumult  at  Prague. 
To  counteract  the  proceedings  of  the  City-Council,  which  was  alto- 
gether Hussite,  and  had  received  his  sanction,  he  foolishly  created 
another  Council,  which  was  to  supersede  the  old  one.  No  measure 
could  have  been  more  certainly  calculated  to  produce  a  civil  war ;  and 
if  the  King  intended  this,  his  intention  was  fully  answered.  The  new 
Council  imprisoned  two  Hussites.  Ziska,  it  is  said,  assembled  the 
people,  walked  in  procession  at  their  head,  carrying  the  sacramental 
cup  ;  and,  on  arriving  in  front  of  the  Council-house,  demanded  the 
liberation  of  some  Hussite  prisoners.  The  Council  refused,  and  the 
mob  broke  in,  and  flung  thirteen  of  the  new  Councillors  out  at  the 
windows,  who  were  caught  on  the  points  of  lances^  and  butchered  on 
the  spot.  The  death  of  the  King,  (August  16th,)  smothered  by  his 
attendants,  was  the  signal  for  a  general  insurrection.  The  monasteries 
were  entered ;  the  churches  not  already  occupied  by  the  Hussites  -were 
stripped  of  their  idolatrous  decorations  ;  and  a  zealous  Priest  dispensed 
bread  and  wine  to  the  promiscuous  mob,  from  a  rude  table  in  the 
open  street.  The  wealthier  citizens,  dreading  utter  ruin,  sent  to 
Sigismund,  now  their  Sovereign,  for  succour ;  while  Ziska  called 
the  neighbouring  peasantry  to  arms,  who  flocked  into  the  city, 
armed  with  flails  and  other  rustic  implements,  and  besieged  the 
royal  castle,  whence,  however,  the  widow-Queen  had  fled.  Ziska  was 
now  at  the  head  of  the  insurrection ;  and  the  Taborites  ranged 
Bohemia  at  pleasure.  The  chief  men,  Hussites  though  they  were, 
could  not  restrain  the  fury  of  the  armed  population,  and,  therefore, 
sent  a  deputation  to  the  Emperor,  entreating  him,  as  King  of  Bohe- 

*  Bioii,  torn,  iii.,  pars  2  ;  Daraaat.  Errorum  Wicl.  et  Husz. 
t  L'Eufant,  Council  of  Constance,  books  iv.,  v. 


THE    TABOR1TES.  23 

mia,  to  interpose  for  the  pacification  of  the  country,  not  to  suppress 
the  new  worship,  but  to  allow  liberty  to  both  parties.  Sigismuml, 
with  characteristic  pride  and  indecision,  kept  them  kneeling  for  a 
long  time,  and  at  last  refused  their  proposals,  which  would  have  saved 
the  bloodshed  of  a  protracted  war :  he  insulted  all,  both  nobles  and 
peasantry,  and  left  things  to  take  their  course.  Meanwhile,  Hussites 
who  crossed  the  frontiers  were  persecuted,  and  even  burnt.  Acts 
of  that  kind  provoked  horrible  reprisals,  in  which  Ziska  was  not 
guiltless ;  and  a  warfare,  barbarous  as  ever  disgraced  humanity,  raged 
throughout  the  land.  Nor  was  this  all.  The  Hussites,  with  Ziska  at 
their  head,  swore  never  to  acknowledge  Sigismund  as  King  of  Bohe- 
mia ;  and,  in  order  to  abolish  Monkery  altogether,  began  to  pull  down 
the  monasteries  and  commit  other  acts,  which  might  have  been  rightly 
enough  performed  under  legal  or  juridical  sanction,  but  were  utterly 
unjustifiable  as  the  effect  of  tumultuary  violence.  Then  Sigismund, 
instead  of  coming  as  an  acknowledged  and  invited  King,  prepared  to 
invade  Bohemia  as  an  enemy.  The  Queen's  General,  Schwamberg, 
sent  to  open  the  campaign,  came  up  with  Ziska  at  Pilsen,  but 
was  discomfited  by  a  singular  stratagem  of  that  ingenious  soldier. 
He  directed  the  women  of  Pilsen  to  spread  their  gowns  and  veils  on 
the  ground ;  the  horses  got  their  feet  entangled,  many  of  them  fell, 
the  cavalry  were  beaten,  and,  for  a  moment,  Ziska  was  victorious. 
Sigismund  then  joined  the  Queen  in  Silesia ;  and  Bohemia  was 
invaded  with  as  complete  strategy  as  the  soldiers  of  those  times  could 
exhibit.* 

Having  marked  the  first  stage  of  this  war  with  sufficient  distinct- 
ness to  show  that  it  was  provoked  by  the  murder  of  Huss  and  Jerome, 
and  the  insolence  of  the  Council  of  Constance  ;  encouraged  by  the 
imbecility  of  Wenceslaus,  who  even  gave  the  first  hint  to  Ziska, 
and  raised  Hussitisra  by  sanctions,  valid,  although  given  with  reluc- 
tance ;  aggravated  by  the  intemperance  of  the  Popish  Preachers,  and 
by  many  acts  of  overt  persecution  ;  and  embittered  by  the  contempt 
of  Sigismund  ;  we  must  now  pass  over  the  details  of  the  war,  merely 
noticing  the  more  characteristic  incidents. 

The  Hussites  were  by  no  means  alone  in  sacrilegious  and  profane 
excesses.  To  destroy  an  idol,  certainly,  is  not  sacrilege,  or,  if  it  were, 
the  mawmets  of  Popery  should  have  been  receiving  public  veneration 
in  our  own  country  to  the  present  hour.  To  administer  the  emblems 
of  our  Saviour's  passion  to  ungodly  multitudes,  and  that  in  the  camp 
and  in  the  street,  during  the  heat  of  insurrection,  is  so  nearly  pro- 
fane, that  we  should  revolt  from  participation  in  such  a  procedure ; 
but  the  error  at  Prague  arose  out  of  passing  from  a  religious  contro- 
versy into  a  political  strife.  Yet  that  was  the  prevailing  error  of 
Christendom  from  the  days  of  Constantine,  and  is  the  constant  error 
of  Popery.  It  was  forced  on  the*  Bohemians  by  their  oppressors. 
On  the  other  side,  nothing  could  be  more  wantonly  extreme  than  the 
sacrilege  of  Papists.  In  the  beginning  of  this  war,  (Dec.  26th,  1420,) 
an  imperial  Captain  broke  into  the  church  of  Kerczin  during  divine 
service,  ordered  some  of  the  worshippers  to  be  massacred,  and  others 

*"Menzel,  History  of  Germany,  chap.  185, 


24  CHAPTER    I. 

to  be  taken  prisoners  ;  taking  a  chalice  full  of  wine  from  the  commu- 
nion-table, he  drank  health  to  his  horse,  and  then,  putting  the  sacred 
vessel  to  the  brute's  mouth,  declared  that  his  horse,  too,  was  a  utra- 
quist.  A  party  of  horse,  belonging  to  Albert  of  Austria,  in  the 
service  of  Sigismund,  seized  a  village  Curate,  with  his  Chaplain,  three 
peasants,  and  four  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  only  eleven  years 
old.  The  Priest  had  administered  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds  ;  the 
others  had  partaken  of  it.  The  commanding  officer  sent  them  to  the 
Bishop,  who  required  the  Curate  to  promise  that  he  would  never  give 
his  people  the  cup  again  ;  and  threatened  him  with  flames  if  he  would 
not  submit.  The  good  man  quoted  Scripture  and  the  Missal  in 
defence  of  that  mode  of  administration,  at  which,  in  the  Bishop's 
presence,  a  soldier  struck  him  with  his  fist  so  violently,  that  his  face 
was  covered  with  blood  ;  and  the  Bishop,  notwithstanding  his  doc- 
trine of  priestly  sanctity,  kept  the  Priest  and  the  others  in  custody, 
mocked  them  the  whole  night,  and  next  morning,  that  being  the  Lord's 
day,  took  them  to  the  stake,  made  the  Priest  sit  there  with  the  chil- 
dren tied  on  his  knees,  and  burnt  the  entire  company  in  one  fire,  look- 
ing on  until  the  work  was  done.  The  murder  of  a  man  created  in 
the  image  of  God,  the  destruction  of  human  life,  sacred  as  it  is,  and 
guarded,  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  by  a  distinct  law  of  judicial 
retribution,  may  not  be  sacrilege  in  the  estimation  of  those  who  say 
that  they  kill  the  body  for  the  good  of  the  soul ;  but  such  persons 
can  understand  us  when  we  speak  of  the  barbarian  Bishop  who 
burned  a  Presbyter,  not  ceremonially  degraded,  and  so  committed 
sacrilege,  his  own  Church  being  judge,  and  therefore  should  have 
incurred  the  guilt  of  heresy  in  her  eyes. 

"  At  Leitmeritz,"  says  a  German  historian,  "  the  Burgomaster  Pichel, 
a  cruel  and  deceitful  man,  seized  in  one  night  twenty-four  respectable 
citizens,  among  whom  was  his  own  son-in-law,  and  threw  them  into  a 
deep  dungeon  near  St.  Michael's  gate.  When  they  were  half  dead 
from  cold  and  hunger,  he,  assisted  by  some  of  the  imperial  officers,  had 
them  taken  out,  under  a  guard,  and  pronounced  upon  them  the  sen- 
tence of  death.*  They  were  then  chained  upon  waggons,  and  conveyed 
to  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  to  be  thrown  into  the  water.  A  multitude 
of  people  assembled,  with  the  wives  and  children  of  the  prisoners, 
making  great  lamentation.  The  Burgomaster's  daughter  came  also. 
She  was  his  only  child,  and  with  clasped  hands  threw  herself  at  his 
feet,  interceding  for  the  life  of  her  husband.  But  the  father,  harder 
than  a  stone,  said,  '  Spare  your  tears,  you  know  not  what  you  desire. 
Cannot  you  have  a  more  worthy  husband  than  he?'  Finding  her 
father  thus  inexorable,  she  arose,  and  said,  'Father,  you  shall  not 
give  me  in  marriage  again!'  Smiting  her  breast,  and  tearing  her 
hair,  she  followed  her  husband  with  the  rest.  When  the  martyrs  had 
arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  Elbe,  they  were  thrown  from  the  wag- 
gons ;  and  while  the  boats  were  preparing,  they  raised  their  voices, 
calling  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  that  they  were  innocent  ;  then, 
bidding  their  wives  and  children  and  friends  farewell,  they  exhorted 

*   We  have  already  seen  the  municipal  authorities  at  Prague  exercising  the  exorbi- 
tant prerogative  of  pronouncing  and  inflicting  capital  punishment  at  their  pleasure. 


MASSACRES    OF    TABORITES.  25 

them  to  constancy  and  zeal,  and  obedience  to  the  word  of  God,  rather 
than  the  commandments  of  man.  Finally,  they  prayed  for  their 
enemies,  and  commended  their  souls  to  God.  Their  hands  being 
bound  to  their  feet,  they  were  conveyed  in  boats  to  the  middle  of  the 
river,  and  then  thrown  into  the  stream.  The  banks  were  lined  with 
executioners,  provided  with  pikes,  who  took  care  that  none  should 
escape ;  for  when  any  came  floating  near  the  shore,  although  half 
dead,  they  were  stabbed,  and  forced  back  to  the  middle  of  the  river. 
The  Burgomaster's  daughter,  fixing  her  eyes  upon  her  husband,  sprang 
into  the  river,  and,  embracing  him,  strove  hard  to  draw  him  from  the 
water.  But  as  it  was  too  deep  for  her  to  get  a  firm  footing,  and  she 
was  unable  to  loosen  his  bands,  they  both  sank.  The  following  day 
they  were  found  clasped  in  each  other's  arms,  and  were  buried  in  one 
grave.  This  was  done  on  the  30th  of  May,  1421."  * 

Perish  the  fairest  works  of  human  art ;  let  the  fanes  of  saint- 
worship  be  all  violated  ;  let  the  grandest  fabrics  of  ecclesiastical  anti- 
quity be  demolished  ;  let  every  charm  of  ancient  hierarchies  die  and  be 
forgotten  ;  rather  than  that  the  fell  demon  of  priestly  hate  should  go 
to  and  fro  in  the  world,  to  perpetrate  sacrilege  on  every  humane  senti- 
ment and  holy  right ;  to  make  Christianity  herself  suspected  by  the 
Heathen,  in  whose  eyes  her  counterfeit  is  hateful.  As  for  charging 
the  Hussites  with  cruelty,  and  the  Protestants  with  Vandalism,  the 
reader  of  such  horrible  narratives  as  these  must  pass  by  the  complaint 
as  beneath  ridicule. 

In  the  same  year,  beside  the  massacre  of  multitudes  by  the 
sword  of  Sigismund,  and  burnings  and  drownings  in  all  directions, 
several  thousands  of  Taborites  were  thrown  into  the  old  mines  of 
Kuttenberg.  There  were  precipitated  1,700  into  one  pit,  1,308 
into  another,  and  1,321  into  another.  They  were  prisoners  of  war, 
no  doubt,  of  that  holy  warfare  in  which  there  is  neither  truce  nor 
quarter.  For  two  centuries  a  solemn  yearly  meeting  was  held  on 
the  ground,  where  a  place  of  worship  stood,  in  memory  of  the  sad 
event.  Some  of  the  Romish  nobles  displayed  their  zeal  by  murdering 
whomsoever  they  could.  We  hear  of  two  who,  with  a  band  of  their 
men,  set  part  of  a  town  on  fire,  went  into  a  church  and  killed  a 
Minister  as  he  was  officiating  at  the  Lord's  table.  A  person  who  had 
been  seen  to  turn  his  back  on  the  host,  was  put  into  a  barrel  and 
burnt.  A  Utraquist  Priest,  who  had  succeeded  in  escaping  into 
Moravia,  was  seized  there,  with  another,  and  both  of  them,  Martin 
Loquis  and  Procopius  Jednook,  were  laden  with  irons  and  condemned 
to  die  ;  then  reprieved  from  death  for  a  time  by  a  Priest  of  the  old 
communion,  who  hoped  to  extort  a  recantation  from  them ;  but  he, 
failing,  cast  them  into  a  dungeon,  where  they  were  kept  for  two 
months,  and  tortured  by  the  application  of  fire  to  their  bodies,  until 
their  bowels  burst  out.  They  were  then  put  into  a  barrel  and  burnt 
(August  21st,  1421). 

Horrified  at  those  barbarities,  and  convinced  that  his  Church  wa? 
hostile  to  Christianity,  the  Archbishop  of  Prague  himself,  Conrad  of 

*  The   Reformation  and   Anti-Reformation  in  Bohemia :  from  the  German,  vol.  i., 
pp.  14 — 16.     A  work_bearing  every  mark  of  accuracy. 
VOL..    III.  E 


26  CHAPTER    I. 

Westphalia,  although  Primate  of  the  kingdom,  Prince  of  the  empire,  and 
Papal  Legate,  surrendered  his  dignities.  Hazarding  his  life  hy  that  act, 
he  declared  himself  a  Utraquist,  offered  himself  as  their  chief,  and  asso- 
ciated some  of  their  Ministers  as  administrators  of  a  consistory,  That 
consistory  survived  the  persecution,  and  even  received  the  sanction 
of  Sigismund  ;  and  the  archiepiscopal  see  was  vacated  for  one  hundred 
and  forty  years.  Conrad  died  in  exile.  One  of  those  administrators, 
Zeliveus,  perhaps  improperly,  busied  himself  in  endeavouring  to  per- 
suade the  people  of  Prague  to  change  the  Town  Council,  which  was 
unfriendly  to  the  Hussites.  For  this  offence  a  full  measure  of  ven- 
geance was  dealt  out.  The  Governor  of  the  city  decoyed  him  and 
twelve  others  into  the  town-hall,  where  they  were  instantly  seized  and 
beheaded.  But,  again,  as  once  before,  a  stream  of  blood,  overflowing 
the  threshold,  betrayed  the  deed ;  the  citizens  burst  the  door,  brought 
away  the  bodies  for  interment ;  and  Gaudentius,  a  Priest,  laying  the 
head  of  Zeliveus  on  a  dish,  carried  it  through  the  city,  and  called 
aloud  for  vengeance.  The  multitude,  infuriated,  plundered  the  Col- 
leges, and  killed  some  of  the  Senators.  But  it  is  time  to  turn  away 
from  scenes  like  these.  Let  it,  therefore,  suffice  to  say,  that  the 
Hussites  could  nof  be  conquered  by  foreign  military  force  or  domestic 
persecution. 

Although  divided  by  a  party-distinction  that  we  must  hasten 
to  notice,  they  all  united  when  expecting  an  attack  from  Sigismund ; 
and  at  last,  a  Council  being  assembled  at  Basil,  (A.D.  1433,)  it  was 
found  that  the  way  of  force  being  impracticable,  that  of  concili- 
ation must  be  tried.  Three  hundred  Bohemian  delegates  appeared 
at  Basil ;  and  the  Clerks,  seeing  that  the  Emperor  himself  was  com- 
pelled to  respect  their  valour,  and  unable  to  subdue  their  spirit,  sub- 
mitted to  sanction  heresy,  the  heresy  for  which  so  many  thousands 
had  already  been  slaughtered,  and  accepted  four  articles,  called  com- 
pactates,  as  the  terms  of  reconciliation  with  Bohemia, — terms,  as 
those  brave  men  said,  which  were  either  to  be  granted,  or  they  would 
fight  for  them.  They  were  these  :  1.  That  the  communion  of  the 
most  divine  eucharist,  useful  and  salutary  under  both  kinds,  that  is, 
of  bread  and  wine,  should  be  freely  ministered  by  the  Priests  to  all 
believers  in  Christ  in  Bohemia,  Moravia,  &c.  2.  That  all  mortal  sins,  and 
especially  public  ones,  should  be  restrained,  corrected,  and  put  away 
by  those  whom  it  concerned  to  do  so,  reasonably,  and  according  to 
the  law  of  God.  3.  That  the  word  of  God  should  be  freely  and  faith- 
fully preached  by  Ministers  duly  qualified.  4.  That  it  is  not  lawful 
for  the  Clergy,  under  the  law  of  grace,  to  have  temporal  dominion  over 
worldly  goods.*  One  of  the  Hussite  Priests,  Rokyzan,  was  called 
Archbishop  of  Prague.  Legates  from  the  Council  went  to  Bohemia  to 
tell  them  that  they  were  again  dear  children  of  the  Church,  and  to 
exhort  both  parties  not  to  hinder  or  fight  with  one  another.  Rokyzan 
was,  for  a  time,  half  melted  by  showers  of  Papal  and  imperial 
honour,  and  occasionally  seemed  to  temporize  ;  but  he  continued 
to  be  a  stern  C&lixtine,  went  to  the  full  extent  of  the  compactates,  and 
again  promoted  scriptural  doctrine  as  far  as  he  understood  it.  For  a 

*  Binii,  torn,  iv.,  Cone.  Basil.  Appendix,  p.  153. 


THE  BRETHREN  OF  BOHEMIA.  2? 

time,  too,  Bohemia  had  some  rest  ;  and  at  last  the  Hussites  succeeded 
in  placing  one  on  the  throne,  (Podiebrad,)  who  protected  them  from 
persecution.  The  Latin  Church,  however,  soon  resumed  its  naturally 
hostile  position.  After  Podiebrad  had  governed  Bohemia  well 
for  twenty-seven  years,  the  Council  of  Florence  having  revoked  the 
concessions  made  at  Basil,  Pope  Paul  II.  (very  unlike  the  first  Paul) 
anathematized  him,  and  pretended  to  absolve  his  subjects  from  their 
allegiance,  and  many  of  the  nobles  and  cities  of  Bohemia,  Moravia, 
and  Silesia  relapsed  into  Popery  again.  Bands  of  crusaders,  fortified 
with  the  Pope's  blessing,  ravaged  the  country,  and  killed  those  defence- 
less heretics,  whom  a  predecessor  had  called  dear  children  of  the 
Church.  Their  crusade  was  remarkably  distinguished  by  child-murder, 
as  if  Divine  Providence  had  suffered  them  to  provide  an  historical 
monument  of  their  own  cowardice.  They  used  to  cut  off  infants' 
heads,  pile  them  in  heaps,  and  toss  them  as  balls.* 

This  national  testimony  to  a  part  of  evangelical  truth,  and  to  the 
principle  of  religious  liberty,  was  not  lost  on  Europe,  and  no 
doubt  pointed  out  to  other  states  the  way  of  religious  independence  in 
which  they  followed  in  the  next  century  ;  for  Bohemian  liberties  were 
vindicated  down  to  the  days  of  Luther  and  Zuinglius.  But  the  most 
satisfactory  issue  of  this  protracted  struggle  still  appears  in  the  Church 
of  the  United  Brethren.  Their  predecessors  were  the  Brethren  of 
Bohemia.  The  Calixtines,f  persecuted  by  the  Papists,  naturally 
began  to  think  of  some  way  of  escape  from  Papal  jurisdiction.  The 
compactate  articles  had  been  granted  by  the  Council  of  Basil  ;  and 
although  those  articles  were  still  acted  on,  and  the  Archbishop 
Rokyzan  was  persecuted  as  a  heretic,  and  Bohemia  was  anathematized 
and  bleeding  under  a  crusade,  they  had  not  utterly  renounced  the 
authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  was  obviously  desirable  to  do 
so,  and  a  Diet  of  the  Calixtine  states,  assembled  at  Prague,  (A.D.  1450,) 
attempted  the  first  step  of  a  secession  by  sending  an  embassage  to 
Constantinople  to  seek  ordination  for  their  Ministers.  Had  not  the 
Greek  Church  been  falling,  or  had  it  been  purer,  such  an  alliance 
might  have  been  effected.  On  the  article  of  the  cup,  however,  they 
were  united  ;  in  hatred  or  envy  or  fear  of  Romanism  they  agreed  ;  and 
the  Calixtine  envoys  were  received  by  the  Greek  Bishops  with  the 
utmost  cordiality.  But  the  Greeks  were  negotiating  for  union  with 
Rome,  Constantinople  was  trembling  before  the  Turk,  and  the  Hussite 
ambassadors  had  not  long  left  the  city  of  Constantine,  when  the 
Crescent  supplanted  the  Cross  under  the  dominion  of  Mahomet  II. 

Another  way  of  escape  was  prepared  for  those  who  were  willing  to 
separate  themselves  from  the  world  for  Christ's  sake.  During  the 
crusade  just  mentioned,  while  Legates  from  Rome  were  secretly,  and 
but  too  successfully,  endeavouring  to  beguile  the  more  political  and 
less  earnest  of  the  Calixtine  Clergy.;  and  while  these  were  diverging 
into  two  parties  more  distinctly  hostile  to  each  other, — the  moderate 
Calixtines,  and  the  fanatical  Taborites ;  a  third  party,  not  neutral,  but 

*  The  Reformation,  &c.,  in  Bohemia,  chap.  i. ;  Clarke's  Martyrology,  chap.  xxv. 
t   From  calix,  "  cup,"  or   "  chalice,"  those  who  contended  for  the   iidiuiuistrutii.n   i.i' 
the  I'Ufharist  iu  both  kinds,  were  called  Calixtine  f. 

E    2 


28  CHAPTER    I. 

more  profoundly  earnest  than  either  of  them,  emerged  out  of  the 
confusion.  They  did  not  fight  for  the  cup  :  their  first  object  was  not 
ecclesiastical  reform.  They  desired  personal  salvation,  loathed  party 
strife,  repudiated  sectarian  badges,  longed  for  peace,  not  reconciliation 
•with  Pope  or  Patriarch,  but  peace  with  God.  Some  of  them  preached 
•with  unwonted  spirituality  arid  power,  and  their  holy  zeal  was  quick- 
ened as  the  horrors  of  the  crusade  multiplied.  Several  persons, 
actuated  by  this  desire,  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting  themselves  into 
a  Christian  fellowship,  and  petitioned  Podiebrad,  the  moderate  King 
of  Bohemia,  for  permission  to  form  a  settlement  remote  from  the 
scenes  of  controversy,  that  they  might  there  dwell  in  Christian  peace. 
The  petition  was  favourably  heard,  and  Podiebrad  allowed  them  to  oc- 
cupy a  tract  of  laud  in  the  lordship  of  Lititz  in  the  mountain-country 
bordering  on  Silesia  (A.D.  1451).  This  was  the  rallying-point  for 
others  of  like  mind,  and  (A.D.  1453)  several  pious  nobles  and  learned 
men,  quitting  the  tumult  of  the  metropolis,  joined  them  there.  At 
first  they  attended  the  ministry  established  according  to  the  Calixtine 
form ;  and  one  of  the  Ministers,  Bradacz,  no  longer  timorously 
following  the  compactatea,  gratified  the  settlers  by  abolishing  many 
superstitious  ceremonies,  excluding  unworthy  communicants,  and 
maintaining  strict  Christian  discipline.  His  brethren,  well-meaning 
men,  it  might  be,  but  mere  Calixtines,  disapproved  of  his  proceedings, 
and  complained  against  him  to  the  Consistory  as  an  innovator.  The 
Consistory  forbade  Bradacz  to  preach.  He  appealed  to  Rokyzan,  as 
Archbishop,  and  to  his  suffragan,  Lupacz.  Rokyzan  was  not  the 
man  to  peril  himself  by  espousing  a  novel  cause,  and  therefore  gave 
no  redress :  but  Lupacz  advised  him  and  his  flock  to  prosecute  their 
work  with  confidence  and  firmness ;  to  learn  from  obstacles  thrown  in 
their  way  that  they  should  not  expect  help  from  others  ;  to  form  an 
ecclesiastical  constitution  of  their  own,  following  the  primitive  church, 
both  in  doctrine  and  discipline.  He  told  them  that  they  would 
inevitably  exasperate  the  hatred  of  the  Romanizing  party  and  their 
chiefs ;  but  exhorted  them  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God,  and  see  to  their 
own  salvation,  emulating  the  holiness,  fidelity,  and  patience  of  the 
primitive  confessors.  Others  gave  them  similar  advice. 

The  advice  was  taken.  Bradacz  removed  from  his  former  church  of 
Zamberg  to  Kunewalde,  where  the  settlers  were  most  numerous,  and 
invited  the  more  pious  Calixtiue  Clergy  of  the  adjacent  villages  to  meet 
him  there  for  conference.  Gregory,  nephew  of  the  Archbishop,  was  there, 
and  long  after  proved  his  sincere  devotion,  by  suffered  persecution  for 
the  love  of  Christ.  They  agreed  on  fundamental  principles  of  action,* 

*  Nearly  three  hundred  years  later,  a  Conference  was  holden  in  London  by  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley,  who,  like  Bradacz,  invited  a  few  pious  brethren  to  meet  him,  not  to  form  a 
distinct  ecclesiastical  system,  which  was  not  as  yet  contemplated,  although  it  really 
grew  out  of  that  Conference,  but  to  consider  "  how  to  save  their  own  souls,  and  thr-m 
that  heard  them."  The  one  Holy  Spirit,  who  work*  all  grace  in  all  men,  taught  both 
those  initiators  of  Christian  churches  the  supremacy  of  truth  over  conscience.  The 
latter  asked  this  question:  "Can  a  Christian  submit  any  farther  than  this  "  (saving  his 
conscience)  "  to  any  man,  or  number  of  men  upon  earth  ?  "  The  answer  was  :  "  It  i* 
undeniable,  he  cannot ;  either  to  Council,  Bishop,  or  Convocation.  And  this  is  that  grand 
principle  of  private  judgment,  on  which  all  the  Reformers  proceeded  :  '  Every  man  must 
judge  for  himself;  because  every  man  rnxut  give  an  account  for  himself  to  God.'  "  (Mi- 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    MORAVIAN    CHURCH.  29 

not  gathered  from  human  rules  and  traditions,  but  from  the  law 
of  God.  Like  the  first  Christians,  they  took  no  private  name,  but, 
addressing  each  other  as  "  brethren  and  sisters,"  they  described  their 
communion  by  the  simple  appellation  of  UNITAS  FRATRUM,  "  Unity 
of  Brethren  ;"  and  themselves  as  FRATRES  LEGIS  CHRISTI,  "Brethren 
of  the  Law  of  Christ."  Perceiving  that  some  persons  misunderstood  the 
distinction  implied  by  the  words  "  Legis  Christi,"  they  dropped  them, 
and  preferred  to  be  only  known  as  "Brethren."  The  law  of  Christ  was 
to  them,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Wycliffe  and  HUBS,  the  New 
Testament,  the  only  infallible  rule  for  the  guidance  of  Christians ;  all 
regulations  not  enjoined  by  the  word  of  God,  or  fairly  deducible  from 
it,  being  mere  matters  of  expediency,  and  to  be  altered  according  to 
circumstances.  They  then  elected  three  Elders  for  the  general  super- 
intendence of  their  concerns ;  Gregory,  Procopius,  and  Clenovius. 
They  drew  up  a  plan  of  strict  discipline,  to  be  administered  without 
respect  of  persons,  and  resolved  to  suffer  all  for  conscience'  sake,  not 
to  use  arms  in  defence  of  religion,  but  to  seek  protection  from  the 
violence  of  enemies  in  prayer  to  God,  and  in  dispassionate  remon- 
strance. This  little  society  was  indeed  a  new  creation,  and  the  deter- 
mination, so  proper  for  a  Christian  church,  to  refrain  from  the  use 
of  arms,  at  once  marked  them  as  belonging  to  that  King  for  whom 
his  servants  do  not  fight.  And  their  avowal  of  strength  in  God  was 
the  beginning  of  the  new  kingdom  of  reformed  and  resuscitated 
Christianity  that  cometh  not  with  observation.  The  more  distant 
precursors  of  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  deserve  great 
honour ;  but  these  pacific  reformers,  as  a  collective  body,  a  nascent 
Church,  are  especially  worthy  of  remembrance,  and  the  Conference 
of  Kunewalde  will  be  gladly  imitated  by  those  men  of  God  who  do 
not  strive,  nor  cry,  nor  lift  up  their  voice  in  the  street.  The  infant 
Church  was  instantly  established,  and  rapidly  enlarged  by  the  addition 
of  spiritually-minded  persons.  Other  congregations  were  formed  in 
Bohemia  and  Moravia,  and  joined  the  UNITY. 

Their  fundamental  principles  were  soon  tested  by  persecution.  The 
lukewarm  Calixtines,  to  whom  the  cup  was  more  than  He  who  gave  it, 
joined  the  Papists,  who  could  yield  the  cup  to  the  layman  on  an  emer- 
gency, but  could  never  suffer  the  innovations  of  true  piety.  They  were 
accused  of  being  leagued  with  the  Taborites,  and  of  plotting  sedition  in 
their  retreats.  They  were  cited  to  appear,  by  deputies,  at  the  Consistory 
of  Prague.  Rokyzan  presided  ;  and  he,  although  his  nephew  was  one 
of  their  leaders,  and  although  he  had  tacitly  allowed,  perhaps  even 
approved  of,  their  procedure,  then  censured  them  as  imprudent  and 
dangerous  people.  Podiebrad  was  reminded  that  at  his  coronation  he 
had  sworn  to  be  willing  and  obedient  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
to  the  Popes,  like  other  Catholic  Christian  Kings,  and,  in  the  unity 
of  the  orthodox  faith,  to  protect  and  defend  that  faith  with  all  his 
power ;  and,  God  helping,  to  recall  his  people  from  all  errors,  sects, 
and  heresies  militating  against  that  holy  Roman  Church,  and  to  bring 

nutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  vol.  i.,  p.  4.)  This  is  a  first  principle  of  true  reform, 
where  God  and  conscience  are  indeed  the  guides ;  the  first  element  of  Methodistical 
p"l''y.  und  °f  a  free  Christian  communion. 


30  CHAPTER    I. 

them  back  to  the  obedience,  agreement,  unity,  and  worship  of  the 
same  Church,  using  all  diligence  to  that  end.  Reminded  of  this  oath, 
and  intimidated  by  menaces  implied,  if  not  loudly  uttered,  he  refused 
to  protect  the  Brethren.  They  were  immediately  outlawed.  In  one 
moment  they  found  themselves  deprived  of  country  and  property,  and 
exposed  to  the  utmost  peril.  Most  of  their  settlements  were  broken 
up.  Even  the  sick  and  infirm  were  driven  from  their  dwellings,  and 
many  of  them  perished  with  cold  and  hunger  in  the  fields.  Others 
were  thrown  into  dungeons,  starved,  racked,  quartered,  or  burnt  alive. 
Their  enemies  hoped  to  rack  them  into  confession  of  conspiracy  or 
of  some  other  crime  ;  for  even  those  who  could  think  it  reasonable  to 
fight  or  suffer  for  the  cup,  could  not  apprehend  the  possibility  of  any 
man's  suffering  for  the  sake  of  Christ  alone. 

The  Brethren  in  Lititz,  however,  were  less  persecuted  than  others,  and 
they  sent  messengers  to  travel  over  Bohemia  and  Moravia  to  seek  out 
and  comfort  the  sufferers.  "  On  one  of  these  visits  Gregory  came  to 
Prague.  A  number  of  the  Brethren  were  assembled  in  a  house  for  the 
purpose  of  celebrating  the  Lord's  supper.  While  thus  engaged,  a  Magis- 
trate, who  secretly  favoured  them,  sent  and  advised  them  to  separate. 
Gregory,  considering  it  to  be  the  duty  of  Christians  not  needlessly  to 
expose  themselves  to  danger,  admonished  the  assembly  to  seek  for 
safety  in  instant  flight.  (Matt.  x.  23.)  Others,  however,  were  of  a 
different  opinion,  and  said,  '  No ;  he  that  believeth  shall  not  make 
haste.*  Let  us  take  our  meal  in  peace,  and  await  the  consequences.' 
Some  young  students,  in  particular,  boasted  that  tortures  and  the 
stake  were  considered  as  trifles  by  them."  f  But  their  conversation 
was  interrupted  by  the  appearance  of  a  Justice  and  a  party  of  men 
sent  to  apprehend  them.  He,  too,  quoted  Scripture :  "  It  is  writ- 
ten," said  he,  "  that  all  that  will  live  godly  must  suffer  persecution  ; 
therefore,  follow  me."  They  were  taken  away,  and  put  to  the  torture. 
Most  of  the  boasters  denied  their  faith  ;  but  Gregory  was  not  intimi- 
dated. He  fainted  on  the  rack,  they  thought  him  dead  ;  and  his 
uncle,  Eokyzan,  vanquished  for  the  time,  hasted  to  the  prison,  bent 
over  the  wounded,  or,  as  it  seemed,  dead,  body  of  the  confessor,  and 
exclaimed,  weeping,  "  0  my  dear  Gregory,  would  to  God  I  were  where 
thou  now  art ! "  But  Gregory  revived,  was  set  at  liberty,  and  lived 
to  advanced  age,  a  laborious  and  venerated  leader  of  the  Unity  of 
Brethren.  Encouraged,  by  the  momentary  relenting  of  Rokyzan,  to 
hope  that  he  might  yet  befriend  them,  the  Brethren  reminded  him 
that  he  had  at  first  taught  them  from  the  writings  of  the  Apostles 
and  from  examples  of  the  primitive  church,  and  then  advised  them  to 
attend  the  ministry  of  Chelezitius,  whose  discourses  had  conveyed  clearer 
instruction  in  Christian  truth ;  that  in  obeying  the  Gospel  they  had 
only  acted  on  the  responsibility  he  had  himself  so  freely  recognised ; 
and  that  their  separation  from  other  Hussites  was  not  on  account  of 
any  question  of  ceremonial  or  discipline,  but  because  of  the  evil  and 
corrupt  doctrine  retained  among  them.  But  the  codrtier  Priest  could 

*  Isai.  xx7iii.  16  :  The  Bohemian  translation  in,  "  He  that  beliereth  does  not  flee." 
t  History  of  the  Protestant  Church  of  the  United  Brethren.  Ijy  the  Rev.  John  Holmes, 
vol.  i.,  pp.  46,47. 


DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    UNITED    BRETHREN.  31 

not  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God.  He  shrank  from  the 
thought  of  infamy  and  suffering,  and  repelled  their  advances.  With 
disappointment  and  indignation  they  closed  the  correspondence  in  a 
bitter  sentence :  "  Thou  art  of  the  world,  and  wilt  perish  with  the 
world." 

This  indiscretion  was  terribly  repaid.  The  Archbishop,  mortified 
at  the  reproof,  meditated  revenge,  and  easily  obtained  it  in  an  edict  from 
the  King,  ordaining  that  "those  dangerous  people  should  no  longer 
be  suffered  to  remain  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia."  To  how  great  lengths 
both  Calixtines  and  Papists  would  have  carried  their  violence,  if  un- 
checked, may  easily  be  conjectured  ;  but  God  so  overruled  Rosenberg, 
Romish  Bishop  of  Breslaw,  that  he  interposed  his  influence  in  fear, 
rather  than  pity,  for  the  protection  of  the  former  brethren  of  the 
angry  Rokyzan.  He  represented  to  Podiebrad  that  the  blood  of  mar- 
tyrs would  but  increase  the  number  of  heretics.*  Their  lives  were 
spared ;  but  they  were  compelled  to  quit  the  country,  and  leave  their 
possessions  to  be  confiscated.  "  They  sought  an  asylum  in  the  moun- 
tains, the  thickest  forests,  and  the  clifts  and  recesses  of  rocks,  far 
removed  from  the  society  of  other  men.  They  kindled  fires  only  in 
the  night,  lest  their  places  of  retreat  should  be  discovered  by  the 
smoke.  And,  during  the  winter,  when  snow  lay  on  the  ground,  they 
used  the  precaution,  when  going  out,  to  walk  one  after  the  other,  the 
last  person  dragging  a  bush  after  him  to  erase  the  marks  of  their 
feet."  f  By  day  their  chief  cares  were  for  gathering  rude  sustenance, 
and  to  watch  against  surprise.  By  night  they  often  congregated  in 
caverns  or  in  woods,  and  around  their  fires  held  spiritual  converse,  and 
poured  out  their  joint  complaint,  through  the  Divine  Comforter,  before 
the  mercy-seat  of  Christ ;  outcasts,  indeed,  yet  dwelling  in  the  paradise 
of  a  good  conscience.  When  for  about  three  years  (from  1461  to 
1464)  the  Brethren  had  remained  in  the  mountains,  and  the  terror 
of  persecution  was  somewhat  abated,  they  began  to  consider  how  to 
preserve,  by  discipline,  the  purity  of  their  brotherhood.  It  was 
evidently  impossible  for  them  to  reform  either  Popery  or  Calix- 
tinism,  and,  for  the  preservation  of  the  truth  for  which  so  many 
had  surrendered  property,  country,  and  even  life,  it  was  necessary 
that  they  should  follow  the  indications  of  Divine  Providence,  and 
constitute  themselves  a  visible  church,  by  assuming  a  form  of  disci- 
pline. A  numerous  assembly  was  therefore  convened  in  the  Riesen- 
Gebirge,  a  chain  of  hills  between  Bohemia  and  Silesia,  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Reichenau,  where  a  few  fundamental  rules  of 
conduct  were  unanimously  adopted,  and  some  principles  of  church 
government  discussed.  "Before  all  other  things"  they  agreed  to 
preserve  to  themselves  the  faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  purity, 
and  to  confirm  it  in  righteousness  which  is  of  God,  abiding  together 
in  love,  and  putting  their  trust  in  the  living  God, — manifesting  that 
trust  in  word  and  deed.  Faithfully  assisting  each  other  in  love,  with 
a  blameless  life,  humility,  submission,  meekness,  continence,  and  pati- 

*.  But  couched  the  sentiment  under  a  coarse  comparison  :  '<  Maggots  breed  in  meat 
half  roasted." — Cranz,  History  of  the  United  Brethren,  part  ii.,  (ancient,)  sect.  10. 
t  Holmes,  i.,  49. 


32  CHAPTER    I. 

ence,  they  were  to  give  proof  of  faith,  hope,  and  love.  They  bound 
themselves  to  mutual  submission  in  obedience  to  the  word  of  God, 
each  receiving  from  the  others  instruction,  warning,  exhortation,  and 
correction,  thereby  to  keep  the  covenant  already  made  with  God 
through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Spirit.  They  agreed  willingly 
to  undertake  and  do,  according  to  the  measure  of  divine  grace  im- 
parted to  each,  whatever  should  be  judged  conducive  to  edification 
and  improvement ;  but  especially  to  observe  Christian  obedience,  even 
in  the  deepest  poverty  and  want  acknowledging  one  another.  They 
were  to  submit  to  correction  with  godly  fear,  if  overtaken  in  sin,  and 
penitentially  confess  their  guilt  before  God  and  man.  They  also 
declared  with  sorrow,  that  if  any  should  be  unfaithful,  and  refuse  to 
keep  the  covenant  made  with  God  and  his  brethren,  they  "  could  not 
insure  such  an  one  of  his  salvation,"  *  but  should  withdraw  from 
him,  and  exclude  him  from  their  communion  in  divine  service. 
Neither  could  a  grievous  heretic  or  sinner  be  re-admitted  until  he 
had  given  proof  of  entire  amendment.  The  Priests  and  teachers,  in 
particular,  were  to  set  a  good  example,  in  word  and  deed,  that 
punishment  and  reproof  might  be  avoided. f 

That  was,  indeed,  a  lovely  spectacle.  A  multitude  of  confessors, 
poor,  out-cast,  and  hunted  down,  rallying  around  their  spiritual  Head, 
in  the  absence  of  earthly  Pastors,  a  few  only  excepted,  and  even  they, 
by  being  separated  from  the  Church  that  had  commissioned  them,  di- 
vested, in  their  own  estimation,  of  all  human  authority  to  exercise  their 
ministry.  These  people  were  entering  on  a  new  ecclesiastical  career 
under  the  sole  sanction  of  Him  who  had  called  them  from  darkness 
into  light.  For  the  present,  however,  they  were  content  with  the 
bond  of  brotherhood,  and  prayerfully  awaited  guidance  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  complete  church  order.  Podiebrad,  perhaps  admiring 
their  peaceable  deportment,  endeavoured  to  bring  about  a  reconcilia- 
tion between  them  and  the  Calixtines  (A.D.  1465).  But  the  effort  was 
unavailing,  and  only  served  to  hasten  his  own  ruin  ;  for  the  Popish 
Lords,  incited  by  the  court  of  Rome,  revolted,  and  he  was  anathematized 
as  a  favourer  of  heretics,  and  deprived  of  his  kingdom  (A.D.  1467).  Yet 
at  this  very  time,  the  Brethren,  inured  to  a  state  of  excommunication,  and 
indifferent  to  the  quarrels  of  their  persecutors,  proceeded  to  complete 
their  work.  The  order  of  divine  service  and  of  temporal  government 
had  been  framed  in  successive  Synods,  and  a  few  Waldensian  refugees, 
already  mingled  with  them,  brought  intelligence  of  that  people  who 
were  dispersed  and  hidden  in  various  parts  of  Europe.  In  the  village 
of  Lhota,  and  in  the  house  of  a  person  named  Duchek,  about  seventy 
persons  were  assembled.  Ministers, — yet  no  longer  acknowledging  the 
validity  of  their  Romish  or  Calixtine  ordination, — noblemen,  scholars, 
citizens,  and  peasants,  deputed  from  various  parts  of  their  own  settle- 
ments, and  by  their  brethren,  congregated  in  distant  places  through- 
out Bohemia  and  Moravia,  met  to  consider  how  to  maintain  a  regular 
succession  of  spiritual  teachers.  After  fasting,  the  Synod  was  opened  with 

*  Meaning,  of  course,  that  they  could  not  hold  out  to  such  an  one  any  hope  of  eal- 
vatioii. 

t  The  Reformation  and  Anti- Reformation  in  Bohemia,  vol.  i.,  chap.  1. 


LAST    WALDENSIAN    BISHOP    BURNT.  33 

reading  the  holy  Scriptures  and  with  prayer.  Deliberation  followed  ; 
and  it  was  unanimously  determined,  according  to  advice  long  before 
given  by  Lupacz,  to  elect  Ministers  from  among  themselves.  And 
following  the  example  of  the  eleven  who  elected  Matthias  by  lot,  they, 
in  like  manner,  committed  the  ultimate  decision  to  the  Lord.  Twenty 
men  were  first  nominated,  as  qualified  by  their  divine  knowledge  and 
experimental  piety,  displayed  in  blameless  conversation,  to  be  Minis- 
ters of  Christ.  Out  of  these  nine  were  chosen  ;  and  of  the  nine  they 
determined  that  three  should  be  elected  by  lot.  On  nine  slips 
of  paper  was  written  the  word  non  (he  is  not) ;  and  on  three  others, 
precisely  similar,  the  word  est  (he  is).  They  then  prayed  that  God 
would  appoint  them  three,  two,  one,  or  none,  to  that  office,  caus- 
ing, if  it  so  pleased  him,  that  not  even  one  should  receive  the  affirm- 
ative lot.  A  little  boy  was  called  in  to  distribute  the  folded  papers, 
promiscuously  thrown  together,  to  the  nine  persons.  The  surplus 
three  that  remained  in  his  hand  were  NON  ;  and  Matthias  of  Kuue- 
walde,  Thomas  of  Prschelauz,  and  Elias  of  Krschenow,  on  opening  their 
billets,  found  them  inscribed  with  EST.  The  Brethren  sang  a  hymn 
of  praise,  hailed  them  as  chosen  of  God,  promised  them  obedience, 
and  gave  them  the  kiss  of  peace.  So  ended  the  famous  Synod 
of  Lhota,  and  so  began  the  humble  hierarchy  of  the  United  Brethren.* 

In  another  Synod,  holden  shortly  afterwards,  the  question  between 
Presbyterianism  and  Episcopacy  was  discussed :  the  decision  was  in 
favour  of  the  latter,  not  as  essential,  but  as  expedient,  in  order  to 
deprive  their  adversaries  of  a  new  pretext  for  hostility  ;  and  as  it  was 
known  that  the  Waldenses  had  still  one  Bishop  surviving,  named 
Stephen,  three  persons,  formerly  ordained  as  Priests,  but  otherwise 
approved,  were  sent  into  Austria  to  solicit  consecration  to  the  Episco- 
pate, which  they  received,  returned  to  Bohemia,  and  consecrated  the 
three  Elders,  already  chosen  by  lot,  with  some  others.  From  that 
time  the  church  of  the  United  Brethren,  has  been  Episcopal.  The  lot, 
it  may  be  observed,  as  in  the  apostolic  church,  was  only  resorted  to 
on  an  extraordinary  emergency,  and  did  not  come  into  general  use 
until  nearly  three  hundred  years  later. f 

The  example  and  influence  of  the  Bohemians  encouraged  the  Aus- 
trian Waldenses  to  throw  off  the  disguise  under  which  they  had 
lain  concealed  ;  their  boldness  attracted  persecution ;  and  Stephen, 
the  last  surviving  Bishop  just  mentioned,  was  burnt  alive,  with  many 
others  (A.D.  1480).  This,  however,  led  to  a  strengthening  of  the 
holy  cause,  now  identified,  almost  alone,  with  the  church  of  the 
United  Brethren,  whose  numbers  were  suddenly  increased  by  the 
accession  of  a  multitude  of  Waldensian  refugees.  Rokyzan,  enraged 
on  hearing  of  Bishops  in  the  wilds  of  the  Kiesenberge,  excited  a 
renewed  and  sanguinary  persecution  against  them,  in  which  Michael, 
their  first  Bishop,  was  imprisoned  until  the  death  of  Rokyzan,  who 
departed  this  life  in  a  state  of  horrible  despair,  as  if  God  had 
ratified  the  hasty  imprecation  of  the  Brethren  whom  he  had  aban- 
doned ;  and  the  Bohemian  confessors  again  came  forth  from  the 
rocks  in  \\luch,-  for  a  second  time,  they  had  hidden  themselves. 

*  Crauz,  itt  supra,  fc.ei.-t.  11.  t   la  the  year  1741.      Holmes,  i.,  12 £S. 

\OL.    III.  1 


34  CHAPTER    I. 

They  were  then  marked  with  the  derisory  appellation  griibenheimer, 
"  dwellers  in  pits."  Harassed  by  a  succession  of  persecutions,  and  at 
last  expelled  from  the  Bohemian  and  Moravian  territories,  they 
migrated  into  Moldavia  (A.D.  1481).  Some  alternations  of  fortune 
are  noted  by  the  historians,  but  the  records  become  increasingly 
obscure.  A  few  incidents,  however,  suffice  to  show  that  their  church 
flourished  more  and  more.  In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century 
they  counted  two  hundred  congregations  in  the  very  countries  whence 
they  had  been  expelled.  They  had  the  Bible  in  Bohemian,  printed  at 
Venice,  when,  as  yet,  but  one  other  nation  of  Europe  had  used  the  press 
for  the  multiplication  of  copies  of  the  vernacular  Scriptures  ;  *  and 
they  had  on  record  the  conclusion  of  a  Synod,  (A.D.  1489,)  that  "  if 
God  should,  anywhere  in  the  world,  awaken  genuine  Ministers  and 
reformers  of  the  church,  they  would  make  common  cause  with  them." 
Occasion  for  such  an  evangelical  alliance  soon  occurred,  f 

Bohemia  was  regarded  at  Rome  as  an  infected  district  of  Christen- 
dom, and  all  possible  care  was  taken  to  prevent  the  spread  of  heretical 
contagion  into  other  parts  of  the  world.  But  as  the  expedients 
of  quarantine,  lazaretto,  and  cordon  are  insufficient  to  retard  the 
inarch  of  pestilence,  when  it  pleases  God  to  scourge  offending  nations, 
so,  when  he  sends  forth  his  saving  health,  the  barriers  of  intolerance 
cannot  frustrate  his  work  of  mercy,  which  is  as  free  as  the  wind 
of  heaven.  The  Inquisition,  now  reorganized  or  reinforced  every- 
where, was  employed  to  check  the  progress  of  the  Bohemian  heresy, 
which,  nevertheless,  spread  over  the  Continent. 

Of  Poland,  only,  we  shall  now  speak  in  evidence  of  this  fact,  as 
there  the  effect  of  Wycliffe's  doctrine  was,  after  Bohemia,  most  con- 
spicuous. After  the  death  of  Huss  and  Jerome  at  Constance,  and  the 
consequent  excitement  in  their  native  country,  Synods  were  convoked 
in  Cracow,  (A.D.  1416  and  1423,)  and  strong  resolutions  taken  against 
the  Bohemian  heresy,  already  apparent  in  the  country.  The  Priests 
were  commanded  to  imprison  suspected  persons.  No  Bohemian  was 
to  be  allowed  to  teach  in  a  Polish  school,  and,  if  possible,  all  inter- 
course between  the  two  countries  was  to  be  prevented.  No  children 
•were  to  be  sent  thither  for  education.  The  books  possessed  by  parish 
Priests  were  to  be  inspected,  and  as  some  of  them  were  imbibing 
heretical  doctrines  by  reading  Wycliffe's  works,  the  more  literate  and 
zealous  of  their  brethren  circulated  manuscripts  to  counteract  the 
mischief.  That  was  fair.  Not  so  a  proclamation  of  the  King  (A.D. 
1424)  that  confirmed  the  acts  of  the  Synods,  and  declared  heresy  to 
be  high  treason.  Political  sanctions  were  appealed  to  on  both  sides ; 
the  Bohemians  offered  their  crown  to  a  Polish  Prince,  the  offer  was 
accepted ;  and  while  German  warriors  marched  into  Bohemia  to  fight 
for  Sigismund  and  the  Church,  Poles  invaded  the  country  to  fight 
under  the  sign  of  the  cup,  together  with,  the  Hussites,  and,  in  the 
battle  of  Aussig  on  the  Elbe,  they  (A.D.  1426)  won  the  day.  But  we 
rather  stay  to  notice  a  contest  with  other  weapons.  Despite  the 

*  A  nide  translation  of  the  Vulgate  into  German  was  printed  by  Fust,  in  the  year 
1462.     The  Bohemian  Bible  was  printed  in  Venice,  in  1470. 
t  Crauz,  Ancient  History  of  the  Brethren,  part  ii.,  sect.  12—23. 


FIVE    PREACHERS    BURNT    IN    POLAND.  35 

inquisitorial  restrictions,  some  Taborites  from  Prague  go  over  to  Cra- 
cow, (A.D.  1427,)  and  challenge  the  Romanists  to  public  disputation. 
Attention  is  thereby  drawn  to  the  points  in  controversy,  and  after  a 
few  years,  when  interest  in  such  matters  has  deepened  in  the  bosoms 
of  the  people,  a  solemn  disputation  takes  place  in  the  capital  of 
Poland.  The  Senate  are  assembled,  and  the  King  himself  presides. 
To  meet  the  sacerdotal  advocates  of  Popery,  we  see  Calixtines,  Tabor- 
ites, and  Orphans,  Bohemian  dissidents  of  every  shade,  united,  and 
among  them  Peter  Payne,  our  countryman.*  The  Conference  lasted 
several  days ;  the  language  chiefly  used  was  Polish ;  and  although  a 
Romi'sh  historian  pronounces  that  the  heretics  were  beaten,  he  gives 
no  details  of  the  Conference,  and  we  are  free  to  note  that  the  men 
of  Cracow  must  have  heard  earnest  exposition  of  truths  fatal  to  the 
credit  of  the  dominant  religion.  Still  the  ruinous  mixture  of  politics 
marred  the  work,  and  half  justified  the  zeal  of  Inquisitors,  whose 
efforts,  however,  were  almost  altogether  frustrated.  The  laws  of 
Poland  had  not  been  moulded  at  the  pleasure  of  Ecclesiastics  ;  and  the 
only  act  of  burning  was  perpetrated  (A.D.  1439)  by  a  military  Bishop 
who  besieged  a  town  with  nine  hundred  horsemen,  compelled  the 
inhabitants  to  deliver  up  five  Hussite  Preachers,  and  cast  them  into 
the  flames. 

The  reformed  doctrine  still  found  favour.  Ten  years  after  that 
burning  at  Zbonszyn,  a  Master  of  Arts  in  the  University  of  Cracow 
expounded  from  his  chair  the  works  of  WyclifFe.  Others  did  the 
same.  The  Master  wrote  a  hymn  in  honour  of  the  English  Confes- 
BOF.  We  are  indebted  to  the  pen  of  Count  Valerian  Krasinski  for  a 
translation,  and  find  the  opening  stanza  conveying  a  tribute  of  earnest 
praise  to  the  first  Reformer.  "  Ye  Poles,  Germans,  and  all  nations  ! 
WyclifFe  speaks  the  truth !  Heathendom  and  Christendom  had  never 
a  greater  man  than  he,  and  never  will  have  one."  The  last  stanza  is 
a  prayer  that  soon  was  answered.  "  0  Christ !  for  the  sake  of  thy 
wounds,  send  us  such  Priests  as  may  guide  us  towards  the  truth, 
and  may  bury  the  Antichrist."  The  poet  was  driven  from  Cracow, 
but  found  refuge  at  the  court  of  Boleslav  V.,  Prince  of  Oppeln,  in 
Silesia,  himself  a  Hussite.  And  after  another  decade,  an  eminent 
Pole,  John  Ostrorog,  submitted  propositions  to  the  national  Diet  (A.D. 
1459)  for  the  emancipation  of  Poland  from  the  domination  of  Rome. 
He  maintained  that  the  King  should  not  render  obedience  to  the 
Pope,  because  he  had  no  superior  but  God.  He  thought  humility 
from  a  temporal  Sovereign  towards  a  Pope  to  be  rather  a  sin  than  a 
virtue,  and  would  have  the  Clergy  to  bear  public  burdens  as  well  as 
others.  He  would  rather  leave  the  Clergy  to  an  independent  adminis- 
tration of  their  own  affairs,  without  any  interference  of  the  civil 
power  ;  but  as  the  Clergy  were  not  yet  spiritual,  he  deemed  it  neces- 
sary that  the  King  should  elect  the  best  of  them  to  high  offices  in  the 
church.  And  it  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  while  these  advances 
towards  reformation  were  taking  place  in  Cracow,  the  Bohemian 

*  Peter  Payne  was  a  native  of  Lincolnshire.  His  birth-place  is  gaid  to  be  Hough,  a 
few  miles  from  Grantham.  His  name  is  in  the  list  of  the  Principals  of  Edmund  Hall, 
Oxford,  from  1410  to  1415. 

F    2 


30  CHAPTER    I. 

Brethren  had  a  flourishing  high-school  at  Goldberg  in  Silesia,  fre- 
quented also  by  Polish  students  from  the  first  families.  And  yet 
again,  (A.D.  1469,)  Casirair,  King  of  Poland,  having  already  refused 
the  crown  of  Bohemia,  offered  to  him  by  the  Romish  party  on  condi- 
tion of  helping  them  to  put  down  the  Hussites,  prohibited  in  his 
dominions  the  preaching  of  a  crusade  against  them.  At  last,  when 
printing  was  invented,  the  first  printer  in  Cracow  was  found  to  be  a 
Hussite  (A.D.  1491)  ;  and  before  Luther  was  known  in  the  world, 
from  that  press  issued  a  treatise  "  concerning  the  true  worship  of 
God,"  and  another  "  concerning  the  marriage  of  Priests."  Another 
Polish  author  taught  that  the  Gospel  only  ought  to  be  believed,  and 
human  ordinances  dispensed  with.* 

Before  entering  on  the  period  of  Protestant  Reformation,  we  inquire 
whether  there  were  yet  to  be  found  in  the  eastern  world  any  witnesses 
for  Christ,  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  successors  of  those  who,  in  Ara- 
bia, Palestine,  and  Northern  Africa,  suffered  true  martyrdom.  But 
we  search  in  vain.  The  world  retains  what  Tertullian  called  "  hatred 
of  the  name  ;"  but  Christianity  in  the  Eastern  churches  is  a  name, 
and  nothing  more.  In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Chris- 
tians, within  the  vast  circle  of  Mohammedan  dominion,  were  depressed 
beneath  the  view  of  history,  except  that  now  and  then  a  scanty  regis- 
ter or  a  popular  tradition  preserved  mention  of  monasteries  and 
churches  invaded,  spoiled,  pulled  down,  or  converted  into  mosques  ; 
of  Priests,  Monks,  and  virgins  insulted  or  put  to  death ;  of  entire 
populations  compelled  to  abandon  Christ  for  the  false  Prophet,  or 
crowds  of  Nazareans  seeking  shelter  among  Pagans  in  the  furthest 
regions  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere.  In  China,  the  first  race  of  Chris- 
tians had  become  extinct ;  but  a  few  refugees  from  Tartar  persecution 
were  indistinctly  reported  to  have  succeeded  in  their  place  ;  and  in 
India,  too,  the  vestiges  of  Nestorianism  were  but  perceptible  enough  to 
show  the  Heathen  that  Christianity  was  no  longer  able  to  dispute  pos- 
session even  of  a  single  village.  In  central  Asia  it  had  greater  nume- 
rical strength,  and  could  send  a  few  Bishops  to  keep  up  the  shadow 
of  a  church  here  and  there,  but  nothing  more.  Yet  even  there,  and  to 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  mongrel  sects, 
half  pagan,  marked  the  general  absorption  of  Christianity.  The  Greek 
empire,  too,  was  absorbed  in  Turkey  ;  and  the  Sultans  of  Constantino- 
ple seized  the  churches  and  abolished  Christian  worship  wherever  they 
had  taken  possession  by  the  sword.  To  those  who  capitulated  they 
allowed  the  forms  of  worship,  but  with  every  mark  of  .social  degrada- 
tion. Except  in  those  European  states  that  had  been  a  part  of  the 
Roman  empire,  or  had  been  conquered  from  Paganism  during  the 
decline  of  the  empire,  and  held  fast  by  their  spurious  Christianity 
as  part  of  a  political  or  social  system,  the  votaries  of  Islamism  and 
Pagan  idolatry  possessed  the  world.  The  pontifical  religion  that  had 
been  paraded  in  Asia  by  Crusaders,  and  recommended  to  feeble  Chris- 
tian or  half-Christian  sects  by  pompous  embassies,  was  seen  to  be  a 
failure,  and  in  that  failure,  despite  any  subsequent  appearances  to  the 
contrary,  we  have  it  demonstrated  that  Popery  is  devoid  of  the  spirit- 

*  Krasinski,  Reformation  in  Poland,  vol.  i.,  pp.  64 — 111. 


THE    MODERN    INQTTISITION.  37 

ual  energy  which  can  alone  convert  mankind.  Nay,  Popery  gives 
way  within  its  own  domains  before  the  religion  of  the  martyrs ;  the 
religion  professed  almost  alone  by  the  poor  Bohemian  Brethren,  of 
whom  the  world  is  not  worthy. 

So  far  were  the  most  zealous  propagators  of  Christianity  from 
understanding  how  the  kingdom  of  Christ  can  be  extended,  that  when 
a  Lisbon  ship  touched  on  the  newly  discovered  shore  of  Brazil  on  its 
way  to  India,  (A.D.  1500,)  having  several  Priests  on  board,  the  Cap- 
tain obtained  the  applause  of  the  fathers  by  turning  on  shore  two 
Spanish  convicts  who  were  under  sentence  of  death  for  crimes  com- 
mitted, but  allowed  to  live,  if  they  could,  that  they  might  learn  the 
language  of  the  savages,  and  help  future  Missionaries  to  propagate 
Christianity  among  them.  Grave  annalists  record  the  fact  with  com- 
placency :  *  they  say  that  one  of  the  convicts  died  of  grief  ;  and  what- 
ever the  other  might  have  done,  it  is  certain  that  Brazilian  Christianity 
retains  exact  resemblance  to  its  first  apostle. 

The  great  instrument  for  maintaining  that  sort  of  religion  was 
"  the  Holy  Inquisition  ;"  and  as  this  establishment  for  torturing  man- 
kind into  submission  was  invested  with  new  power,  we  must  here 
mark  its  renovation,  in  order  to  understand  the  attitude  assumed  by 
Romanism  in  the  time  of  Luther. 

In  the  latter  years  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  before  Luther  was 
born,  this  institution  was  undergoing  a  remarkable  revival.  To  com- 
prehend its  position  in  relation  to  Europe  in  general, — it  is  too  soon 
to  speak  of  America  and  Asia, — we  must  briefly  observe  :  First,  That 
in  England,  the  Netherlands,  Portugal,  Lombardy,  Naples,  and,  gene- 
rally, in  those  parts  of  the  north  of  Europe  not  in  communion  with 
the  Greek  Church,  the  Bishops  performed  the  part  of  Inquisitors, 
aided  by  the  civil  power,  the  laws  being,  in  various  degrees,  subser- 
vient to  the  pleasure  of  the  Church.  In  those  countries  it  was  neces- 
sary for  priestly  zealots  to  exert  themselves,  in  order  to  keep  up  a 
persecution  ;  and,  even  so,  the  Popes  and  Prelates  conceived  their 
interests  to  be  imperfectly  assured.  Secondly,  The  Prince  or  the  Re- 
public usually  interfered  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition 
where  their  courage,  sagacity,  or  intelligence  was  insufficient  to  resist 
its  establishment ;  and,  in  some  places,  they  succeeded  in  reducing  it 
to  an  almost  nominal  existence.  Thus,  in  Venice,  the  authorities  of 
the  Republic  took  part,  it  is  true,  in  inquisitorial  persecution  ;  but 
the  Venetians  were  thereby  saved  from  many  of  the  worst  practices 
of  priestly  Inquisitors.  In  some  provinces  of  Germany  and  France, 
there  were  Inquisitors  acting  under  Papal  instructions,  and  supported 
by  persecuting  laws ;  but  from  the  acknowledged  absence  of  heresy, 
or  from  general  disaffection  to  the  Papacy,  they  could  seldom  act.  In 
Poland  the  Inquisition  had  become  extinct.  But,  thirdly,  In  Central 
Italy  and  in  the  Spanish  kingdoms  of  Aragon  and  Valencia,  this  hor- 
rible tribunal  was  newly  organized,  and  received  great  additional  force, 
about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  simultaneously  with  the 
recovery  of  the  Papacy  from  its  divisions,  the  better  order  that  had 
been  given  to  ecclesiastical  business  by  the  Councils  of  Constance  and 

*  RaynalJus,  an.  1500,  nnm.  52. 


38  CHAPTER    I. 

Basil,  the  revived  spirit  of  Papal  unity  cherished  in  the  Council 
of  Ferrara  and  Florence,  and  the  zeal  rekindled  by  the  events  occur- 
ring in  Bohemia.  Alfonso  V.  of  Aragon,  a  King  devoted,  politically, 
at  least,  to  the  Roman  See,  led  the  way  in  reviving  the  Inquisition 
within  the  Spanish  dominions  by  confirming  some  obsolete  or  ficti- 
tious privileges  to  the  Inquisitor  of  Sicily,  then  subject  to  the  crown 
of  Aragon  (A.D.  1452). 

In  that  act  began  the  power  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition.  Aragon, 
Castilla,  and  Leon  were  united  under  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  The 
Sicilian  Inquisitor,  Fra  Filippo  de'  Barberi,  mistrustful  of  the  validity 
of  the  privilege  confirmed  by  Alfonso,  embarked  for  Spain,  and  pre- 
sented himself  to  Queen  Isabella  in  Se villa,  (A.D.  14/7,)  to  solicit  a 
second  confirmation  of  the  grant.  Her  Majesty  readily  acceded  to  the 
request,  and  the  Ecclesiastic  lost  no  time  in  following  Ferdinand,  from 
whom,  in  Jerez  de  la  Frontera,  not  far  from  Sevilla,  he  also  received 
the  desired  ratification.  This  point  being  gained,  the  Sicilian  Mis- 
sionary applied  himself  to  a  more  arduous  labour,  by  representing  to 
the  united  Sovereigns  of  Spain  the  advantages  that  would  result  to 
them  from  the  establishment  of  the  Inquisition,  especially  in  their 
dominions  newly  acquired  from  the  Moors.  The  Prior  of  the  Domi- 
nican convent  in  Sevilla  descanted  with  extreme  fervour  on  the  neces- 
sity of  such  a  measure,  to  prevent  the  numerous  converts  from  Juda- 
ism, "  new  Christians,"  as  they  were  called,  from  relapsing  into  their 
ancient  unbelief.  The  Pope's  Nuncio  gave  all  the  weight  of  his  office 
to  the  proposal,  enraptured,  like  a  good  Roman,  at  the  opportunity 
of  winning  the  applause  of  his  master.  The  Dominican  brought  in 
tale  after  tale  of  Jews  who  had  whipped  crucifixes,  crucified  Christian 
children,  and  perpetrated  every  sort  of  sacrilege  in  contempt  of  Chris- 
tianity. If  not  quite  unfounded, — since  it  is  not  improbable  that 
Jews,  while  living  under  a  Mohammedan  government,  may  have  both 
spoken  and  acted  with  contempt  towards  Christianity,  and  especially 
such  a  Christianity  as  was  then  prevalent, — those  tales  were  monstrous 
exaggerations  ;  but  bigotry  and  covetousness  were  to  be  satisfied  ;  the 
cupidity  of  Ferdinand  was  inflamed  with  the  project ;  and  Isabella, 
believing  in  her  conscience  that  such  abominations  ought  not  to  be 
unpunished,  yet  shuddering  at  the  prospect,  gave  consent.  The 
Bishop  of  Osma,  Queen's  Orator,  was  commanded  to  solicit  of  the 
Pope  a  Bull  for  the  establishment  of  the  Inquisition  in  the  kingdom 
of  Castilla;  and  the  parchment,  heavy  with  lead,  and  heavier  with 
curse  and  woe,  was  presented  to  the  "  Catholic  Kings"  after  but  a 
few  months  had  passed  away,  and  they  were  flattered  with  permission 
to  elect  men  of  their  own  choice,  to  be  the  first  Inquisitors.  The 
Queen's  conscience  again  revolted  at  the  thought  of  letting  loose 
the  hounds  of  the  Holy  Office  on  her  people ;  she  suspended  the 
execution  of  the  Bull ;  and  having  already  caused  the  Archbishop 
of  Sevilla,  the  Cardinal  Mendoza,  to  write  a  catechism  for  the 
instruction  of  the  "  new  Christians,"  the  book  was  published,  (A.D. 
1478,)  with  a  recommendation  to  Priests  to  explain  the  Christian  doc- 
trine with  frequency  and  clearness,  and  in  private  conversations  with 
young  converts.  And  her  just  principle  of  preferring  moral  means 


VICTIMS    OF    THE    SPANISH    INQUISITION.  39 

to  violence,  was  yet  more  fully  exemplified ;  for  when  a  Jew  wrote  a 
book  against  Christianity,  she  engaged  her  Confessor,  Fray  Fernando 
de  Talavera,  to  write  another  in  reply  (A.D.  1481).  She  had  also 
employed  several  Ecclesiastics  to  ascertain  the  effects  of  these  gentle 
measures  ;  but  their  report  was  as  unsatisfactory  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  such  persons  ;  and,  overcome  by  the  importunity 
of  the  King  and  the  Papists,*  she  yielded  at  last,  after  nearly  two 
years'  resistance,  and  concurred  in  the  appointment  of  two  Dominican 
Friars  as  first  Inquisitors,  to  be  assisted  by  an  Assessor  and  a  Fiscal 
(Sept.  17th,  1480).  Torrents  of  blood  beg'an  to  flow.  To  detail  the 
proceedings  of  the  Inquisitors  would  be  tedious  and  sickening,  and  we 
shall  have  to  refer  to  them  again  and  again.  We  therefore  only  set 
down,  in  this  place,  a  numerical  summary  of  victims  during  a  few 
years,  by  the  Inquisitions  of  Sevilla,  Cordova,  &c. 

1481.  Burnt  alive  in  Sevilla,  2,000  ;  burnt  in  effigy,  2,000  ;  peni- 
tents, 17,000. 

1482.  Burnt  alive,  88 ;  burnt  in  effigy,  44  ;  penitents,  625. 

1483.  About  the  same  as  in  preceding  years  in  Sevilla,  and  in  Cor- 
dova ;  in  Jaen  and  Toledo,  burnt  alive,  688 ;  burnt  in  effigy,  644  ; 
penitents,  5,725. 

1484.  About  the  same  in  Sevilla;  and  in  the  other  places,  burnt 
alive,  220  ;  burnt  in  effigy,  110  ;  penitents,  1,561. 

1485.  Sevilla,  Cordova,  &c.,  as  the  year  preceding;  and  in  Estre- 
madura,  Valladolid,  Calahorra,  Murcia,  Cuenca,  Zaragoza,  and  Valen- 
cia, there  were  burnt  alive,  620  ;  burnt  in  effigy,  510  ;  and  penitents, 
13,471. 

1486.  In  Sevilla,  Cordova,  &c.,  as  the  year  before.     In  the  other 
places,  burnt  alive,  528  ;  burnt  in  effigy,  264  ;  penitents,  3,745. 

1487.  About  the  same  as  the  year  before.     And  in  Barcelona  and 
Majorca  many  more,  making  in  all,  burnt  alive,  928  ;  burnt  in  effigy, 
664;  and  penitents,  7,145. 

1488.  In  the  thirteen   Inquisitions,   burnt  alive,  616;    burnt  in 
effigy,  308  ;  and  penitents,  4,379. 

1489.  About  the  same  as  the  preceding  year. 

1490.  Burnt  alive,   324;    burnt  in  effigy,    112;    and  penitents, 
4,369. 

1491  to  1498,  at  about  the  same  rate. 

"  Torquemada,'  therefore,  Inquisitor-General  of  Spain,  during  the 
eighteen  years  of  his  inquisitorial  ministry,  caused  10,220  victims  to 
perish  in  the  flames ;  burnt  the  effigies  of  6,860  who  died  in  the 
Inquisition  or  fled  under  fear  of  persecution  ;  and  97,321  were 
punished  w^ith  infamy,  confiscation  of  goods,  perpetual  imprisonment, 
or  disqualification  for  office,  under  colour  of  penance  ;  so  that  not 
fewer  than  114,401  families  must- have  been  irrecoverably  ruined."  -f- 
And  the  most  moderate  calculation,  gathered  from  the  records  of  the 
Inquisition  by  the  laborious  Secretary,  Llorente,  up  to  the  year  1523, 
when  the  fourth  Inquisitor  died,  exhibits  the  fearful  aggregate  of 
18,320  burnt  alive,  9,660  in  effigy,  206,526  penitents.  Total 

*  As  the  Spaniards'designate  the  adherents  of  the  Pope,  or  Ultrainontaaes. 
t  Llorente,  Inquisickm  de  Espafia,  cup.  viii.,  art.  4. 


40  CHAPTER    I. 

number  of  sufferers,  234,506,  under  the  first  four  Inquisitors- 
General. 

But  we  cease  from  this  wearisome  statistic.  It  is  confessedly  im- 
perfect, and  may  be  confidently  regarded  as  beneath,  far  beneath,  the 
truth  ;  for  who  can  believe  that,  amidst  such  profligacy  of  life,  every 
victim  would  be  registered  ?  These  figures  are  but  a  few  of  the  rigid 
prints  left  by  the  hoof  of  the  destroyer  on  a  desolated  realm.  Ages 
will  not  wear  them  away  ;  and  if  all  the  remaining  vestiges  were 
tracked  by  the  Christian  philosopher,  compared  with  contemporary 
monuments  of  persecution,  and  the  whole  estimated,  arranged,  and 
filled  up  according  to  the  established  analogies  of  history  and  nature, 
the  result  would  be  an  image  of  bloodshed,  terror,  perfidy,  sacrilege, 
with  a  cowardly,  dark,  heartless,  and  atrocious  blasphemy,  surpassing 
aught  the  world  had  ever  witnessed.  Simon  de  Montfort  was  humane, 
the  Crusaders  of  Languedoc  were  brave  Knights,  in  comparison  with 
Torquemada  and  his  familiars.  But  the  Spanish  Inquisition  was  the 
normal  development  of  zealous  and  infuriated  full-grown  Romanism. 
It  rises  conspicuously  in  the  eve  of  the  bright  age  of  Gospel  renova- 
tion ;  and  leaving  the  reader  to  con  the  volumes  of  Limborch, 
Llorente,  and  others,  who  have  drudged  through  their  doleful  records, 
\ve  must  mark  a  few  details  of  that  gigantic,  but  futile,  undertaking 
for  the  extinction  of  human  independence  and  of  divine  truth. 

Torquemada  enjoyed  the  infamous  distinction  of  being  the  first 
Inquisitor-General  of  Spain.  The  primary  object  of  Ferdinand  was 
to  confiscate  as  much  property  as  possible,  and  chiefly  to  enrich  him- 
self at  the  expense  of  the  Jews.  Torquemada  justified  his  choice 
of  him  by  boundless  rapacity.  Attended  by  Lawyers  and  Canonists, 
he  established  himself  at  Madrid,  and  there  presided  over  the  Royal 
Council  of  the  Inquisition.  The  Council,  with  him,  exercised  final 
jurisdiction  in  all  cases  wherein  the  royal  prerogative  was  concerned ; 
but  in  spirituals,  that  is  to  say,  in  inquisition  for  heresy  and  the  con- 
sequent sentence,  the  General  alone,  as  representing  the  Pope,  was  abso- 
lute. There  \vere  four  subordinate  tribunals  in  Sevilla,  Cordova,  Jaen,  and 
Villareal,  which  last  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Toledo.  The  con- 
fusion of  temporal  and  spiritual  attributes  in  the  Inquisitors  caused 
frequent  disputes  with  the  Sovereigns  of  Spain  ;  but  as  the  Judges 
were  invariably  Ecclesiastics,  the  decision  was  always  given  in  favour 
of  the  Church. 

In  an  assembly  of  Inquisitors  from  the  four  provinces,  united 
with  those  of  the  supreme  Council,  a  code  of  laws  was  framed, 
under  the  name  of  Instructions,  and  afterwards  enlarged  by  suc- 
cessive enactments.  These  instructions  were  to  the  following 

O 

effect: — 1.  The  institution  of  the  Inquisition,  according  to  the  forms 
iu  use  at  Sevilla,  should  be  published  in  every  town,  notwithstanding 
any  local  privileges  to  the  contrary.  2.  An  edict,  read  in  every 
church,  denounced  canonical  censures  against  Jews  and  others  who 
had  apostatized,  unless  they  would  lay  information  against  themselves, 
and  against  all  who  obstructed  the  Holy  Office.  3.  Thirty  days'  time 
was  given  to  heretics  for  informing  against  themselves.  Within  that 
time  they  might  be  indulged  with  a  pecuniary  penance  ;  beyond  it 


INQUISITORS'  INSTRUCTIONS.  41 

their  property  was  to  be  all  confiscated.  4.  They  were  to  make  the  con- 
fession in  writing,  before  the  Inquisitors,  and  in  presence  of  a  Notary, 
giving  also  the  names  of  all  their  accomplices  in  heresy,  and  be  ques- 
tioned and  cross-questioned.  5.  If  any  other  human  being  had 
known  of  the  heresy  of  the  self-reported  sinner,  absolution  could  not 
be  given  in  private,  but  before  the  public.  (Many  thousands  appealed 
secretly  to  the  Pope,  and  bought  of  him  absolution  after  a  general 
confession,  in  order  to  avoid  the  disgrace  of  open  penance.  This 
brought  immense  sums  to  his  treasury.)  6.  Persons  reconciled  by 
penance  were  to  be  for  ever  excluded  from  honourable  employments, 
and  forbidden  to  wear  gold,  silver,  silk,  or  fine  linen,  that  all  the  world 
might  know  the  infamy  they  had  incurred.  (This  sentence  was  also  com- 
muted at  cost  of  vast  sums  of  money  paid  by  rich  offenders  to  the  Pope. 
At  last  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  remonstrated,  the  Pope  cancelled  his 
Bulls  of  rehabilitation,  kept  the  money,  and  left  the  penitents  to  a 
second  persecution  and  disgrace.)  7.  Voluntary,  or  "  spontaneous," 
penitents  were,  although  reconciled,  to  pay  a  tax  ever  after  for  the 
defence  of  the  holy  Catholic  faith.  8.  The  voluntary  penitent  who 
should  have  allowed  the  thirtieth  day  to  pass,  was  to  have  all  his 
property  confiscated,  notwithstanding  his  confession.  9.  Minors  and 
children  might  be  indulged,  on  voluntary  confession,  with  light  pe- 
nance. Such  light  penance  was  wearing  sackcloth  openly  for  one 
or  two  years,  and  attending  mass  on  all  feast-days  in  that  shameful 
sambenito,  walking  with  it  in  procession,  and  whatever  else  the  Inqui- 
sitor might  command.  10.  The  voluntary  penitent  should  be  spoiled 
of  everything  he  had  received  during  the  period  of  his  heresy.  Of 
dowry,  for  example,  or  of  estates  bequeathed.  11.  An  imprisoned 
heretic  might  be  indulged  with  perpetual  imprisonment  instead  of 
burning,  if  his  repentance  were  sincere.  12.  But  at  any  time  he 
might  be  declared  a  false  penitent,  and  burnt.  13.  So  might  any  one 
who  should  be  found  to  have  concealed  any  thing  in  the  "  spontaneous" 
confession.  14.  The  penitent  might  be  burnt  if  the  witnesses  in  his 
case  were  not  agreed.  (So  that  any  man  might  have  another  sacri- 
ficed to  his  private  enmity.)  15.  If  proof  were  incomplete,  the  accused 
might  be  put  to  torture ;  burnt,  if  he  confessed,  and  afterwards  con- 
firmed his  confession  ;  tormented  again,  if  he  did  not.  (The  repetition 
of  torture  was  prohibited  in  a  subsequent  instruction  ;  but  many  Inqui- 
sitors repeated  it,  notwithstanding,  and  evaded  the  law  by  calling  several 
applications  one  torture.)  16.  The  accused  should  never  have  a  copy 
of  the  evidence  given  against  them.  17.  The  Inquisitors  should 
ascertain  that  witnesses  were  not  disqualified.  (An  instruction 
that  could  seldom  be  fulfilled :  for  the  subalterns,  anxious  to  prove 
heresy,  concealed  all  that  would  discredit  the  testimony  of  wretches 
suborned  to  deprive  a  rich  man  of  .property  and  life.)  18.  Two  Inquisi- 
tors, or  at  least  one,  should  be  present  during  the  infliction  of  torture. 
19.  A  person  cited  to  appear  on  a  charge  of  heresy,  and  not  appear- 
ing, should  be  deemed  guilty,  and  burnt  if  he  were  caught.  20.  The 
body  of  a  deceased  heretic  might  be  exhumed  and  burnt,  his  property 
confiscated,  and  his  family  declared  infamous.  21.  All  civil  Magistrates 
should  help  the  Inquisitors,  or  be  themselves  punished  as  heretics. 

VOL.    III.  G 


42  CHAPTER    I. 

22.  The  children  under  age  of  heretics  punished,  should  be  placed 
under  good  Catholic  guardians,  and  maintained  out  of  their  parents' 
estate.  (Llorente  assures  us  that  he  had  examined  all  the  records 
of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  with  minute  care,  but  never  found  one 
instance  of  obedience  to  this  instruction.)  23.  A  reconciled  penitent 
could  not  receive  property  if  it  came  to  him  from  a  person  convicted 
of  heresy.  24.  The  Christian  slaves  of  a  reconciled  and  absolved 
penitent  were  to  be  confiscated  to  the  Crown,  notwithstanding  the 
absolution.  25.  The  Inquisitors  and  their  servants  were  not  to  take 
presents.  (Nor  needed  they,  for  they  helped  themselves.)  26.  The 
Inquisitors  were  to  live  in  peace  together ;  no  one  was  to  be  greater 
than  another,  not  even  if  he  were  a  Bishop.  (The  intention  of  this 
instruction  was,  not  to  preserve  harmony,  but  to  deprive  a  Bishop- 
Inquisitor  of  his  episcopal  power, — to  unify  their  interests  and 
thereby  increase  their  strength,  for  the  sole  purposes  of  the  tribunal.) 
27.  They  should  keep  their  subalterns  in  order.  28.  In  any  case  not 
provided  for  in  these  Instructions,  the  Inquisitors  should  act  on  their 
own  judgment. 

It  is  notorious  that  the  introduction  of  the  Inquisition  was  every 
where  regarded  with  abhorrence,  and  in  some  places  provoked  the 
people  to  insurrection.  The  high  court  of  Council  and  the  Instruc- 
tions gave  it  a  new  and  more  terrible  character,  even  in  Aragon,  where 
it  had  previously  existed  ;  and  the  first  Inquisitor,  under  the  new 
system,  was  murdered  in  Zaragoza  before  he  could  enter  on  his  busi- 
ness. This  man,  Pedro  Arbues  de  Epila,  apprehensive  of  violence, 
and  perhaps  not  very  tranquil  in  his  new  office,  having  to  attend 
matins,*  covered  himself  with  a  coat  of  mail  under  his  robes,  and  with 
a  steel  helmet  under  his  cap,  took  a  lantern  in  one  hand,  and  a  heavy 
club  in  the  other,  and  walked  from  his  house  to  the  cathedral.  He 
knelt  close  to  one  of  the  massive  pillars,  with  the  lantern  on  the  pave- 
ment, and  his  right  hand  grasping  the  cudgel  concealed  between  him- 
self and  the  pillar.  The  Canons  were  chanting  the  appointed  hymns, 
and  he  seemed  to  be  united  in  devotion.  Two  men  knelt  down  near 
him,  awaiting  a  moment  for  the  fatal  stroke.  Knowing  that  persons 
in  his  position  frequently  carried  mail  under  the  soft  robe,  they  aimed 
accordingly,  and  at  the  same  instant  one  struck  him  on  the  left  arm, 
and  the  other  discharged  a  heavy  blow  on  the  back  of  his  head,  that 
laid  him  prostrate,  and  he  died  in  a  few  hours  (Sept.  15th,  1485). 
A  contention  the  next  day  between  the  old  Christians  and  the  new 
was  the  consequence  ;  and  similar  murders  and  contentions  marked 
the  introduction  of  the  new  Inquisition  in  many  parts  of  Europe. 
Peter  was  beatified,  then  canonized.  The  mass  of  Spaniards  submit- 
ted, Jews  and  "new  Christians"  were  the  victims,  the  King  and  the 
Clergy  shared  the  spoils,  and  the  new  functionaries  everywhere  dis- 
played their  triumph  with  a  more  than  priestly  pomp.  Torquemada 
appeared  in  public  with  a  guard  of  two  hundred  foot-soldiers  and  fifty 
horse  ;  and  the  provincial  Inquisitors  were  each  attended  by  ten  horse- 

*  Matins,  originally  a  morning  service,  afterwards  the  nocturns,  or  vigils,  -were  so 
called  because  they  began  after  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  to  usher  in  the  next  day,  or 
morning,  after  midnight. 


INVENTION    OF    PRINTING.  43 

men  and  forty  foot.  Thousands  of  private  persons  and  a  multitude 
of  the  nobility  hastened  to  accept  the  office  of  familiars,  or  servants, 
of  the  Holy  Office,  exempted  at  the  same  time  from  secular  burdens 
and  from  suspicion  of  heresy,  invested  with  ecclesiastical  privileges, 
and  formed  into  a  new  and  resistless  army  for  the  defence  of  Romish 
faith.  Spain  was  rising,  first,  by  the  conquest  of  Granada  at 
home,  then  by  that  of  Mexico,  and  vast  regions  of  South  America, 
to  the  highest  point  of  wealth  and  power.  In  Italy,  too,  and 
all  over  the  European  continent,  the  Church  became  more  arrogant 
and  sanguinary  than  she  had  dared  to  show  herself  since  the  great 
crusade  against  the  Albigenses  ;  and  this  was  the  power  that  assailed 
the  Lollards  in  England,  the  Brethren  in  Bohemia,  and  every  human 
being  who  dared  to  breathe  a  sentence  of  religious,  or  even  intel- 
lectual, truth.* 

Just  after  persecution  had  raged  most  hotly  in  England  and  in 
Bohemia,  and  immediately  before  the  establishment  of  the  modern 
Inquisition  in  Spain,  printing  was  invented.  The  birth  of  the  new  art 
was  almost  simultaneous  with  that  deplorable  event,  and  it  is  now  almost 
superfluous  to  say  that  the  press  has  overthrown  the  Inquisition,  or  to 
state  the  converse  truth,  that  intellectual  and  religious  liberty  still 
advance  together.  In  the  year  1439,  if  not  earlier,  it  would  appear 
that  John  Guttenberg,  a  citizen  of  Mentz,  was  amusing  himself  in 
efforts  to  improve  the  art  of  engraving  into  a  similar  contrivance  for 
the  impression  of  words,  so  as  to  multiply  copies  of  manuscript.  By 
a  remarkable  coincidence,  by  accepting  some  suggestion  that  might 
have  been  incidentally  made  known  to  both,  or  by  the  common  inspi- 
ration of  the  Spirit  that  giveth  understanding,  Laurence  Coster, 
of  Haerlem,  the  very  year  after  (A.D.  1440)  produced  impressions 
from  wooden  blocks,  each  block,  both  at  Mentz  and  Haerlem,  contain- 
ing a  paragraph,  or  a  page.  Guttenberg,  associating  Fust,  a  gold- 
smith, with  himself,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  more  capital  for  prose- 
cuting the  novel  and  expensive  undertaking,  laboured  with  great 
diligence  and  enthusiasm  in  the  work  ;  and  by  their  united  effort, 
they  succeeded  in  making  movable  metal  type.  The  several  stages 
of  the  invention,  the  prior  or  exclusive  claims  of  the  inventors,  and 
the  earliest  productions  of  their  presses,  are  covered  in  the  obscurity 
incident  to  infant  arts,  and  still  exercise  the  diligence  of  bibliogra- 
phists.  The  details  are  almost  concealed  ;  but  one  fact  is  certain,  that 
during  five  or  six  years  the  art  of  printing  rose  into  a  state  of  perfec- 
tion that  has  never  been  excelled ;  and  that  its  inventors  and  others 
who  became  printers  in  the  fifteenth  century  brought  a  force  of  enter- 
prise, self-denial,  and  learning  to  their  work,  that  ranked  them  at 
once  among  the  benefactors  of  mankind.  They  were  a  newly-created 
body  of  labourers  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  world, 
who  owed  their  origin  to  the  gracious  providence  of  God.  One  of  the 
first  great  works  was  a  Latin  Bible  in  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
leaves,  printed  at  Mentz  by  Guttenberg  and  Fust  (A.D.  1450  to  1455). 
One  edition  after  another  of  the  holy  Scriptures  rapidly  followed  in 

*  Limborch,  Histoty  of  the  Inquisition,  vol.  i.,  chap.  13 — 31 ;  but  especially  Llorente, 
Hiotoria  Critica  de  la  Inquisicion  de  Espana,  capitulos  5 — 7. 

G    2 


44  CHAPTER    I. 

Latin,  and  one  or  two  vernacular  versions  ;  and  the  magnificent  Polyglot 
Bible  of  Aleala,  while  it  gratified  the  vanity  of  the  Cardinal  Inquisitor 
Ximenez,  was  reluctantly  suffered  by  the  Pope  to  see  the  light,  and 
gave  the  hint  for  more  useful  editions  and  more  enlightened  studies. 
The  history  of  early  editions  is  itself  a  science.  In  a  few  years  every 
man  who  could  print  found  abundant  encouragement ;  Germans  and 
Frenchmen  were  welcomed  at  the  chief  cities  of  Europe  ;  and  ere  long 
even  at  Oxford,  at  that  time  overcast  with  shameful  ignorance,  a  printer 
was  at  work  (A.D.  14C8)  on  St.  Jerome's  exposition  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed.  Caxton  soon  followed  ;  and  as  books  were  then  in  use  almost 
exclusively  among  the  Clergy  and  the  rich,  and  printed  books  were  as 
yet  costly,  he  was  allowed  to  set  up  his  press  in  a  chapel  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  perhaps  in  the  scriptorium,  or  place  where  manuscripts 
were  written,  when  a  more  bookish  Abbot  pleased  to  permit.  Indeed 
it  was  the  aim  of  all  the  early  printers  to  imitate  their  best-written 
manuscripts.*  As  nothing  unusual  was  done  without  the  sanction  of 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities,  those  authorities  soon  gave  con- 
currence, or  pronounced  disapprobation.  Thus  the  University  of  Cologne, 
through  their  Rector,  "admitted  and  approved"  a  book  printed  by 
Henry  Quentel,  then  a  young  printer  in  that  city  (A.D.  14/9).  And 
the  same  year  the  same  University  sanctioned  the  "  famous  work  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,"  f  printed  by  Conrad  of  Homborch.  To 
approve  presupposed  right  to  disapprove  and  to  condemn :  such  a  pre- 
rogative had  certainly  been  assumed  more  than  two  centuries  before, 
over  booksellers  in  Paris  ;  J  it  was  soon  exercised  over  printers  ;  and 
we  find  (A.D.  1480)  four  Clerics  assuming  the  character  of  Censors, 
and  prefixing  their  individual  sanction  to  a  book  printed  at  Heidel- 
berg^ In  England  the  Parliament  gave  permission  (A.D.  1483)  for 
printers  and  booksellers  to  come  into  England  and  exercise  their 
trade ;  ||  while  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz  assumed  control  in  the  city 
most  distinguished  by  the  invention,  and  appointed  a  person  to  the 
new  office  of  Censor  (A.D.  I486).  ^[  The  Roman  Pontiff,  who  sel- 
dom hazards  his  credit  by  beginning  even  an  evil  work,  crowned  the 
gradual  encroachment  of  the  Clergy  by  a  Bull,  (A.D.  1501,)  forbidding 
any  book  to  be  printed  without  licence  of  the  Archbishops  of  Cologne, 
Mentz,  Triers,  and  Magdeburg,  or  their  Vicars-General.  This  was 
afterwards  (A.D.  1515)  confirmed  and  extended  by  the  fifth  Council 
of  Lateran,**  and  we  shall  find  that  it  was  enforced  with  the  utmost 
rigour. 

*  Ames,  Typographical  Antiquities,  edited  by  Dibdin  ;  Preliminary  Disquisition,  and 
Life  of  Caxton. 

" insigne  Veteris  Novique  Testament!  opus." 

Hallatn,  Middle  Ages,  chap,  ix.,  part  2, — Revival  of  Ancient  Learning,  note. 

§  Beckmann,  History  of  Inventions, — book  Censors. 

||  Anno  Primo  Ric.  III.,  c.  9.     Afterwards  repealed  in  25th  Hen.  VTII, 

If  Beckmann,  ut  supra. 

**  The  Council  of  Lateran  merely  heard  and  gave  their  placet  to  a  document  of  the 
learned  and  refined  Leo  X.,  the  patron  of  scholars,  artists,  poets,  and  wits.  After 
acknowledging  the  benefits,  and  even  the  divine  origin,  of  the  art  of  printing,  "  either 
invented  or  improved  "  in  those  times,  he  makes  the  Council  say,  that  "because  tlio 
complaint  of  many  has  reached  their  hearing,  and  that  of  the  Apostolic  See,  that  some 
masters  of  the  art  of  printing  have  presumed,  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  to  print  and 
sell  publicly  Greek,  Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  Chaldee  books,  translated  into  Latin,  and  even 


REVIVAL    OF    LITERATURE.  45 

Printing,  as  a  mechanical  invention,  might  have  been  of  little  use, 
but  for  its  ready  appropriation  to  the  purposes  of  reviving  literature. 
The  importance  of  the  revival  of  learning  to  the  reformation  of  the 
Church  and  the  renovation  of  Christianity,  cannot  be  too  highly  appre- 
ciated :  although  space  for  an  adequate  notice  of  it  cannot  be  afforded 
in  these  pages.  Enough,  however,  may  be  said  to  enable  the  reader 
to  discover  the  hand  of  God.  Ever  since  the  twelfth  century  there 
had  been  a  slow,  feeble,  and  often  interrupted  progress  of  learning. 
Paper  had  been  carried  from  China  to  Tartary,  perhaps  thence  to 
Arabia,  and  undoubtedly,  by  means  of  the  Saracens,  to  Spain.  The 
manufacture  of  that  invaluable  material  could  not  have  lingered  long 
after  its  use.  So  early  as  the  eighth  century  it  was  made  at  Samar- 
caud ;  and  manuscripts  of  the  eleventh  are  said  to  be  now  preserved 
in  the  Escurial.*  The  labour  of  scribes  was  facilitated,  and  their 
work  cheapened.  A  commercial  motive  gave  impulse  to  the  literary 
manufacture.  The  number  of  readers  increased,  and  the  increase 
of  study  was  a  consequence.  A  few  translations  of  Latin  works 
slightly  enlarged  the  circle  of  knowledge,  and  interested  others  besides 
the  Clergy  in  the  pursuit,  and  even  in  the  propagation,  of  knowledge. 
Collegiate  libraries,  and  the  collections  of  wealthy  persons,  became 
somewhat  numerous ;  although  yet  so  small  that  we  smile  as  we 
peruse  their  catalogues.  Here  and  there,  in  a  great  city,  a  bookseller 
might  be  found.  The  multiplication  of  writings  hitherto  unheard 
of  excited  curiosity,  and  translations  were  called  for.  The  new  labour 
of  translation  required  grammatical  knowledge,  and  with  the  acquisi- 
tion grew  a  taste  for  the  science.  The  grammarian  acquired  fame  :  his 
language,  at  least  when  written,  excelled  the  common  style,  awakened 
admiration,  was  imitated,  raised  the  standard  of  his  vernacular ;  and 
in  Italy,  especially,  an  enthusiastic  collection  of  ancient  Roman  classics 
was  accompanied  by  an  almost  idolatrous  admiration  of  the  language 
which  had  never  died,  and  followed  by  successful  efforts  to  elevate  the 
daughter  Italian  by  an  infusion  of  the  graces  and  the  treasures  of  the 
parent  Latin. 

In  Greece,  as  in  Italy,  the  language  of  their  fathers  had  been 
retained  in  liturgies,  and  its  familiar  use  cherished  in  the  court 
and  higher  circles  of  Constantinople.  The  veiled  matrons,  who 
shunned  intercourse  with  any  beyond  their  dwellings,  scarcely 
understood  the  barbarian  corruptions  of  speech  employed  by  their 
husbands,  who  conversed  out  of  doors  with  strangers  from  Asia  and 
the  North  ;  and  thus,  unconsciously  to  themselves,  they  preserved  the 
venerable  language  of  the  New  Testament,  of  Justin  Martyr,  Cyril, 

into  vulgar  languages ;  and  that  those  books  contain  errors  in  faith,  and  doctrines  con- 
trary and  hurtful  to  the  Christian  religion,  and  even  against  the  reputation  of  persons  in 
high  dignity,  (dignitate  fulgentium,)  and  injurious  also  to  good  morals ;  the  Council, 
echoing  the  Pope,  therefore  determines,  that  no  book  or  writing  shall  he  printed  without 
a  written  licence  under  the  hand  of  the  Vicar-Apostolic,  or  Master  of  the  Palace,  if  in 
'  the  city,'  (Rome,)  or  of  the  Bishop,  if  in  any  other  diocese  throughout  the  world."  The 
penalty  of  disobedience  was  one  hundred  ducats  to  the  fabric  of  St.  Peter ;  the  printer 
not.  to  print  anything  for  one  year  after  the  offence  ;  the  books  printed  to  be  burnt ;  the 
printer  excommunicated,  and  burnt,  also,  if  contumacious,  ( —  per  otnnia  juris  remcdia 
castiffelur,)  for  a  warning  to  others.  (Binii,  torn,  iv.,  Cone.  Lateranense,  sess.  x.) 
*  Hallam,  Middle  Ages,  chap,  is.,  part  2,—  "  Invention  of  linen  paper." 


46  CHAPTER    I. 

Chrysostom,  and  other  luminaries  of  a  purer  age.  Then,  in  order  to 
infuse  this  Christian  element  into  the  mass  of  Italian  society,  where 
conceptions  of  Christianity  were  rapidly  exchanged  for  those  of  Pagan- 
ism, and  at  the  same  time  to  overthrow  in  judgment  one  great  section 
of  apostate  Christendom,  it  pleased  God  to  deliver  Constantinople  to 
the  Turks.  Already  a  few  Greeks  had  taught  in  Italy ;  a  taste  for 
Greek  had  been  excited;  and  just  then  a  multitude  of  refugees, 
proud  of  the  majestic  language  of  old  Byzantium,  came  to  satisfy 
the  aspiration  of  enthusiastic  students  in  Tuscany,  Naples,  and 
Rome,  after  the  faculty  of  reading,  and  even  speaking,  Greek.  At 
first  it  seemed  as  if  even  the  paganizing  tendencies  of  literature  would 
be  paramount.  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  "  the  Magnificent,"  of  Florence, 
gathered  around  him  in  his  princely  villa  at  Fiesole,  artists,  poets, 
grammarians,  and  philosophers,  who  devoted  all  their  energies  to  the 
prosecution  of  one  great  object, — intellectual  elevation,  adorned  with 
every  possible  elegance  of  number,  form,  and  high  conception.  The 
Roman  pantheon  began  to  be  re-occupied  by  its  former  tenants.  The 
Apollo  was  more  admired  than  the  Christ  ;  amongst  the  devotees 
of  Peter  the  votaries  of  Plato  mingled  ;  and  the  image  of  the  philoso- 
pher was  honoured  with  burning  lamps  like  the  image  of  the  Apostle. 
Architecture,  which  is  at  once  the  work  and  the  expression  of  its 
age,  became  pagan :  so  did  spectacles.  Instead  of  the  old  legendary 
mysteries,  or  religious  processions  and  plays,  mythological  processions 
and  pagan  recitations  delighted  the  populace,  the  Princes,  and  the 
Priests  of  Italy.  Popes  Nicholas  V.  and  Leo  X.,  for  example,  patron- 
ized this  fascinating  pursuit  after  the  reviving  arts  and  languages 
of  old  Rome  and  Greece.  The  mania  reached  its  highest  point  in  the 
erection  of  St.  Peter's  church  after  a  pagan  type,  and  ended  in  bury- 
ing for  ever,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  the  boasted  catholicity  of  Popery  under 
the  dome  of  that  lofty  structure.  But  the  King  of  nations  overruled 
this  intellectual  revolution  to  the  production  of  a  great  spiritual 
change ;  and  amidst  the  relaxation  of  dogmatical  severity,  a  few 
Italians  arose  who  first  began  to  reduce  the  speculations  of  Plato,  the 
"  atticizing  Moses,"  (Mo>u'<r»jj  'ATTJXJ^COV,)  and  the  abstractions  of 
Aristotle,  to  trial,  by  the  standard  of  revelation.  They  carried  their 
zeal  into  the  pulpits,  and  gained  the  attention  of  the  people,  while 
the  word  of  God,  without  comment,  and  the  writings  of  many  of  the 
Fathers,  poured  from  the  press,  and  gave  a  new  turn  to  the  thoughts 
of  myriads.  Even  then  it  became  evident  to  the  more  discerning, 
that  the  human  mind  was  undergoing  preparation  for  a  better  state, 
was  passing  into  a  new  life. 

A  few  sentences  of  Erasmus,  proving  that  this  was  his  expectation, 
may  be  taken  as  prefatory  to  the  events  of  our  next  chapter.  In  a 
letter  to  his  friend,  Wolfgang  Fabricius  Capito,  (A.D.  1516,)  he  says, 
that  although  he  is  fifty-one  years  of  age,  and  therefore  cannot  expect 
or  desire  to  live  much  longer,  he  would  almost  like  to  be  young 
again,  for  no  other  reason  than  because  a  sort  of  golden  age  seems  to  be 
drawing  near.  The  minds  of  Princes,  he  affirms,  are  divinely  changed. 
Those  whose  power  and  courage  are  equal  to  any  deeds  of  war, 
strangely  study  arts  of  peace,  and  patronize  learning.  Even  the 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DISCOVERIES.  47 

Pope,  the  Emperor,  the  Kings  of  France,  England,  and  Spain,  the 
Cardinal  Ximenez,  (although  a  relentless  Inquisitor,)  and  many 
Bishops,  are  united  in  the  patronage  of  learning  :  while  a  host  of 
scholars  emulate  each  other.  Where  letters  were  almost  lost,  as  in 
Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Denmark,  they  revive.  Germany,  France,  and 
England  begin  to  emulate  Italy.  Medicine,  jurisprudence,  and  mathe- 
matics have  now  followers.  He  mourns,  indeed,  over  the  ignorance 
and  bigotry  of  so  many  of  the  Clergy,  who  think  that  learning  is 
wicked,  or,  through  indolence,  pretend  to  think  so  ;  and  he  some- 
times fears  lest  the  learned  should  renounce  Christianity  altogether. 
Yet,  taking  all  things  as  they  are,  they  promise  him  a  happy  event.* 
The  happy  event  came,  sui'passing  the  hope,  and  even  the  desire,  of 
Erasmus. 

Together  with  the  increased  activity  and  better  education  of  the 
European  mind,  the  age  before  us  was  distinguished  from  all  others 
by  an  enlargement  of  the  field  of  human  action,  and  eventually,  of 
evangelical  benevolence.  Flavio  Gioia,  a  citizen  of  Amalfi,  in  Naples, 
of  whose  station  in  society  history  is  silent,  had  discovered  the  use 
of  the  magnet  in  navigation  (A.D.  1302)  ;  but  the  timorous  sailors 
of  the  Mediterranean  ventured  not,  for  at  least  half  a  century,  to 
explore  any  unknown  sea,  or  voluntarily  quit  sight  of  land,  except 
when  certain  of  the  neighbouring  shore  whither  their  course  would 
lead  them.  The  Canary  Isles  were  added  to  the  known  world,  pro- 
bably by  the  drifting  of  some  vessel  under  stress  of  weather  ;  and 
Clement  VI.,  acting  as  God's  vicegerent,  erected  them  into  a  kingdom 
(A.D.  1344),  and  bestowed  them  on  a  Spaniard.  On  the  north-western 
coast  of  Africa,  a  bold  headland,  called  Cape  Non,  in  latitude  28°  41', 
was  the  last  point  of  land  to  which  the  European  sailor  would  ven- 
ture, until  the  Portuguese  added  a  short  line  of  coast,  extending  to 
Cape  Bojador  (A.D.  1412).  This  trifling  prolongation  of  the  accus- 
tomed voyages  led  to  new  adventure,  which  was  rewarded  by  the  dis- 
covery (A.D.  1420)  and  colonization  of  Madeira.  Beyond  Cape 
Bojador  the  enterprising  mariners  astonished  Portugal  by  venturing 
southward  to  Cape  Verd,  and  braving  a  region  which  the  ancients  had 
pronounced  to  be  uninhabitable,  because  of  excessive  heat.  The  super- 
stitious clamoured  against  those  undertakings  as  a  warring  against 
nature ;  but  Eugene  IV.  conferred  on  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal  au- 
thority to  persevere,  and  made  him  a  donation  of  all  the  lands  he 
might  discover.  Maritime  discovery,  and  the  multiplication  of  books 
by  printing,  then  wrought  a  combined  influence  on  the  sedentary  and 
the  active ;  and  while  the  Inquisition  was  about  to  be  reorganized,  the 
Divine  Head  of  the  church  was  preparing  a  new  world  of  refuge  for 
his  persecuted  children.  That  portion  of  the  map  was  rapidly  com- 
pleted by  inserting  all  the  African-islands  ;  the  compass  being  at  last 
trusted  in  voyages  of  discovery.  After  the  death  of  Prince  Henry, 
enterprise  languished,  until,  under  the  authority  of  a  new  Sovereign, 

*  "  Omnia  mihi  pollicentur  reru  felicissime  successuram."  Erasmi  Epist.  apud  Ger- 
desium,  Evang.  Renovat.,  torn.  i.,p.  (20)  ;  Gerdes,  in  the  work  now  cited,  torn,  i.,  sec. 
J5 — 11  ;  Hallam,  chap,  ix.,  part  2  ;  Gibbon,  Decline,  &c.,  chap.  Ixvi. ;  Mo.sheim,  cent, 
xv.,  part  ii.,  chap.  1  ;  Roscoe,  Life  of  Leo  X.,  chaps,  ii.,  xii.,  xv. 


48  CHAPTER    I. 

John  II.,  Portuguese  sailors  dared  beyond  the  equinoctial,  and  saw 
the  constellations  of  the  southern  hemisphere   (A.D.  1484).     The  iti- 
neraries of  missionary  and  commercial  travellers,  who  had  gone  over- 
laud  to  India,  and  visited  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea,  were  then  com- 
pared with  conjectures  of  ancient  geographers,  and  with  the  constantly 
enlarging  space  of  observation.     Merchants  longed  for  a  passage  to 
India  around  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa,  if  such  were  to  be 
found;  and  when  a  Commander,  Diaz,  (A.D.  I486,)  returned  with  the 
intelligence  of  a   "  Stormy  Cape,"  beyond  which  navigation  was  im- 
practicable, John  II.  named  it  rather  "  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope." 
Yet  he   faltered  between   the   purposes  of  royal   ambition  and  the 
jealous  hostility  of  Venice,  then  mistress  of  oriental  commerce,  scarcely 
hazarding  war  for  the  sake  of  further  discoveries  which  that  Republic 
was  anxious  to  prevent.     Colon,  or  Columbus,  as  he  is  usually  called, 
drew  general  attention,  in  that  period  of  indecision,  by  proposals  to 
leave  the  region  contested  by  Venice,  and  seek  for  India  by  sailing 
westward,  until,  as  the  spherical  figure  of  the  earth  led  him  to  expect, 
he  should  reach  that  continent.    After  almost  unparalleled  discourage- 
ment  and   perseverance,    although    Ferdinand   of   Spain   and   other 
Sovereigns  had  refused  him  any  help,  he  again  applied  to  Isabella, 
immediately  after  the  conquest  of  Granada,  and  found  her  so  elated 
with  victory,  as  to  be  willing  to  give  him  three  small  and  scarcely  sea- 
worthy vessels.     With  these  he  left  Palos,  a  small  seaport  of  Andalu- 
cia,  on  Friday,  August  3d,  1492,  after  having  gone  to  mass  with  his 
officers  and  crews  in  solemn  procession.     At  sunrise  they  hoisted  sail, 
and,  followed  by  the  cheers,  the  blessings,  and  the  prayers  of  the 
people,   steered  for  the   Canaries,  and  thence  westward,  whither  no 
voyager  had  ever  gone  before.     For  thirty-six  days  he  pursued  his 
undeviating  course,  watching  every  floating  weed  or  stick,  marking 
the  changes  of  the  tropic  sky,  and  the  flight  of  birds  ;  and  at  length, 
surrounded   by    faint-hearted   and   desperate    Spaniards   who    medi- 
tated mutiny,  and  had  even  determined  to  throw  him  overboard,  that 
they   might    endeavour    to    sail  back  again,  he    implored   them  to 
persevere  for  three  days  more,  confident  that  by  that  time  they  would 
see  the  shore  whence  came  straggling  land-birds  and  floated  leaves. 
On  the  evening  of  October  1 2th,  he  commanded  the  sails  to  be  furled, 
lest  they  should  run  on  shore  in  the   night,  and  prayers  to  be  offered 
up  for  success.     Strict  watch  was  kept.     As  the  trade-wind  wafted 
them  gently  forward,  he  thought  he  could  see  a  distant  light,  but 
named  it  not,  lest  it  should  be  only  a  meteor.     But  about  two  hours 
after  midnight,  from  the  Pinta,  one  of  the  vessels  which  always  kept 
ahead,  a  shout  was   heard,  Tierra  !  tierra  !  tierra  !    "  Land  !  land  ! 
land  !"     It  was  the  New  World.     Soon  as  the  day  dawned,  an  island 
was  seen  over  the  bows.     They  hoisted  sail,  the  three  crews  raised 
their  voices  in  a  rude  Te  Deum,  and,  as  the  sun  arose,  they  were  land- 
ing with  hoisted  flags  and  martial  music.      In  honour  of  the  Saviour, 
he  called  the  land  San  Salvador ;  and  with  religious  and  military  cere- 
monial took  possession  of  it  for  the  crown  of  Castilla   and  Leon.* 
The  Pope  afterwards  yave  the  Western  Hemisphere  to  Spain,  reserving 

*  Robertson,  History  of  America,  books  i.,  ii. 


PEDRO    DE    OSMA JOHN    OP   WESSALIA WESSELTJS.  49 

the  new  lands  in  the  Eastern  to  Portugal.  The  honours  lavished  on 
Columbus,  and  the  desertion  and  ingratitude  that  followed,  give  a 
mournfully  instructive  finish  to  his  history ;  but  our  only  business  is 
to  mark  one  of  the  great  events  of  the  fifteenth  century,  as  insepa- 
rably connected  with  all  that  follows.  The  modern  Inquisition,  print- 
ing, geographical  discoveries,  the  conquest  of  the  Spanish  Moors,  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Spain,  and  the  African  slave-trade,  begun 
soon  after  the  discovery  of  Guinea,* — which,  however,  we  cannot  stay 
to  narrate, — constitute  a  secular  boundary,  so  to  speak,  separating  all 
that  shall  follow  from  all  that  has  preceded. 

Here,  as  on  some  Alpine  height,  where  the  traveller  gains  his  first 
prospect  of  a  new  country,  we  take  our  stand,  'and,  for  a  moment, 
observe  a  few  of  the  more  eminent  personages  whom  God  honoured  to 
be  pioneers  in  that  warfare  wherein  so  many  fell,  victims  of  persecu- 
tion, and  martyrs  of  Christ. 

"  Some  new  opinions  on  the  matter  of  religion  were  current  in 
Castilla,"  says  Mariana,  the  historian  of  Spain.  In  the  University 
of  Salamanca  a  Professor  of  Theology  taught  the  "  new  opinions ;" 
and,  after  they  had  made  considerable  progress,  published  a  book  to 
promote  them  more  effectually.  They  were  not  the  Judaism  then  so 
zealously  persecuted  by  the  Inquisitors,  but  the  very  truths  that  now 
distinguish  Protestantism.  He  boldly  maintained  that  mortal  sin 
could  only  be  effaced  on  condition  of  repentance,  the  keys  of  the 
Church  being  powerless  ;  that  auricular  confession  was  not  divinely 
instituted  ;  and  that  evil  thoughts  must  be  put  away  with  abhorrence, 
rather  than  related  to  a  Priest.  Retribution,  he  said,  should  be  pre- 
ferred to  penance,  which  is  not  ordained  in  Scripture  ;  the  Pope  has 
no  power  to  remit  the  pains  of  purgatory,  nor  to  overrule  the  Church 
by  granting  dispensations  ;  and  the  Church  may  err  in  its  decisions. 
The  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  by  command  of  the  Pope,  convened  an 
assembly  of  "  many  learned  persons"  at  Alcala,  who  spent  many  days 
before  they  could  agree  to  counsel  the  condemnation  of  his  writings. 
Carillo,  the  Archbishop,  alone  condemned  them  ;  and  Pope  Xystus  IV. 
prudently  concealed  the  alleged  errors  from  the  knowledge  of  his  Church 
in  general,  by  declaring  in  his  Bull  of  condemnation,  that  they  were  too 
numerous  to  be  mentioned  (A.D.  1479).  The  book  was  burnt,  but 
they  did  not  burn^the  author,  who  is  said  to  have  retracted. f 

While  Pedro  de  Osma  was  teaching  thus  from  his  chair  at  Sala- 
manca, an  aged  German  Professor  of  Theology  at  Worms,  John  of 
Wessalia,  instructed  his  students  in  the  very  doctrines  held  by  the 
Waldenses,  and  was  put  to  silence  in  a  similar  manner  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Mentz  and  the  Inquisitors,  who  are  acknowledged,  by 
Romish  historians,  to  have  treated  him  with  unjustifiable  violence. £ 
And,  the  same  year,  a  shepherd  (or  neatherd)  was  burnt  alive 
in  Franconia  by  the  Bishop  of  Wurtzburg,  for  holding  similar  opi- 
nions^ More  eminent  than  his  contemporaries  at  Salamanca  and  at 

*  Continuation  de  1'Histoire  Ecclesiastique  de  M.  1'Abbe  Fleuiy,  cxxv.,  14. 
+  Favre,   Histoire   Ecclesiastique,  cxv.,  2,  3 ;    Mariana,    Historia   de   Espafia,  libiv 
xxiv.,  cap.  19. 

t  Favre,  cxv.,  4  ;  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  vi.,  an.  1479. 
§   Ibid. 
VOL.    III.  H 


50  CHAPTER    I. 

Worms,  was  Wesselus,  also  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University 
of  Groningen.*  At  the  Council  of  Basil,  and  during  extensive  travels, 
he  had  won  the  admiration  of  the  learned  and  the  patronage  of  the 
Pope,  from  whom,  however,  he  would  accept  no  larger  gift  than  a 
Hebrew  Bible  from  the  library  of  the  Vatican.  His  learning  and 
eloquence  procured  him  the  appellation  of  Lux  Mundi,  "  Light  of  the 
World  ;"  and  although  he  heard  of  the  persecution  suffered  by  John 
of  Wessalia,  he  continued  to  teach  doctrines  at  Groningen  that  were 
equally  consistent  with  the  Gospel,  and  opposed  to  Popery  ;  but  with 
the  influence  of  superior  learning  and,  apparently,  more  decided 
piety.  When  a  young  student,  attracted  by  his  fame,  had  travelled  a 
great  distance  to  solicit  his  advice,  and  received  it,  he  addressed  him 
with  great  earnestness,  in  such  words  as  these  :  "  Young  man !  thou 
wilt  live  to  see  the  day  when  the  doctrine  of  Thomas,  Bonaventura, 
and  other  modern  and  contentious  theologians  of  the  same  sort,  will 
be  rejected  by  all  true  Christian  divines."  After  exhorting  him  to 
prefer  the  old  writers  to  the  new,  and  especially  to  the  schoolmen,  he 
proceeded  to  say,  that  in  a  short  time  "  those  cowled,  black  and  white 
irrefragable  Doctors  would  be  brought  down  to  their  right  place." 
Then,  aiming  at  the  conscience  of  the  youth,  he  added,  "Whoever 
reads  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  does  not  daily  grow  viler  and  viler  in 
his  own  esteem,  who  does  not  abhor  and  humble  himself  more  and 
more,  not  only  reads  them  in  vain,  but  to  his  peril."  The  youth 
returned  home,  and  lived  to  see  the  prediction  fulfilled,  and  to  pro- 
fit by  the  good  advice.  Wesselus,  wonderfully  protected  from  perse- 
cution, died  in  the  Lord  (A.D.  1490).  After  suffering  such  conflicts 
as  often  prove  the  faith  of  dying  saints,  he  exclaimed,  in  the  hearing 
of  friends  who  surrounded  his  bed,  "  I  thank  my  God  that  I  am 
permitted  to  overcome  these  temptations.  I  know  nothing  but  Christ 
and  him  crucified."  With  these  words  on  his  lips  he  expired,  and 
death  scarcely  disturbed  the  smile  that  had  lit  up  the  countenance 
of  the  triumphant  saint. f  Luther  afterwards  wrote  a  preface  to  some 
part  of  his  works,  which  are  honoured  with  a  first-class  place  in  the 
Expurgatory  Index  of  the  Church  of  Bome.J  Many  traces  of  his 
teaching  yet  remain  in  the  history  of  Groningen  ;  and  it  can  scarcely 
be  doubted,  that  to  the  seeds  of  evangelical  truth  sown  in  those  two 
universities  of  Germany  is  chiefly  to  be  attributed  the  harvest  gathered 
in  that  country  at  the  Lutheran  Reformation. 

There  was  also  a  precursor  of  that  great  event  in  Italy.  In  the 
choir  of  the  Dominican  convent  of  Brescia,  during  the  celebration  of 
worship,  some  words  of  a  Psalm  chanted  were  applied  with  great 
power  to  the  mind  of  a  young  Monk.  Girolamo  Savonarola  then  took 
for  his  perpetual  prayer  a  petition  of  the  Psalmist :  "  Thou  art  good,  and 
doest  good :  teach  me  thy  statutes."  Believing  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God  would  enlighten  the  mind  of  every  sincere  and  faithful  inquirer, 

*  Often  confounded  with  John  of  Wessalia. 

t  Gerdesii  Hist.  Evang.  Renov.,  torn,  i.,  p.  43. 

t  "  Wesselns  Gansfortius,  sen  Basilius  Groningensis,  Rhetor,  Poeta,  Philos.,  Medic., 
Th.  Lutb.,  i.  cl.,"  is  the  note  of  the  Index  Expurgatorius,  which  calls  him  a  Lutheran 
theologian.  A  Lutheran,  be  it  ehserved,  when  Luther  was  unborn ! 


GIROLAMO    SAVONAROLA.  51 

and  already  oppressed  with  grief  because  of  the  prevailing  wickedness 
of  Italy  and  corruption  of  the  Church,  he  sought  for  consolation  in 
the  Bible.  Already  versed  in  the  rival  systems  of  Plato  and  Aristotle, 
and  instructed  beyond  most  of  his  contemporaries  in  the  original  lan- 
guages of  the  sacred  text,  he  brought  to  the  investigation  philosophy, 
literature,  fervent  piety,  pure  love  of  country,  and  an  imagination, 
that,  even  in  Italy,  could  scarcely  be  equalled.  While  occupied  in 
biblical  study  he  was  removed  to  Florence,  where  he  acquired  unpre- 
cedented eminence  as  a  Preacher,  rose  to  be  Superior  of  his  con- 
vent, obtained  Papal  sanction  for  an  enterprise  of  monastic  reform, 
and  was  reputed  by  the  Florentines  to  be  a  Prophet.  He  exerted  so 
great  an  influence  over  that  city,  that  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  although  in 
the  height  of  his  glory,  regarded  him  with  fear  and  jealousy,  as  well 
as  reverence  ;  the  Magistrates  did  nothing  without  his  approbation ; 
and  when  a  French  invasion  threatened  Italy,  he  was  sent  as  Ambas- 
sador, to  dissuade  Charles  VIII.  from  attacking  Florence.  The  hostile 
King  felt  that  the  hooded  Ambassador  was  armed  with  a  superhuman 
power,  and  showed  him  greater  deference  than  he  had  rendered  to  any 
other  person.  Savonarola  taught  that  the  Bible  was  the  only  source 
of  true  doctrine.  He  inveighed  against  the  sins  of  Pope,  Cardinals, 
Clergy,  Monks,  Princes,  and  people.  While  he  foretold  the  falling 
of  the  "  scourge  of  God  "  on  Italy,  thousands  of  hearers  trembled  ; 
and  even  those  who  came  to  write  down  his  sermons  dropped  their 
pens,  unable  to  proceed  for  weeping.  All  the  people  said  that  he  was 
a  Prophet.  He  disclaimed  the  title  ;  but  confidently  declared  that,  by 
the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  had  attained  to  a  clearer  understanding 
of  the  inspired  prophecies  ;  and  taught  that  any  other  true  Christian 
might  attain  to  an  equal  power  of  discernment  by  faith  and  prayer. 
Often,  after  predicting  the  judgments  of  God  on  sinners,  he  would 
foretell  a  happy  age  to  follow,  and  exclaim,  with  rapture :  "  Italy 
shall  be  renewed  !"  Incapable  of  dissimulation,  he  braved  visible 
danger,  rather  than  keep  back  the  counsel  of  God  ;  and  the  court  of 
Rome  managed,  by  a  succession  of  intrigues,  to  surround  him  with 
jealous  "tyrants"  and  exasperated  factious.  His  destroyers  challenged 
him  to  a  fiery  ordeal,  and  prepared  huge  piles  of  wood,  with  bags 
of  gunpowder,  within  which  his  antagonists,  of  course,  refused  to 
enter,  and  so  did  he.  He  was  then  accused  of  imposture,  dragged 
from  his  monastery,  and,  with  two  brethren,  imprisoned,  tortured,  and 
tortured  again  ;  but  the  Inquisitors  could  only  extort  prayers  from  his 
lips.  From  the  prison  he  was  led  to  the  scaifold,  and  there  degraded 
from  the  priesthood.  "  I  separate  thee,"  said  the  savage  Bishop, 
"from  the  Church  militant  and  triumphant."  "Nay,"  replied  Savo- 
narola, "  from  the  Church  militant,  if  you  please,  but  not  from  the 
triumphant"  The  Prelate  looked  abashed ;  but  the  executioners 
relieved  his  embarrassment  by  seizing  on  the  victim.  The  martyr 
and  his  fellows  were  hung,  and  then  burnt.  Their  ashes  were  thrown 
into  the  Arno,  as  those  of  Wycliffe  had  been  thrown  into  the  Swift ; 
but  the  Florentines  long  kept  the  anniversary  of  his  death ;  and  at 
this  day  his  name"  is  cherished  in  Italy  as  if  it  were  sacred.  His 
words,  too,  have  passed  into  a  proverb ;  and  the  oppressed  Tuscan 

ii   2 


52  CHAPTER    II. 

repeats  confidently  his  reiterated  prediction,  Italia  rcnovabitur,  "  Italy 
shall  be  renewed."  When  Savonarola  was  martyred,  (A.D.  1498,)  the 
schoolboy,  Martin  Luther,  was  singing  for  bread  in  the  streets  of  Eise- 
nach ;  and  the  youth  of  Germany,  Italy,  and  Spain  went  on  learning 
the  sentences  of  Wesselus,  Pedro  de  Osma,  and  the  reputed  Prophet 
of  Ferrara,*  whose  name  was  heard  all  over  Europe,  and  whose 
writings  were  even  translated  into  Arabic,  and  read  at  Constantinople. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Martin  Luther — Spread  of  evangelical  Doctrine,  and  Conflict  of  the  Reformers  with  tfa 
Church  of  Rome — Confession  of  Augsburg. 

IGNORANCE,  cupidity,  and  profligacy  characterized  the  Clergy  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  ;  but  especially  at  Rome  and  on  the  Papal 
throne.  Princes  demanded,  and  people  clamoured  for,  reform.  The 
Clergy  sometimes  acknowledged  that  a  reformation  ought  to  be 
attempted,  and  confessed  that,  through  the  opposition  of  a  Papist  fac- 
tion, headed  by  the  Popes,  the  efforts  of  Councils  to  repair  a  ruinous 
fabric  of  discipline  had  hitherto  been  frustrated.  Alexander  VI., 
during  whose  pontificate  Savonarola  and  his  companions  were  mar- 
tyred at  Florence,  was  a  monster  of  obscenity.  His  sayings  and 
doings  are  too  grossly  bad  to  be  related  ;  and  to  disown  the  man 
while  yet  they  owned  the  Pontiff,  was  the  constrained,  yet  worthless, 
tribute  to  decency  rendered  by  his  surviving  brethren.  The  con- 
clave, shut  up  for  the  election  of  a  successor,  professed  to  bind  them- 
selves by  oath, — but  oaths  cannot  bind  a  conclave, — that  whosoever 
of  them  might  be  elected  Pope,  he  should  convene  a  General  Council 
within  two  years,  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church.  The  new  Pope 
died  almost  as  soon  as  crowned.  The  next  in  succession,  Julius  II., 
was  "rather  a  servant  of  Mars  than  of  Christ ;  and  publicly  boasted 
that  he  had  made  treaties  with  barbarian  Germans,  French,  and 
Spaniards,  merely  for  the  sake  of  cheating  them,  so  that,  with  great 
reason,  the  entire  Church  of  France,  represented  in  Convocation  at 
Tours,  (A.D.  1510,)  said,  that  the  plenitude  of  Papal  power  should 
be  called  fulness  of  tempest,  and  a  diabolic  word.  The  Emperor 
Maximilian,  too,  openly  called  Julius  a  drunken  wretch." 'f  It  was 
therefore  no  longer  expected  that  the  Church,  with  such  a  headship, 
would  reform  herself. 

Meanwhile,  the  Head  of  the  true  church  undertook  the  work. 
Martin  Luther,  son  of  a  proprietor  of  two  smelting-furnaces,  and 
Magistrate  in  the  town  of  Mansfeld  in  Saxony,  yet  of  narrow  income, 
after  having  studied  with  exemplary  diligence  in  the  schools  of  Mag- 
deburg, Eisenach,  and  Erfurt,  and  graduated  as  Master  of  Arts,  was 

*  He  waa  usually  called  Fra  Girolama  di  Ferrara.  This  notice  of  him  is  the  recol- 
lection of  a  careful  reading  of  several  of  his  works,  aud  those  of  his  biographers,  in 
Italian,  French,  and  German. 

t  Gerdesii  Uistoria  livangelii  Renovati,  torn,  i.,  p.  28. 


Jlhrttn 


MARTIN    LUTHER.  53 

devoting  himself  to  the  study  of  law.  This  young  man,  then  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  was  awakened  to  a  conviction  of  sin  by  grief  for 
the  violent  death  of  a  friend,  and  by  terror  in  a  thunder-storm.  .Reli- 
gion, it  was  fancied,  could  not  be  enjoyed  in  the  world,  and  therefore 
the  penitent  dedicated  himself  to  God,  after  the  fashion  of  those  times, 
by  hiding  himself  in  a  monastery,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  father ; 
but  so  much  the  more  acceptably  to  the  Auguatinians,  who,  like  all 
other  Monks,  deemed  such  acts  of  filial  disobedience  honourable  to 
themselves.  Although  Luther  loved  and  reverenced  his  parents,  he 
thought  that  by  rending  every  tie  of  natural  affection,  he  should  offer 
a  yet  more  worthy  sacrifice  to  God.  This  volume  might  be  filled  with 
even  a  compendiated  history  of  the  eventful  career  on  which  he  now 
entered  (Nov.  10th,  1505)  ;  but  by  a  hurried  sketch  the  reader  would 
be  defrauded  of  details  that  are  essential  to  the  history  of  such  a 
man.  We  will,  therefore,  only  note  the  succession  of  a  few  princi- 
pal events,  and  proceed  at  once  to  describe  the  persecution  that  ensued 
on  the  reformation  that  soon  began,  by  means  of  Luther  and  others. 
We  have  seen  that  the  way  was  already  open,  that  the  precursors 
of  reformation  had  multiplied,  and  that  a  desire  and  expectation 
of  some  great  change  was  already  general.  Luther  advanced  rapidly. 
Ordained  Priest  in  1507,  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  priesthood 
with  great  seriousness  and  humility,  and  soon  rose  to  the  chair 
of  divinity  at  Wittemberg  (A.D.  1508).  As  the  apparent  casualty 
of  a  thunder-storm  drove  him  to  the  cowl,  so  another  accident,  so 
trifling  that  it  might  scarcely  have  been  marked  at  the  moment  of  its 
occurrence,  imparted  a  new  character  to  his  theology.  According  to 
custom,  as  it  would  seem,  he  had  left  all  his  books  at  home,  except  a 
Plautus  *  and  a  Virgil,  and  betook  himself,  for  means  of  study,  to  the 
library  of  the  monastery.  Among  other  books  he  found  a  Bible  in 
manuscript,-|'  bound  in  red  leather,  and,  glancing  over  the  pages,  dis- 
covered many  passages  that  are  not  in  the  Breviary  and  Missal.  It 
became  his  favourite  book.  He  studied  it  with  the  commentary  of 
Lyra,  yet  gave  incomparably  greater  heed  to  the  sacred  text  than  to 
that  imperfect  interpretation  ;  and  often  spent  whole  days  in  ponder- 
ing single  passages.  The  new  study  was  hallowed  by  fervent  prayer, 
as  all  study  ought  to  be  :  God  was  his  own  interpreter,  and  soon 
made  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  plain.  Every  conversation, 
every  incident,  multiplied  the  doubts  of  Luther  as  to  his  Church,  and 
increased  his  confidence  towards  God.  In  that  state  of  mind  he  was, 
when  appointed  to  teach  theology  in  the  newly-founded  University 
of  Wittemberg ;  and  as  an  unusual  knowledge  of  holy  Scripture  was 
very  apparent  in  his  sermons,  and  generally  appreciated,  he  was 
appointed  to  lecture  on  the  Bible. $  That  he  might  know  Rome,  it 
pleased  God  to  direct  that  he  should  go  thither.  Some  monasteries 
of  his  order  had  differed  with  their  General,  and  as  the  interference 
of  the  Pope  was  thought  necessary  to  finish  the  quarrel,  they  deputed 

*  Savonarola,  who,  like  Luther,  became  a  Monk  contrary  to  his  father's  wishes,  left 
his  library  at  home,  except  a  Plautus. 

t  "  Codicem  sacrnnr  corio  rahro  tectum."     Seckendorff,  pars  i.,  p-  21. 
\  « a<i  Biblia."     Ibid.,  p.  19. 


54  CHAPTER    II. 

Luther  to  represent  their  case  to  Julius.  He  went  to  the  city,  saw  the 
monster  Pope,  witnessed  utter  irreligion  and  most  offensive  levity  and 
profaneness  in  all  the  Ecclesiastics  of  every  sort,  both  in  public  and 
in  private,  and  conceived  a  salutary  abhorrence  of  that  spiritual  Baby- 
lon (A.D.  1510  or  1512).  Filled  with  disgust,  Luther  turned  his 
back  on  Rome,  and  was  meditating  on  the  image  of  Antichrist  that  he 
had  seen  so  unexpectedly,  when  Julius  died,  and  Giovanni  de'  Medici 
caught  the  triple  crown.  Through  the  immense  influence  of  his  father, 
Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  the  person  whose  patronage  Savonarola  had 
nobly  refused  at  Florence,  Giovanni  was  made  Abbot  and  Archbishop 
at  seven  years  of  age,  and  Cardinal  at  thirteen.  Cradled  in  regal 
wealth,  brought  up  amidst  the  excessive  refinements  of  his  father's 
court,  as  it  might,  in  truth,  be  called,  and  depending  for  happiness  on 
the  gratification  of  most  expensive  tastes  and  the  indulgence  of  a  pas- 
sion for  display  that  the  ordinary  revenue  of  the  pontificate  could  not 
satisfy,  he  soon  foresaw  embarrassment.  Lorenzo  Pucci,  one  of  his 
own  Cardinals,  suggested,  that  he  should  have  recourse  to  a  sale 
of  indulgences,*  an  old  expedient ;  and  that  as  Julius  had  begun  the 
erection  of  St.  Peter's,  the  expense  of  that  building  might  be  assigned 
as  the  object  to  which  the  money  would  be  appropriated.  Leo  took 
the  hint,  and  appointed  salesmen  ajl  over  Europe. 

Albert,  Archbishop  of  Mentz  and  Magdeburg,  appointed  to  trans- 
act the  business  in  Germany,  thought  proper  to  employ  a  Dominican 
Inquisitor,  named  John  Tetzel,  to  travel  over  the  country  with  the 
papers.  Tetzel  was  experienced  in  the  trade,  and  therefore  likely  to 
make  it  pay.  But  Tetzel  over-acted  his  part,  by  excessive  greedi- 
ness and  effrontery  disgusted  all  but  the  most  ignorant,  and  soon  pro- 
voked general  opposition,  as  many  Preachers  of  crusades,  Inquisitors 
of  heretics,  and  vendors  of  indulgences  had  done  before.  In  Germany 
Luther  stood  ready  to  lead  the  opposition. f 

Resistance  awaited  the  publication  of  indulgences  in  Switzerland. 
In  the  monastery  of  Einsiedlen,  a  place  visited  by  pilgrims,  an  en- 
lightened Priest  began,  (A.D.  1516,)  just  as  Leo  was  preparing 
the  scheme  for  replenishing  his  treasury,  to  preach  to  the  crowds 
of  devotees  against  their  folly  in  coming  so  far  for  absolution. 
Although  called  thither  in  order  to  add  to  the  popularity  of  the  place, 
he  declaimed  against  the  very  offerings  on  which  he  was  to  have  sub- 
sisted, and,  growing  daily  in  religious  knowledge  and  simplicity,  added 
to  the  experience  of  many  years  spent  in  public  life,  and  to  the  acquire- 
ments of  a  liberal  education,  the  higher  excellence  of  a  daily  improv- 
ing piety.  This  was  Ulric  Zuiuglius,  undergoing  preparation,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  same  admirable  Providence  that  had  been  direct- 
ing Luther,  to  warn  the  Swiss  against  the  imposture  of  Samson,  a 
Milanese  Monk,  who  came  across  the  Alps  (A.D.  1518)  to  sell  indul- 
gences. Both  Samson  and  Tetzel  taught  that  as  soon  as  the  money 
was  paid  down  for  their  papers,  the  buyers  were  restored  to  bap- 
tismal innocence, — for  people  were  said  to  be  regenerated  in  bap- 
tism. These  two  men  were  equally  devoid  of  shame,  and  greedy  of 

*  Thnani  Historia,  lib.  i.,  sec.  8. 

t  Seckendorff,  Historia  Lutheranismi,  pars  i.,  pp.  11 — 23. 


TJLRIC    ZUINGLIUS.  55 

gold.  Each  of  them  collected  large  sums  of  money ;  but  when  the 
deluded  buyers  saw  much  of  it  wasted  in  taverns,  and  much  again 
applied  to  private  purposes  in  Rome  instead  of  the  erection  of  St. 
Peter's  church,  they  readily  heard  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  Zuinglius, 
and  many  others,  who  taught  that  there  is  no  merit  in  any  beside 
Jesus  Christ. 

Wittemberg  and  Zurich  thenceforth  became  the  metropoles,  and 
Germany  and  Switzerland  the  theatres,  of  a  reformed  Christianity. 
Let  the  reader  turn  to  any  of  the  ecclesiastical  histories,  and  he  will 
see  how  boldly  Luther  resisted  the  emissaries  from  Rome,  publishing 
theses,  disputing  against  indulgences,  gradually  casting  off  submission 
to  the  Pope,  and  at  last  burning  his  Bull  of  excommunication  at  Wit- 
temberg. The  fanaticism  of  the  German  Anabaptists,  the  revolt  of 
the  peasants,  religious  war,  and  the  perplexity  of  Emperor,  Electors, 
and  Popes,  supply  the  history  of  the  former  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. Out  of  this  voluminous  history  we  must  now  gather  informa- 
tion of  the  methods  resorted  to  by  the  Church  of  Rome  to  suppress 
the  truth,  and  we  shall  hear  the  testimony  of  a  noble  army  of  martyrs 
who  maintained  it  unto  death. 

Leo  X.  received  intelligence  of  the  proceedings  of  Luther.  He  was 
told  that  the  Doctor  had  preached  against  the  whole  scheme  of  raising 
cash  by  indulgences  for  sin,  and  advised  the  people  of  Wittemberg  to  do 
works  meet  for  repentance,  rather  than  purchase  exemption  with  money, 
forsaking  the  cross  of  Christ ;  and  to  bestow  their  charities  first  in 
feeding  and  clothing  the  poor,  rather  than  in  building  and  adorning 
temples.  And  he  had  even  affirmed,  that  the  promises  of  indulgence 
were  false,  and  the  practice  neither  supported  by  any  precept  or 
counsel  of  the  word  of  God,  nor  of  any  benefit  in  this  world  or  the 
world  to  come.  But  it  was  represented,  at  the  same  time,  that 
Luther  had  been  actuated  by  jealousy,  because  Tetzel,  a  Domi- 
nican, was  employed  instead  of  an  Augustinian,  as  on  some  former 
occasions.  The  suspicion  was  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that  Staupitz, 
his  Vicar-General,  supported  him.  The  affair  was  become  formidable, 
for  he  had  affixed  ninety-five  propositions,  or  theses,  to  the  church- 
doors,  inviting  disputation,  and  appealing  to  the  holy  Scriptures, 
Fathers,  Canons,  and  decrees  of  the  Church  for  decision  ;  but  rejecting 
all  opinions  of  Schoolmen  and  Canonists.  Close  on  the  reports  of 
Tetzel,  the  Legate-  and  others,  came  letters  from  Luther  himself,  to 
show  that  his  proceedings  were  consistent  with  his  liberty  of  discus- 
sion as  a  Doctor,  and  by  no  means  contrary  to  his  obedience  to  the 
Pppe.  As  for  Leo,  he  both  thought  and  said  that  it  was  a  mere 
monastic  quarrel  between  the  two  sects  of  Dominic  and  Augustine, 
and  that  Luther  was  a  clever  man,  leaving  the  contending  parties  to 
fight  Aeir  battle  without  his  interference.  But  many  weeks  had  not 
elapsed  when  it  became  evident  that  the  dispute  had  awakened  a  spirit 
of  inquiry  that  might  issue  unfavourably  to  the  interests  of  Roman- 
ism. First,  Eck,  Silvestro  Prierio,  and  Hochstraten,  clamoured  ;  and 
the  Emperor  himself  was  appealed  to.  The  University  of  Wittemberg, 
on  the  other  handy  and  Frederic,  Elector  of  Saxony,  were  on  the  side 
of  Luther,  and  popular  sympathy  was  with  him.  He  went  deeper  and 


56  •      CHAPTER    II. 

deeper  into  the  controversy,  disputing  against  the  authority  of  the 
Popes,  independently  of  Councils,  either  to  propound  articles  of  faith, 
or  to  exercise  discipline.  If  the  spirit  of  Christ,  said  he,  be  in  Chris- 
tians, they  cannot  receive  any  higher  grace  :  if  they  trust  in  his 
merits,  it  'is  not  necessary  for  them  to  purchase  anything  additional. 
In  reply,  Prierio,  the  Censor,  was  intemperate ;  and  Hochstraten,  the 
Inquisitor,  declared,  that  the  only  argument  the  heretic  deserved  was, 
fire  and  sword.  Luther,  again,  grew  indignant,  recalled  the  notorious 
wickedness  of  many  Popes,  compared  it  with  the  extravagancies  of 
their  advocates  ;  and,  after  reading  some  foolish  demands  of  Prierio 
for  submission  to  such  men  as  Alexander  VI.,  and  Julius  II.,  held  up 
the  image  of  Roman  iniquity  to  public  view,  and  asked,  "  If  such  a 
Pope  as  this  be  not  Antichrist,  what  is  Antichrist?"  The  Emperor 
wrote  to  Rome  from  Augsburg,  (August  5th,  1518,)  where  he  held  a 
Diet,  begging  Leo  to  interpose  his  spiritual  authority,  and  offering  to 
do  whatever  the  Holy  Father  might  require,  in  order  to  pacify  Ger- 
many. Before  that  letter  could  reach  Rome,  Leo  had  cited  Luther  *  to 
appear  there  within  sixty  days,  before  Hieronymus  de  Genutiis,  Bishop 
of  Ascoli,  Auditor  of  the  Apostolic  Chamber,  and  Silvestro  Prierio, 
Master  of  the  Sacred  Palace  :  Prierio,  be  it  noted,  had  already  declared 
his  theses  to  be  heretical.  The  Pope  also  wrote  to  the  Elector,  ex- 
horting him  to  deliver  that  child  of  iniquity,  and  breaker  of  his  vows 
of  humility  and  obedience,  to  Caietanus,  the  Apostolic  Legate,  who 
should  then  commit  him  to  the  power  and  judgment  of  the  Holy  See. 
And  he  commanded  Frederic,  under  "holy  obedience,"  by  so  doing  to 
clear  himself  from  the  suspicion  of  encouraging  Luther  in  defying 
authority.  But  the  citation  was  not  obeyed.  The  University  sent  a 
letter  of  remonstrance  to  the  Pope,  praying  that  Luther,  jKdele  et 
gratum  membrum  Academicum,  "a  faithful  and  esteemed  member 
of  their  Academy,"  might  not  be  exposed  to  the  fatigue  and  peril  of  a 
journey  to  Rome.  The  Elector  refused  to  give  him  a  passport ;  and 
the  Emperor,  although  he  had  already  volunteered  his  sword  for  the 
extirpation  of  heresy,  was  moved  by  the  representations  and  influence 
of  Frederic,  to  think  better  of  Luther,  and  refrain  from  taking  part 
against  him.  Already,  before  leaving  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  whence  he 
had  forwarded  an  appeal  for  Papal  interposition  to  end  the  controversy, 
he  had  read  the  ninety-five  theses,  and  conceived  a  favourable  opinion 
of  the  writer.  "What  is  your  Monk  doing?"  said  he  to  Pfeffinger, 
Frederic's  Counsellor  :  "  certainly  his  theses  are  not  to  be  despised  :  he 
will  lead  those  Priests  a  dance  !"  (Er  wird  ein  Spiel  mii  den  P faff  en 
anfanyen.)  Mortified  at  finding  that  demands  for  holy  obedience  and 
threats  of  excommunication  and  interdict  had  fallen  on  Saxony  with- 
out effect,  Leo  thought  it  prudent  to  conceal  his  displeasure,  accept 
the  commendations  of  the  University,  as  communicated  to  Mmself 
and  Miltitz,  -his  Nuncio,  and  consent  that  the  case  should  be 
examined  in  Germany.  In  obedience  to  his  patron,  Luther  went  to 
Augsburg  with  a  safe-conduct  from  the  Emperor,  and  appeared  before 
the  Cardinal  Caietano,  now  come  as  a  special  Legate,  and  intrusted 

*  This  letter  was  presented  to  Luther  on  the  7th  or  8th  of  the  same  month.    Secken- 
dorff,  pars  i.,  p.  41. 


LUTHER'S  BOOKS  CONDEMNED.  57 

with  a  commission  to  conciliate  him  by  good  words  and  splendid 
promises. 

The  interview  was  fruitless.  Luther  had  not  been  actuated  by 
jealousy  or  ambition,  and  therefore  could  not  be  induced  to  sur- 
render the  cause  of  truth  by  hope  of  honours  and  preferment.  He 
appealed  "from  the  Pope  ill  informed,  to  the  Pope  better  informed," 
and  withdrew  from  Augsburg.  But  after  his  return  to  Wittemberg, 
certain  that  he  would  be  condemned  at  Rome,  as  the  Legate  himself 
had  written  to  tell  the  Duke,  (Frederic  of  Saxony,)  and  considering 
that  the  Pope  was  prejudiced  against  him,  he  made  a  new  protest, 
drawn  up  in  due  form,  declaring  himself  ready  to  submit  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Pope  when  well  informed  ;  but  because,  although  Pope, 
he  might  err,  as  Peter  had  erred  and  been  reproved  by  Paul,  he 
appealed  to  a  General  Council,  as  superior  to  the  Pope,  from  what- 
ever the  Pope  might  determine  against  him.*  Leo  and  his  ad- 
visers, thinking  to  awe  him  into  submission,  issued  a  Bull  declaring, 
that  the  indulgences  he  had  issued  as  successor  of  St.  Peter  and 
Vicar  of  Christ  were  valid  ;  that  he  had  a  right  to  grant  such  indul- 
gences for  the  living  and  the  dead  ;  and  that  this  was  the  doctrine 
and  judgment  of  the  Roman  Church,  mother  and  mistress  of  all 
Christians,  which  all  who  desired  to  live  in  her  communion  ought  to 
receive. f  The  Bull  might  have  produced  a  slight  impression  in  Ger- 
many, had  not  the  death  of  Maximilian  prevented  its  circulation  ;  for 
Frederic  of  Saxony,  who  administered  the  affairs  of  the  empire  until 
the  election  of  Charles  V.,  wisely  let  it  remain  without  the  sanction 
necessary  for  publication.  And  in  vain  did  Miltitz  bring  him  a 
golden  rose  perfumed  with  musk,  the  most  flattering  gift  that  a 
Pontiff  can  afford  to  bestow  on  an  earthly  Sovereign ;  for  Frederic 
would  not  allow  the  ceremony  of  presentation.  The  Bull  was  cir- 
culated, although  not  legally  published  :  Caietano  commanded  all  the 
Bishops  of  Germany  to  have  it  observed,  under  penalty  of  all  the  cen- 
sures that  the  Church  could  inflict.  But  its  nullity  rendered  it  con- 
temptible ;  and  the  people,  familiarized  with  the  sight  of  a  quenched 
bolt,  began  to  despise  the  hand  that  had  launched  it.  For  a  time  the 
Pope  abstained  from  further  effort ;  Luther  proceeded  with  study  and 
controversy,  other  truths  dawned  on  him,  he  preached  and  disputed 
in  favour  of  communion  in  both  kinds  ;  and  as  fast  as  he  gained 
enlarged  views  of  Christian  doctrine,  gave  them  to  the  public. 

"  At  length,"  to  borrow  words  from  the  Jesuit  Maimbourg,  "  Leo, 
instructed  by  his  Legates,  and  by  Eck  himself,  who  had  gone  to  Rome 
to  give  him  information,  that  this  great  evil,  in  attempting  to  avert 
which,  almost  three  years  had  been  spent  in  vain,  would  not  yield  to 
gentle  remedies,  determined  to  descend  to  the  last  degree  of  severity 
which  the  Church  has  always  employed  in  like  cases.  Therefore,  after 
mature  deliberation,  he  published  the  Constitution  of  the  loth  of  July 
of  this  year,  (1520,)  in  which  he  condemned  propositions  extracted 
from  the  books  of  Luther,  in  part  as  manifestly  heretical,  and  in  part 

*  Maimbourg,  apud  Seckendorfium,  lib.  i.,  sec.  21. 

t  Fra  Paolo  Sarpi,   Hist.  Cone,  de  Trcnte,  traduite  par  P.  F.  le  Couraj-er,  torn.  5., 
p.  22. 

VOL.    III.  I 


58  CHAPTER    II. 

as  scandalous  and  rash  ;  and  appointed  him  sixty  days  within  which 
time  he  should  send  to  Rome  his  retractation  duly  certified,  or  bring  it 
himself,  having  obtained  letters  of  safe-conduct,  with  every  security. 
If  he  should  neglect  this  within  the  term  set,  he  declared  him  excom- 
municate, and  forbade  all  persons,  whoever  they  might  be,  to  protect 
him,  under  penalty  of  incurring  the  same  censures,  and  forfeiting  all 
their  offices  and  dignities."  *  And  "  at  length,"  wrote  Luther  to 
Spalatine,  secretary  to  Frederic,  "  this  Roman  Bull  is  brought  by  Eck. 

For  my  part,  I  despise  it,  and  break  it  already,  as  wicked  and 

lying,  and  altogether  Eckian At  Leipsic  and  everywhere  else, 

the  Bull  and  Eck  are  both  utterly  despised I  send  you  a  copy, 

that  you  may  see  the  Roman  monster,  which  would  make  an   end 

of  faith  and  church  together,  if  it  had  the  power I  am  now 

much  more  at  liberty,  being  made  fully  certain  that  the  Pope  is  Anti- 
christ, and  that  I  have  clearly  discovered  the  seat  of  Satan."  Eck 
had  been  foiled  in  controversy  with  Luther,  yet  he  was  imprudently 
commissioned  by  Leo  to  carry  the  Bull  to  Germany,  with  letters  hor- 
tatory addressed  to  Frederic  and  the  University  of  Wittemberg.  This 
personal  enemy  of  the  Reformer  found  a  very  cold  reception,  and  no 
one  could  say  whether  the  second  Bull  would  be  acknowledged,  or 
rejected  like  the  first.  While  it  was  kept  in  abeyance,  Luther  wrote 
boldly,  refuted  every  sentence,  and  treated  the  Pope  as  Antichrist ; 
and  the  Papists,  although  they  charged  him  with  excessive  vehemence, 
and  seemed  horror-stricken  at  his  irreverence  toward  the  Bishop 
of  Rome,  acknowledged  his  ability  and  learning. 

Not  content  with  words,  he  proceeded  to  execute  a  deed  that  must 
be  marked  as  the  first  formal  act  of  defiance,  if  not  of  separation  from 
the  Papacy.  Having  invited  the  Doctors  and  students  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  the  inhabitants  of  Wittemberg,  to  accompany  him,  he 
walked  to  an  open  place  outside  the  city,  and  there,  amidst  the 
acclamations  of  a  great  multitude,  he  placed  Gratian's  old  Decretals, 
and  the  Decretals  of  Gregory,  with  the  Clementines  and  Extravagantes, 
that  is  to  say,  the  whole  body  of  Canon  law,  on  a  pile  of  wood  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose,  and  pronounced  one  of  his  characteristic  sen- 
tences :  "  As  thou,  godless  book,  hast  troubled  and  consumed  the  saints 
of  our  Lord,  so  may  eternal  fire  trouble  and  consume  thee."  On  these, 
with  great  solemnity,  he  laid  a  copy  of  the  Bull.  This  done,  they  applied 
fire,  and  the  whole  was  burned,  to  the  delight  of  Wittemberg  and  all 
Saxony.  A  similar  ceremony  was  repeated  in  many  other  places,  with  the 
concurrence  generally,  and  once  in  spite  of  the  opposition,  of  the  mil 
authorities  ;  and  thus  began  the  visible  emancipation  of  Popedom  from 
the  power  of  the  Pope.  It  was  not  a  mere  act  of  retaliation  by  one  whose 
own  writings  had  been  burnt  by  sacerdotal  authority,  but,  as  Luther 
explained  and  proved,  a  solemn  and  just  renunciation  of  the  entire  mass 
of  Canon  law.  The  doctrine  of  the  Decretals  is  thus  described  in  his  jus- 
tification :  "  The  Pope  is  God  on  earth,  superior  to  all  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  spiritual  and  secular ;  and  all  things  belong  to  the  Pope,  so 
that  none  can  say,  '  What  doest  thou  ?'"  Thirty  sentences  cited  from 
that  collection  confirmed  his  censure.  "  More,"  said  he,  "  will  I 

*  Apud-Seckendorfmm,  lib.  i.,  sec.  29. 


LUTHER    CONDEMNED.  59 

produce,  these  are  but  the  beginning  of  a  tragedy  ;  for  hitherto  I  have 
only  played  and  jested  in  this  matter  of  the  Pope."  A  tragedy, 
indeed,  then  began  ;  and  from  references  he  made  about  that  time  to 
John  Huss,  Jerome  of  Prague,  and  especially  to  Girolamo  Savonarola  and 
his  companions,  whose  death  but  twenty-two  years  before  was  distinctly 
remembered  by  many,  we  may  infer  that  he  expected  to  be  himself  a 
sufferer.  Young  Charles  V.,  importuned  by  Jerome  Aleander,  the 
bearer  of  the  Papal  Bull  to  his  imperial  Majesty,  sanctioned  the  burn- 
ing of  Luther's  books  at  Louvain,  Cologne,  and  Mentz  ;  but  at  this 
last  place  the  populace  attacked  the  burners,  and  would  have  killed 
them,  had  they  not  fled  from  the  city. 

Papal  vengeance  was  now  levelled  at  the  person  of  Luther.  Leo 
hastened  to  send  another  Bull,  (Jan.  3d,  152J,)  wherein  it  was  set 
forth  that  God  had  made  him  dispenser  of  spiritual  and  temporal 
penalties  ;  that  in  respect  to  his  authority,  some  persons  had  been 
brought  to  do  penance  and  solicit  absolution ;  and  that  in  some  parts 
of  Germany  Luther's  books  had  been  burnt.  But,  complaining  of  the 
pertinacity  of  the  heretic  and  his  abettors,  he  smote  with  anathema 
all,  of  however  exalted  dignity,  who  showed  him  favour,  as  guilty 
of  treason,  and  subject  to  an  eternal  curse.  Them  and  their  descend- 
ants he  deprived  of  honour  and  of  goods.  All  places  wherein  the 
heresy  was  preached  were  laid  under  interdict ;  and  all  Priests  com- 
manded to  preach  intrepidly  against  heretics  within  three  days,  and 
publish  their  excommunication  with  putting  out  of  candles  and  cast- 
ing of  stones.  Dire  maledictions  followed  ;  but  the  voice  was  indis- 
tinctly heard  in  Germany,  and  in  Saxony  no  one  gave  the  slightest 
heed.  At  Worms,  there  being  sickness  in  Nuremberg,  the  usual  place 
of  assemblage,  a  Diet  of  the  empire  was  convened  after  the  coronation 
of  Charles  V.  There  the  Pope's  Nuncio,  Aleander,  urged  attention 
to  the  religious  condition  of  Germany,  and  demanded  that  the  Bull 
should  be  enforced.  Charles  requested  him  to  prove  that  Luther  had 
not  only  offended  the  Pope  and  court  of  Rome,  about  which  the  Ger- 
mans would  concern  themselves  very  little,  but  that  he  had  sinned 
against  the  chief  articles  of  Christian  faith.  Aleander  readily  accepted 
the  arduous  labour,  came  into  full  assembly,  and,  answering  to  the 
desire  of  the  young  Emperor,  rose  to  the  performance  of  his  work 
before  the  Princes  and  Delegates  of  the  empire.  Exhibiting  a  parcel 
of  books,  he  said  that  they  contained  the  writings  of  the  arch-heretic. 
During  three  long  hours  he  harangued  the  assemblage  with  extreme 
earnestness,  insisting  that  the  new  heresy,  equally  pernicious  to 
Church  and  State,  ought  to  be  abolished  by  all  means,  or  both  Church 
and  State  would  fall.  That  sect,  in  his  view,  tended  to  annihilate  the 
spiritual  authority  of  Popes  and  Councils,  without  whose  repressive 
power  and  ultimate  decisions  there  would  soon  be  as  many  heresies  as 
heads.  Luther,  he  affirmed,  denied  the  liberty  of  man,  and  taught 
that  good  and  evil  came  to  pass  by  the  necessity  of  an  inexorable 
fate  ;  opening  a  wide  entrance  to  unreined  licentiousness,  preparing  a 
defence  for  all  crimes,  and  providing  every  criminal  with  .a  legitimate 
excuse.  He  annulled  the  virtue  of  every  sacrament  by  denying  sacra- 
mental grace,  and  gave  to  all,  indiscriminately,  the  power  to  confer 

i  2 


60  CHAPTER    II. 

absolution.  Under  pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  he  released  all  men 
from  the  restraints  of  law  ;  and  taught  that  vows  most  solemnly  made 
to  God  were  not  obligatory.  The  world,  therefore,  would  be  thrown 
into  utter  confusion,  without  laws,  without  hierarchy,  without  obedi- 
ence to  Priest  or  King,  or  even  to  God  himself ;  because  He,  if  the 
heretic  was  to  be  believed,  bad  commanded  things  impossible  to  be 
performed.  He  added,  that  since  all  means  that  had  been  employed 
for  four  years  were  ineffectual,  nothing  remained  to  deliver  the  Church 
and  the  Commonwealth  from  so  vast  an  evil  but  an  imperial  edict, 
addressed  to  all  orders  of  men,  to  be  implicitly  obeyed,  and  that 
should  expose  the  heresy  and  its  author  to  universal  execration.  The 
oration  was  heard  with  endurance,  if  not  with  attention  ;  and  a  deli- 
beration followed,  which,  Papal  historians  say,  issued  in  a  resolution 
that  the  Lutheran  heresy  should  be  abolished,  lest  the  foundations 
of  Christianity  should  be  subverted. 

But  Luther  had  a  friend  in  the  Diet.  Frederic  of  Saxony  was  his 
protector,  and  would  not  compel  him  to  appear,  but  had  privately 
ascertained,  through  Spalatinas  his  Secretary,  that,  if  required  to 
attend  at  Worms,  and  satisfied  that  his  doing  so  would  be  consistent 
with  the  will  of  God,  he  would  obey.  The  Elector,  therefore,  objected 
to  any  determination  that  would  endanger  the  person  of  Doctor 
Martin  Luther,  who  might  suffer  in  consequence  of  the  condemnation 
of  doctrine  considered  to  be  his,  and  insisted  that,  first  of  all,  he 
should  be  summoned  to  answer  for  himself.  Aleander,  on  the  con- 
trary, dreaded  the  consequence  of  so  learned  and  eloquent  a  heretic 
Being  allowed  to  answer  for  himself  before  so  ignorant  a  com- 
pany, as  he  chose  to  consider  the  German  States  ;  before  laymen,  who 
knew  not  how  to  judge  for  themselves,  as  he.  said  ;  and  yet,  fearing 
to  lose  all  by  directly  daring,  any  where  but  in  the  Holy  Office,  to  pro- 
pose that  a  man  should  be  condemned  when  quite  unheard,  suggested 
that  he  should  be  summoned  under  the  condition  of  not  arguing 
before  the  Princes,  but  only  answering  guilty  or  not  guilty,  and  under 
a  strict  injunction  not  to  preach  by  the  way.  It  does  not  appear  that 
such  restrictions  were  imposed,  except  by  mere  verbal  injunction  that 
was  not  regarded  ;  and  Gaspar  Sturm,  imperial  Herald,  bearing  a  safe- 
conduct  from  Charles  V.,  hastened  to  Wittemberg  to  bring  the  troubler 
of  Rome,  and  set  him  before  the  Diet,  face  to  face  with  his  accusers. 
The  letter  of  safe-conduct  was  addressed  to  "  the  honourable,  beloved, 
and  devout  Doctor  Martin  Luther,  of  the  order  of  St.  Augustine," 
countersigned  or  witnessed  by  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  Land- 
grave of  Hesse,  guarded  by  a  stipulation  that  no  regard  should  be  had 
in  the  Diet  to  that  constitution  of  Constance  which  declares,  "  that 
faith  is  not  to  be  kept  with  heretics,"'  and  formally  delivered  by  the 
Emperor  to  the  Elector,  as  Luther's  immediate  Sovereign,  for  execution 
by  him.  These  were  the  guarantees  insisted  on  by  Frederic  against  a 
repetition  of  the  perfidy  practised  in  the  preceding  century  on  John 
Huss,  by  Sigismund,  in  violation  of  his  own  safe-conduct ;  and  the 
event  justified  his  caution.  The  document  was  dated  on  the  26th 
day  of  March,  and  Luther  was  required  to  appear  at  Worms  within 
twenty-one  days  from  the  time  of  its  delivery.  Much  to  the  cliscom- 


LUTHER  S    JOURNEY    TO    WORMS.  61 

fort  of  Aleander,  with  the  five  Archbishops,  eleven  Bishops,  and  other 
Clerics  who  were  present,  Sturm  was  instructed  by  the  Emperor  and 
Elector  to  treat  Luther  with  due  consideration ;  not  to  allow  any  dis- 
respect to  be  shown  him,  either  by  word  or  act ;  if  necessary,  to  afford 
him  the  protection  of  a  strong  military  guard  ;  and  to  provide  every 
thing  requisite  for  comfort  and  propriety  during  the  journey. 

Notwithstanding  the  fears  of  many,  who  entreated  him  not  to  hazard 
his  life  by  going  to  the  Diet, — for  no  one  thought  that  Frederic  would  be 
able  to  cope  with  the  intrigues  and  malice  of  his  persecutors, — he  deter- 
mined to  obey  the  call.  Nothing  could  have  been  easier  than  to  shun  the 
danger.  The  Nuncio,  through  fear  of  being  put  to  confusion  by  him 
before  that  great  assembly,  wished  him  not  to  have  a  hearing  there  ;  and 
the  Elector,  mistrustful  of  the  event,  had  insisted  that  be  should  not 
be  brought  against  his  will ;  but  he  rose  above  every  fear,  and  resolved 
to  bear  testimony  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ  against  the  tyranny  and  false 
doctrine  of  Antichrist,  in  presence  of  Sovereigns  and  States  then  sub- 
jected to  his  yoke.  In  a  covered  cart,  the  best  conveyance  that  Ger- 
many then  afforded,*  and  which  the  envy  of  a  Jesuit  magnifies  into  a 
magnificent  chariot,  screened  from  the  inclemency  of  the  sky,  Luther 
set  forward  on  the  journey.  Justus  Jonas,  chief  Minister  of  the 
Collegiate  church  of  Wittemberg,  Nicholas  Amsdorff,  Canon  of  the 
same  church,  and  Jerome  Schurff,  a  Doctor  of  Law,  were  his  com- 
panions. A  few  others  rode  out  of  town  with  him,  and  have  been 
magnified  through  the  same  medium  into  an  armed  force  of  one  hun- 
dred horsemen.  Gaspar  Sturm,  the  Herald,  a  believer  in  the  doctrine 
taught  by  Luther,  led  the  way.  During  their  progress  a  few  others 
joined  the  party.  At  the  lodging-places,  Luther  enjoyed  the  recre- 
ation of  music,  which  his  censors,  of  course,  represent  as  a  shocking 
levity  :  although  most  Legates  and  Inquisitors  drank  and  gambled  with- 
out shame  when  on  their  murderous  travels.  Luther,  on  the  contrary, 
was  above  reproach  ;  for  his  amusements  were  always  chastened  by  the 
fear  of  God,  and  never  degenerated  into  trifling.  At  Erfurt  he  was 
met  by  a  procession,  and  honourably  escorted  into  the  city,  and 
preached  on  the  Lord's  day  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  chief  citi- 
zens. The  sermon  was  short  and  extemporaneous,  directed  against 
trust  in  works,  and  condemnatory  of  the  vices  of  the  Clergy.  He 

*  As  Seckendorff  explains  :  yet  that  bumble  conveyance,  required  for  so  long  and 
rapid  a  journey  by  a  Monk  of  enfeebled  constitution,  whose  inability  to  go  to  Rome  had 
already  been  pleaded  by  the  University  in  their  letter  to  Leo  X.,  must  have  seemed 
stately  in  those  days.  The  following  passage  from  Beckmann  throws  great  light  on  this 
part  of  Luther's  history :  "  Covered  carriages  were  known  in  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century  ;  but  they  were  used  only  by  women  of  the  first  rank,  for  the  men  thought 
it  disgraceful  to  ride  in  them.  At  that  period,  when  the  Electors  and  Princes  did  not 
choose  to  be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  States,  they  excused  themselves  by  informing 
the  Emperor  that  their  health  would  not  parmit  them  to  ride  on  horseback  /  and  it  was 
considered  as  an  established  point,  that  it  was  unbecoming  for  them  to  ride  like  women. 
What,  according  to  the  then  prevailing  ideas,  was  not  allowed  to  Princes,  was  much  less 
permitted  to  their  servants.  In  the  year  1544,  when  Count  Wolf  of  Barby  was  sum- 
moned by  John  Frederic,  Elector  of  Saxony,  to  go  to  Spires  to  attend  the  convention  of 
the  States  assembled  there,  he  requested  leave  on  account  of  his  ill  state  of  health  to 
make  use  of  a  close  carriage,  with  four  horses,"  (History  of  Inventions  and  Discoveries  : 
Coaches.)  This  fully- accounts  for  the  use  of  a  carriage  ;  and  for  the  ill-natured  com- 
ments of  Maimbourg  and  others  on  a  poor  Saxon  roll-teamen,  or  "  light  cart." 


62  CHAPTER    II. 

preached  in  a  few  other  places,  contrary,  indeed,  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Priests,  but  in  compliance  with  those  of  all  classes  of  the  laity,  who 
received  him  with  the  utmost  expressions  of  honour  and  affection,  in 
remarkable  contrast  to  their  demeanour  towards  the  Nuncio,  who 
shortly  before,  on  the  same  road,  was  allowed  to  pass  through  the 
towns  without  even  usual  civilities,  and  had  to  sleep  at  miserable  inns. 
Although  so  cheerful  and  so  diligent  in  preaching,  he  suffered  from 
indisposition  all  the  way,  and  especially  from  Eisenach  to  Frankfort. 
All  the  letters  he  received  from  Worms  were  full  of  advice  to  desist 
from  his  purpose  of  appearing  there,  where  his  enemies  were  waiting 
to  destroy  him.  At  Oppenheim  he  received  letters  from  Spalatine 
and  others,  strongly  urging  him  to  turn  back  again,  and  his  friends 
there  seconded  the  entreaty  with  all  their  power  ;  but  he  was  fixed  in 
purpose.  "  Christ  lives,"  said  he,  "  and  we  will  enter  Worms  in 
spite  of  all  the  gates  of  hell  and  all  the  powers  of  the  air."  "  I  am 
resolved  to  drive  away  Satan,  and  put  him  to  shame."  "  If  there 
are  as  many  devils  at  Worms  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  house-tops,  I 
will  enter  the  city  without  fear."  Then  came  Martin  Bucer,  with  a 
party  of  horsemen,  sent  by  Sickingen,  a  powerful  and  discontented 
nobleman,  with  a  pressing  invitation  to  take  refuge  in  his  castle  at 
Ebernburg ;  but  he  persisted  in  going  forward,  observing,  that  as  only 
three  days  remained  of  the  twenty-one  allowed,  no  time  was  to  be 
lost.  On  Tuesday,  April  16th,  1521,  the  cavalcade  approached 
Worms.  Luther  had  the  covering  removed  from  the  cart,  and,  wearing 
the  habit  of  his  order,  entered  the  city  in  view  of  a  vast  concourse 
of  people,  who  crowded  to  gaze  on  the  undaunted  servant  of  Christ. 
A  train  of  two  thousand  persons  followed  him  to  the  palace  of  the 
Knights  of  Rhodes,  where  also  was  entertained  the  Marshal  of  the 
empire  and  other  persons  of  high  distinction.  Alighting  from  the 
vehicle  at  the  gate,  he  exclaimed,  "  God  will  stand  by  me."  * 

Next  day,  conducted  by  the  Marshal,  Count  Pappenheim,  and  the 
Herald,  Gasper  Sturm,  he  left  the  palace,  and  proceeded  to  the  Diet. 
Hoping  to  avoid  the  pressure  of  the  crowd,  they  went  round  by  gar- 
dens and  byways  ;  but  the  eye  of  the  city  was  open  to  catch  a  sight 
of  Luther,  and  to  avoid  the  multitude  was  impossible.  The  people 
rushed  in  their  track  by  thousands,  glutted  the  windows,  and  had 
even  untiled  the  roofs  to  supply  a  new  look-out.  The  Marshal,  the 
Herald,  and  the  "  Heretic  "  laboured  through  the  silent  crowd,  many 
of  the  people  blessing  him  in  their  heart,  and  made  their  way  into 
the  presence  of  the  most  august  assemblage  that  could  have  been 
gathered  within  the  bounds  of  Christendom.  Charles  V.  presided 
there.  The  official  of  the  Archbishop  of  Treves,  John  von  Eck,f 
opened  the  business  by  exhibiting  some  books,  and  asking  him,  in  the 
name  of  the  Emperor,  if  those  were  his.  "  Let  the  titles  of  those 
books  be  read,"  cried  Schurff.  The  official  demanded  that  he  should 
merely  answer  yes  or  no  to  two  questions  :  whether  the  books  were 
his,  and  whether  he  would  retract  the  errors  therein  contained,  and 

I    *  Pallavicini,  Hist..  Cone.  Trident.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  20,  sec.  6. 

t  Not  the  Eck  with  whom  Luther  had  deputed  at  \Vitteniberg,  but  one  equally  hostile 
to  him. 


LUTHER    AT    WORMS.  63 

which  were  already  condemned.  After  hearing  the  titles  of  the  books, 
he  answered  that  they  were  his,  unless  anything  had  been  added  to 
what  he  had  written  ;  and  as  to  the  question  whether  he  would  retract 
the  errors,  he  said  to  the  assembly,  "  As  this  is  a  question  concerning 
faith  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  as  it  relates  to  the  word  of  God, 
than  which  nothing  can  be  greater  in  heaven  or  on  earth,  and  which 
we  ought  all  to  reverence,  it  would  be  rash  and  even  perilous  for  me 
to  utter  anything  without  thought.  If  I  were  to  speak  without  pre- 
meditation, I  might  say  too  little  or  too  much,  and  in  either  case  incur 
the  condemnation  pronounced  by  Christ,  when  he  said,  'Whosoever 
shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.'  I  therefore  pray  and  beseech  his  imperial 
Majesty  to  allow  me  time  for  deliberation,  that  I  may  answer  this 
question  without  prejudice  to  the  word  of  God,  and  without  danger  to 
rny  own  soul."  Some  one  tauntingly  quoted  another  passage,  "  When 
they  shall  deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought  how  or  what  ye  shall 
speak :  for  it  shall  be  given  you  in  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall 
speak."  The  quotation  was  made  in  ill  faith  :  Luther  requested  time 
for  consideration,  the  Emperor  gave  him  until  the  next  day ;  and  he 
was  permitted  to  withdraw. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  April  18th,  he  returned,  and,  after  a 
delay  of  about  two  hours,  rose  to  address  the  Diet.  That  part  of  the 
hall  which  was  free  to  the  public,  was  crowded  with  a  promiscuous 
audience ;  the  windows  were  open  on  account  of  the  heat,  and  a  mul- 
titude stood  on  the  outside,  awaiting  the  decision,  or  endeavouring  to 
catch  a  few  sentences  of  his  defence.  He  spoke  for  two  hours  in  a 
clear  tone,  and  without  vehemence,  having  first  requested  indulgence 
if  he  should  fail  to  employ  the  accustomed  forms  of  courtesy,  being, 
as  a  rude  Monk,  unaccustomed  to  the  style  of  courts.  To  the  first 
question  he  repeated  the  answer  already  given.  His  reply  to  the 
second  was  given  at  great  length,  and  to  this  effect :  He  had  written 
many  books  on  various  subjects.  Some  of  those  subjects  related  to 
Christian  faith  and  piety,  and  them  he  could  not  contradict  or  revoke 
without  impiety.  Others  were  written  against  the  decrees,  abuses, 
doctrine,  and  usurpation  of  the  Popes,  who  exercised  tyranny  over 
Christians,  and  scandalized  the  whole  world.  What  was  written  in 
those  books  he  could  not  retract  without  manifestly  betraying  the 
Gospel,  and  encouraging  tyranny  over  the  church  of  God.  Some  were 
written  in  controversy  with  private  persons  who  had  opposed  his  doc- 
trine, and  at  the  same  time  defended  the  dogmas  and  the  tyranny 
of  the  Popes.  He  allowed  that  he  had  sometimes  been  too  severe 
against  his  adversaries ;  but,  while  confessing  this,  declared,  that  inas- 
much as  the  question  was  not  respecting  his  manners  but  his  doctrine, 
which  had  always  been  confirmed  b,y  the  express  words  of  Scripture,  he 
could  never  deny  that,  but  was  ready  to  defend  it  before  any  one,  until 
it  should  be  proved  by  the  word  of  God,  but  not  by  any  authority  of 
man,  that  it  was  erroneous.  In  that  case  he  would  willingly  burn  his 
books  with  his  own  hands.  He  was  not  discouraged  by  any  hostility 
that  had  been  excited  ;  for  Christ  had  said  that  he  came  not  to  send 
peace,  but  a  sword.  "  Let  us,  then,  bear  in  mind,"  he  continued, 


64  CHAPTER    II. 

"  that  our  God  is  wonderful  and  terrible  in  bis  counsels,  lest  what 
you  endeavour  with  so  much  earnestness,  should  bring  down  on  us  an 
intolerable  flood  of  evils,  if  you  begin  by  condemning  the  word 
of  God  ;  and  lest  (which  may  God  forbid !)  the  reign  of  our  young 
Emperor,  in  whom,  after  Him,  is  all  our  hope,  should  be  unhappy 
and  calamitous."  This  plainness  of  speech  could  no  longer  be  suf- 
fered, and  he  was  therefore  commanded  to  speak  in  Latin.  For  a 
moment  he  hesitated,  exhausted  by  the  heat  of  the  place,  and  fearful 
of  not  speaking  with  a  propriety  of  style  suited  to  the  dignity  of  the 
audience.  A  Thuringian  Knight,  one  of  the  Saxon  court,  perceiving 
his  embarrassment,  advised  him  to  say  no  more  ;  but  he  wiped  the 
sweat  from  his  face,  and  repeated  the  oration  in  good  Latin,  to  the  yet 
deeper  mortification  of  the  Papists.  Eck,  at  length,  interrupted  him 
by  saying,  that  he  was  not  there  to  defend  his  doctrine,  already  con- 
demned by  the  Council  of  Constance,  but  to  answer  plainly  whether  he 
would  retract  or  no.  His  reply  was  brief.  "  Then,  if  your  Most  Serene 
Majesty,  and  you,  my  Lords,  desire  a  simple  answer,  I  will  give  it 
without  equivocation.  Hear  it.  Unless  I  am  convinced  by  the  testi- 
mony of  Scripture,  or  by  evident  reasons, — for  I  neither  believe  in 
Pope  nor  Councils,  since  it  is  notorious  that  they  have  often  erred 
and  contradicted  themselves, — I  am  bound  by  the  Scriptures  I  have 
cited,  my  conscience  is  led  captive  by  the  word  of  God  ;  I  neither  can 
nor  will  revoke  anything,  for  it  is  neither  safe  nor  honest  to  act 
against  my  conscience."  And  then,  raising  his  clear  voice,  he  pub- 
lished in  German,  that  every  bystander  might  be  witness,  his  ultimate 
resolution  :  Hier  stehe  ich,  ich  kann  nicht  anders,  Gott  helfe  mir, 
Amen.  "  Here  I  stand,  I  can  do  no  otherwise,  God  help  me,  Amen." 
This  was  enough  to  establish  the  charge  of  heresy  in  the  estimation 
of  the  Papists,  and  he  was  desired  to  withdraw.  The  Spaniards  fol- 
lowed him  with  hisses.  The  still  multitude  around  the  hall  had  heard, 
through  the  open  windows,  those  last  emphatic  words,  and  respect- 
fully made  way  for  him  to  retire. 

At  the  opening  of  the  next  session  the  young  Emperor  displayed 
his  zeal  in  the  service  of  Rome,  by  causing  a  paper  to  be  read, 
written  by  his  own  hand  in  French,  wherein  he  declared  himself  ready 
to  employ  all  his  powers  in  defence  of  "  the  Catholic  religion  "  received 
from  his  predecessors,  both  Emperors  and  Kings,  and  now  assailed  by 
a  wretched  Monk.  Instead,  however,  of  receiving  it  with  approbation, 
the  Diet  complained  that  he  had  violated  their  right  by  pronouncing 
sentence  independently  of  their  deliberation  ;  and  his  juvenile  indiscre- 
tion had  no  other  effect  than  to  provoke  angry  debate,  which  con- 
tinued all  that  day  and  the  following.  Meanwhile,  Luther  was  visited 
by  Princes,  Counts,  Barons,  Knights,  and  nobles  of  all  titles ;  with 
Priests,  Monks,  and  citizens.  The  inhabitants  of  Worms  surrounded 
the  hall,  and  waited  before  his  lodgings,  anxious  to  catch  a  sight 
of  him,  now  the  chief  personage  in  their  city.  The  city  was  divided, 
and  the  walls  covered  with  placards,  some  written  against  and  others 
for  him.  It  was  even  reported  that  four  hundred  nobles  had  agreed 
to  support  him  by  force  of  arms ;  and  that  the  troops  of  Sickingen, 
who  had  really  offered  him  military  protection  when  on  his  way  from 


LUTHER'S  CONSTANCY.  65 

Wittemberg,  were  near  the  gates.  All  this  was  incorrect ;  but  the 
Diet  saw  that  it  would  be  equally  dangerous  to  proceed  against  the 
Reformer  with  severity,  or  to  bring  him  again  to  public  disputation. 
Charles  therefore  reluctantly  gave  him  permission  to  remain  three 
days  longer  in  Worms  ;  and  further,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Mentz,  allowed  any  who  chose  the  opportunity  of  endeavour- 
ing to  bring  him  to  recant  by  private  solicitation.  The  Archbishop 
of  Treves,  assisted  by  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  the  Bishops 
of  Augsburg  and  Brandenburg,  George  Duke  of  Saxony,  and  a  few 
others  who  met  at  his  lodgings,  sent  for  Luther.  Accompanied  by 
Wehe,  Chancellor  of  Baden,  a  learned  and  eloquent  man,  himself 
desirous  of  a  more  extensive  reformation  than  had  ever  been  acknow- 
ledged necessary  in  any  Romish  ecclesiastical  assembly,  he  accepted  the 
invitation  of  the  Prelate-Prince;  for  Richard  of  Greifenklau  was  Elector 
as  well  as  Archbishop,  and  more  politician  than  Priest.  Receiving 
Friar  Martin  with  the  utmost  courtesy,  he  represented  with  earnest- 
ness, and,  we  may  believe,  with  sincerity,  the  peril  of  his  present 
situation.  Appealing  to  his  sense  of  honour,  desire  to  be  useful  in 
the  world,  fears,  patriotism,  every  virtue  and  every  weakness  that  might 
be  supposed  to  have  place  within  him,  he  exhorted  him  to  persist  no 
longer  in  a  hopeless  and  impracticable  purpose.  Luther  replied : 
Humble  thanks  were  due  to  so  great  Princes  who  deigned  to  concern 
themselves  for  the  safety  of  one  so  insignificant.  He  regretted  that 
any  expressions  of  his  should  haye  given  offence  ;  and  explained  that 
those  relating  to  Councils  had  especial  reference  to  that  of  Constance, 
where  the  condemnation  of  Huss  was  nothing  less  than  an  offence 
against  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  as  given  in  the  Apostles'  Creed. 
As  for  the  offence  apprehended  from  his  own  doctrine,  he  already 
knew  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ  must,  inevitably,  cause  offence.  He 
only  asked  that  all  things  might  be  examined  and  decided  on  by  the 
word  of  God  ;  and  this  he  longed  for  and  importuned.  After  a 
lengthened  conversation  he  withdrew :  the  party  consulted,  and  soon 
sent  for  him  again.  Keeping  to  the  same  point,  he  declined  every 
overture  for  dishonest  conciliation,  and  asked  them  the  single 
favour  of  interceding  with  the  Emperor,  that  he  might  not  be 
compelled  to  do  anything  against  his  conscience.  As  he  rose  again 
to  leave,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  put  a  closing  interrogatory : 
"  Do  you  still  persist  in  saying,  that,  unless  you  are  convinced  out 
of  the  Bible,  you  will  not  yield?"  "Yes,  my  good  Lord,  or  by  clear 
and  evident  reasons."  Unwilling  to  give  up  the  hope  of  winning  or 
subduing  the  stubborn  Saxon,  Greifenklau  again  sent  for  him. 
Accompanied  by  the  two  friends,  Schurff  and  Amsdorff,  he  returned. 
Eck  and  Cochlceus  only  were  there.  They  tried  menace,  ridicule,  and 
invective.  Luther  said  little,  but  his  friends  answered  manfully ;  and 
when  they  had  admonished  him  not  to  preach  or  write  any  more,  he 
departed,  as  fully  resolved  as  ever  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God, 
whose  word  cannot  be  bound. 

The  prospect  of  a  religious  revolution  became  too  evident  for  any 
one  to  doubt  it.  The  Princes,  not  without  reason,  apprehended  that 
civil  revolution  might  follow.  "  Friar  Martin "  was  not  to  be  over- 

VOL.    III.  K 


66  CHAPTER    II. 

come  by  any  earthly  motive ;  but  they-  obtained  an  extension  of  his 
permit  of  lodging  in  Worms  for  two  days.  Wehe  of  Baden,  and 
Peutinger,  an  Augustinian,  took  up  the  forlorn  labour,  and,  calling  at 
his  chamber  in  the  palace  of  the  Knights  of  Rhodes,  proposed  that 
judgment  on  his  writings  should  be  left  to  the  Emperor  and  the 
empire,  apart  from  the  Clergy.  To  that  he  would  consent,  but  under 
the  same  condition  that  their  standard  of  judgment  should  be  the 
word  of  God  alone.  The  reasonable  stipulation  could  not  be  allowed, 
for  they  knew  that  Romanism  does  not  stand  the  test  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  the  Chancellor  and  Monk  came  again  in  the  afternoon 
to  shift  the  ground.  Would  he  submit  his  doctrines  to  the  decision 
of  a  Council?  "Certainly,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  Here  was  a  dawn 
of  hope,  for  they  could  all  foretell  how  a  Council  would  decide ;  and 
ere  they  were  well  out  of  sight,  the  same  thought  flashed  misgiving 
on  his  own  mind.  Greifenklau  rejoiced  for  a  moment  at  the  conces- 
sion, and,  thinking  that  a  Council  would  avert  the  imminent  schism, 
requested  Luther  to  call  on  him  yet  once  again.  The  Elector  Frederic 
was  present,  and  their  conversation  was  most  amicable.  Others  quickly 
joined  them ;  all  agreed  that  some  remedy  was  needed  for  the  evils 
of  the  Church ;  and  Frederic  asked  him  plainly  what  he  would  pro- 
pose. Having  delivered  his  opinion,  Greifenklau,  seeming  to  be 
deeply  affected,  also  asked  him,  "  Then,  my  lord  Doctor,  what  must 
be  done?"*  He  cited  the  sentence  of  Gamaliel,  and  added,  "If 
.  my  counsel  is  not  of  God,  it  will  not  last  over  two  or  three  years  ;  but 
if  it  is  of  God,  no  man  will  be  able  to  put  it  down."  This  conversa- 
tion, perhaps  from  Frederic  having  been  present,  ended  kindly  ;  and 
Martin  Luther,  assured  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  return  to  Wit- 
temberg  under  sure  protection,  hastened  to  his  lodgings.  The 
same  day,  however,  Eck  and  the  Imperial  Secretary  were  sent  to  tell 
him  that  he  must  leave  Worms ;  and  that,  since  all  admonitions  had 
been  unavailing  to  bring  him  back  to  the  Church,  Caesar,  as  advocate 
of  the  Catholic  faith,  would  do  his  duty.  They  also  forbade  him  to 
preach  on  his  way  homewards,  or  in  any  way  to  excite  the  people. 
His  answer  is  memorable.  "  Let  it  be  done  as  seems  good  to  the 
Lord.  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord !  I  render  my  best  thanks, 
first,  to  His  Serene  Majesty  the  Emperor,  and  then  to  the  other  dig- 
nitaries of  the  empire,  for  their  benignant  and  gracious  hearing 
of  me,  and  for  the  free  safe-conduct,  kept  and  to  be  kept.  I  have 
never  desired  anything  more  than  a  reformation  according  to  holy 
Scripture,  and  for  that  have  laboured  heartily.  Saving  this,  I  am 
ready  to  suffer  anything  for  His  Majesty  and  for  the  empire,  through 
life  and  death,  honour  and  dishonour,  reserving  nothing  to  myself  but 
the  right  of  preaching  freely  the  word  of  God  alone,  bearing  thereunto 
my  confession  and  my  testimony.  I  commit  myself  most  humbly  to 
His  Imperial  Majesty,  and  to  all  the  empire."  Here  terminates  his 
brief  sojourn  at  Worms. 

On  the  morning  of  April  26th,  a  company  of  devoted  friends  sur- 
rounded his  breakfast-table,  and,  after  a  hearty  and  cheerful  meal, 
they  all  set  out  together  for  Oppenheim,  on  the  road  to  Wittemberg. 

*  "  Mein  Heir  Doctor,  wie  thate  man  ihm  detm  ?  " 


EDICT    OF    WORMS.  C7 

The  impression  left  ou  all  who  were  not  entirely  hostile  was  highly 
favourable.  All  admired  his  courage.  "Monkling!"  pleasantly  said 
a  veteran  Knight,  "  Monkling !  thou  art  going  on  as  I,  and  many  of 
my  brother  officers,  would  not  dare  to  venture,  not  even  in  our  best- 
fought  battles.  But  if  thou  art  quite  right  and  sure,  go  on  thy  way, 
iu  God's  name,  and  fear  nothing.  God  will  not  forsake  thee." 
Thankful  for  deliverance,  the  Reformer  travelled  on  to  Oppenheim, 
slept  there  that  night,  and  was  joined  by  his  old  friend,  Gaspar  Sturm, 
the  Herald.  He  received  an  order  to  be  at  home  again  within  three 
weeks.  From  the  small  town  of  Friedburg  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Emperor,  and  States  of  the  empire,  thanking  them  for  the  safe- 
conduct  which  had  been  both  granted  and  observed ;  but  complaining 
that  his  writings  had  not  been  examined  by  the  standard  of  the  word 
of  God  ;  and  praying  that  they  might  all  be  so  examined,  not  for  his 
own  sake,  but  for  the  glory  of  God,  the  good  of  the  Church,  and  the 
salvation  of  souls.  This  letter  was  sent  by  Sturm,  who,  as  it  was 
not  thought  necessary  that  he  should  accompany  him  in  the  first 
day's  journey,  so  did  not  attend  him  any  further.  For  the 
sake  of  visiting  some  relatives,  he  hastened  towards  Eisenach,  where 
he  preached,  as  in  some  other  places,  being  received  at  every  stage 
with  marked  respect  by  the  civic  authorities  and  inhabitants.  From 
Eisenach  he  left  the  road  to  Wittemberg,  travelling  towards  Mora, 
his  father's  birth-place,  to  visit  an  aged  grandmother,  and  had 
entered  the'  forest  of  Thuringia,  when,  in  a  deeply-shaded  hollow,  five 
masked  horsemen  suddenly  met  him  and  Amsdorff  in  their  Saxon  roll- 
wagen  :  Luther  put  himself  in  a  posture  of  defence,  but  the  highway- 
men found  no  difficulty  in  pulling  him  to  the  ground,  tying  his  hands 
behind  him,  and  mounting  him  on  a  led  horse,  while  two  of  them  cut 
off  communication  with  Amsdorff,  and  Luther  was  taken  into  a  depth 
of  the  forest.  This  sudden  transition  from  the  sober  course  of  his- 
tory, to  something  very  like  romance,  is  accounted  for  by  stating,  that 
before  Luther  had  left  Worms  his  enemies  were  preparing  an  edict 
to  place  him  under  the  ban  of  the  empire.  To  save  him  from  vex- 
atious consequences,  perhaps  even  from  death,  Frederic  engaged  two 
noblemen  to  use  friendly  violence,  and  lodge  him  in  some  safe  retreat ; 
yet  concealing  from  himself  all  knowledge  of  the  place,  that  he 
might  be  able  to  tell  the  Emperor,  or  swear,  if  necessary,  that  he 
knew  not  where  Luther  was.  The  horsemen  conducted  him  to  the 
Wartburg,  a  castle  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  hill  not  far  from  Eisenach, 
an  ancient  residence  and  stronghold  of  the  Landgraves  of  Thuringia. 
No  one  knew  whither  the  supposed  highwaymen  had  conveyed  him  ; 
but  the  report  immediately  spread  that  he  had  been  murdered,  and 
that  his  priestly  enemies  had  put  him  out  of  the  way  was  universally 
believed.  We  leave  him  there  for  a  moment,  and  return  to  Worms, 
to  hear  the  decision  of  the  Diet. 

Frederic  and  all  others  who  might  have  been  anxious  to  avert  or  miti- 
gate a  condemnatory  sentence,  had  left  the  place.  Aleander,  the  Pope's 
representative,  reigned  over  Charles  V.,  and  found  ready  support  from, 
the  great  men,  who  cared  neither  for  Luther  nor  Christianity.  Towards 
the  end  of  May,  the  remaining  members  of  the  Diet,  with  the  Emperor 

K  2 


68  CHAPTER    II. 

at  their  head,  being  assembled  in  the  principal  church  at  solemn  mass, 
Aleander  presented  him  with  two  copies  of  an  edict,  in  German  and 
Latin,  written  by  himself,  already  passed  by  a  majority  of  the  States, 
and  only  to  be  ratified  by  the  hand  of  Csesar.  Charles  gave  the 
signature,  and  caused  the  document  to  be  read  aloud.  It  conveys  a 
full  idea  of  what  man  would  have  done  to  suppress  the  Gospel,  had 
God  permitted.  "  We,  Charles  V.,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  to  all  the  Electors, 
Princes,  Prelates,  and  others  whom  it  may  concern.  The  Almighty 
having  intrusted  to  us,  for  the  defence  of  his  holy  faith,  more  kingdoms 
and  power  than  he  had  given  to  any  of  our  predecessors,  we  mean  to 
exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  any  heresy  from  arising  to 
pollute  our  holy  empire.  The  Augustine  Monk,  Martin  Luther, 
though  exhorted  by  us,  has,  like  a  madman,  assailed  the  holy 
Church,  and  sought  to  destroy  it  by  means  of  books  filled  with  blas- 
phemy. He  has,  in  a  shameful  manner,  insulted  the  imperishable 
law  of  holy  wedlock.  He  has  striven  to  excite  the  laity  to  wash  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  Priests ;  and,  overturning  all  obedience,  has 
never  ceased  to  stir  up  revolt,  division,  war,  murder,  theft,  and  fire, 
labouring  to  ruin  utterly  the  faith  of  Christians.  In  a  word,  to 
pass  over  all  his  other  iniquities  in  silence,  this  creature,  who  is  not  a 
man,  but  Satan  himself  under  the  form  of  a  man,  covered  with  the 
cowl  of  a  Monk,  has  collected  into  one  pestilent  receptacle  all  the 
worst  heresies  of  past  times,  and  added  several  new  ones  of  his  own, 
destroying  the  faith  under  pretence  of  preaching  faith,  and  Gospel 
peace  under  pretence  of  Gospel  doctrine."  Here  comes  a  long  sum- 
mary of  events  preceding  the  Diet  of  Worms,  the  citation  of  Luther 
thither;  and  the  paternal,  patient,  and  affectionate  conduct  of  the  Em- 
peror, the  Nuncio,  and  all  other  persons  towards  him,  with  his  alleged 
obstinacy  and  insolence.  The  document  then  proceeds  :  "  We  have, 
therefore,  driven  this  Martin  Luther  from  before  our  face,  that  all  pious 
and  sensible  men  may  regard  him  as  a  madman,  or  as  one  possessed 
of  the  devil ;  and  we  expect  that,  after  the  expiration  of  his  safe- 
conduct,  effectual  means  will  be  taken  to  check  this  grievous  pestilence. 
Wherefore,  under  pain  of  incurring  the  punishment  due  to  the  crime 
of  treason,  we  forbid  you  to  lodge  the  said  Luther,  so  soon  as  the 
fatal  term  shall  be  expired,  to  conceal  him,  give  him  meat  or  drink,  or 
lend  him,  by  word  or  deed,  publicly  or  secretly,  any  kind  of  assist- 
ance. We  enjoin  on  you,  moreover,  to  seize  him,  or  cause  him 
to  be  seized,  wherever  you  find  him,  if  you  have  sufficient  force 
to  take  him,  and  bring  him  to  us  bound,  without  any  delay,  or 
keep  him  in  all  safety  until  you  hear  from  us  how  to  act,  and 
until  you  receive  the  recompence  due  to  your  exertions  and  expense 
in  so  holy  a  work.  As  to  his  adherents,  you  will  seize  them,  suppress 
them,  and  confiscate  their  goods,  moveable  and  immoveable.  As  to 
his  writings,  if  the  best  food  becomes  the  terror  of  all  as  soon  as  a 
drop  of  poison  is  mixed  with  it,  how  much  more  ought  these  books, 
•which  contain  a  deadly  poison  to  the  soul,  to  be  not  only  rejected 
but  also  annihilated  1  You  will,  therefore,  burn  them,  or,  in  some 
other  way,  destroy  them  entirely.  As  to  authors,  poets,  printers, 
painters,  sellers  or  buyers  of  placards,  writings,  or  paintings  against 


LUTHER    IN    THE    WARTBURG.  69 

the  Pope  or  the  Church,  you  will  lay  hold  of  their  persons  and  their 
goods,  and  treat  them  according  to  your  good  pleasure.  And  if  any 
one,  -whatever  be  his  dignity  or  power,  shall  dare  to  act  in  contradic- 
tion to  the  decree  of  our  Imperial  Majesty,  we  ordain  that  he  shall 
be  placed  under  the  ban  of  the  empire.  Given  at  Worms,  May  8th, 
1521." 

The  sudden  disappearance  of  Luther  was  an  elusion  of  the  stroke. 
Charles  might  be  satisfied  with  having  promulgated  the  edict,  in  sub- 
mission to  the  Nuncio,  and  yet  not  displeased  that,  by  the  escape  or 
murder  of  the  intended  victim,  he  had  been  spared  the  odium  and 
danger  of  its  execution,  especially  in  the  Lutheran  States,  while  the 
hand  of  God  conducted  his  servant  to  the  Wartburg,  and  made  a  Pat- 
mos  of  that  retreat.  Caesar  only  obeyed  the  dictation  of  the  Church  ; 
and  the  edict  now  partially  transcribed  shows  us  the  spirit  of  Papal 
Borne,  still  domineering  over  the  liberties  of  the  Germanic  States, 
who  were  called  on  to  chase  and  destroy  the  most  eminent  man  then 
living,  and  to  prove  servile  obedience  by  a  deed  of  blood. 

Luther's  most  intimate  friends  were  not  in  the  secret  of  his  retreat. 
Some  were  discouraged  by  losing,  as  they  thought,  their  leader  ;  the 
people  were  now  exasperated  with  the  idea  that  he  had  been  mur- 
dered ;  and  again  soothed  by  a  report  that  he  had  prudently  con- 
cealed himself  in  Wittemberg,  to  avoid  suffering  from  the  execution 
of  the  edict.  Frederic  pursued  his  own  sagacious  policy  by  discou- 
raging innovation,  and  even  disapproving  of  controversial  preaching, 
and  the  circulation  of  Luther's  writings,  and,  content  with  having 
confided  his  subject  to  the  friendly  violence  that  made  him  a  prisoner, 
chose,  for  some  time,  not  to  be  informed  of  the  place  of  his  confine- 
ment. The  Monk,  on  entering  the  castle,  was  stripped  of  his  monas- 
tic weeds,  apparelled  as  a  Knight,  shut  up  in  a  keep  until  his  beard 
had  grown,  made  to  wear  a  sword,  and  called  Sir  George.*  In  this 
attire  he  walked  within  the  precinct  of  the  fortress,  or,  attended  by  a 
guard  under  the  character  of  servant,  or  mingled  in  a  hunting-party, 
was  now  and  then  allowed  to  range  over  the  neighbouring  country. 
Withdrawn  from  the  public  eye,  and  saved  alike  from  the  excitements 
and  the  dangers  of  public  life  at  Wittemberg,  and  temptations  to  pride 
that  might  have  been  too  powerful  for  one  who  had  just  braved  the 
empire  at  Worms,  and  where  he  might  have  been  involved  in  a  tumult- 
uary reformation  in  Saxony,  or  crushed  under  the  imperial  edict,  he 
gave  himself  to  study,  prayer,  and  the  pen.  His  letters  were  dated 
"  from  the  isle  of  Patmos,"  or  "  from  my  desert,"  and  Spalatine,  in 
quality  of  Secretary  to  the  Elector,  yet  with  the  devotion  of  a  friend, 
became  the  careful  medium  of  occasional  correspondence  with  the 
world.  He  heard  enough  to  understand  the  state  of  Germany,  and 
wrote,  in  whole  or  in  part,  some  important  treatises.  The  weariness 
of  captivity,  indeed,  and  intelligence  of  the  excesses  of  zealots  who 
dishonoured  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  of  the  timidity  of  brethren  who 
seemed  to  faint  in  hours  of  trial,  wrought  powerfully  on  his  excitable 
and  impetuous  spirit,  until  the  grace  of  God  restored  peace  and  renewed 
his  energies,  now  more  than  ever  devoted  to  the  great  work  of  con- 
*  "  Juncker  George." 


/O  CHAPTER    II. 

tending  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  He  remained  there 
nearly  one  year. 

Besides  numerous  letters,  he  wrote  a  treatise  on  confession,  its 
abuses,  and  the  nullity  of  Papal  sanction,  under  which  all  abuses 
were  continued.  For  the  instruction  of  those  to  whom  he  could  not 
preach,  he  wrote  "  Church-Postils,"  or  homiletical  discourses ;  and 
thought  them,  of  all  that  he  had  ever  written,  by  far  the  best,  even  the 
Papists  being  judges.*  Here,  also,  was  written  a  book  in  reply  to  a 
theologian  of  Louvain,  who  had  pretended  to  confute  his  doctrine, — a 
small  volume,  rich  in  scriptural  argument  against  the  merit  of  good 
works,  and  scholastic  theology.  From  the  Wartburg  the  brethren 
of  his  community  in  the  Augustinian  monastery  received,  on  occasion 
of  their  contemplating  such  a  reformation,  a  treatise  "  concerning 
the  abrogation  of  private  masses,"  masses  celebrated  for  the  dead  by 
the  Priest  alone.  A  tract  on  monastic  vows,  dedicated  to  his  father, 
whom  he  had  disobeyed  by  entering  a  monastery,  contains  a  pathetic 
acknowledgment  of  the  sin  committed  in  that  act.  In  a  book 
addressed  to  Ambrogio  Cattarino,  an  Italian  Monk,  afterwards  made 
Bishop,  he  proves  that  the  Pope  is  Antichrist.  Albert,  Archbishop 
of  Mentz,  then  with  his  court  at  Halle,  was  encouraging  the  indul- 
gence-mongers to  renew  their  traffic.  Luther  heard  of  it,  and  wrote 
a  tract  "  against  the  Idol  of  Halle."  It  was  written  in  German,  the 
public  were  alive  to  the  old  controversy,  the  style  was  resistless. 
Frederic  feared  to  allow  an  attack  on  the  personage  in  whom  were 
concentred  the  dignities  of  Cardinal,  Archbishop,  Elector,  and  Pri- 
mate of  Germany.  Albert  feared  consequences,  and  wrote  a  bland 
letter  of  dissuasion  to  the  excommunicated  son  of  the  Mansfeld 
smelter;  and,  with  Luther's  consent,  the  writing  was,  for  the  sake 
of  peace,  suppressed  at  that  time.  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  edu- 
cated for  the  priesthood,  fancied,  therefore,  when  on  the  throne,  that 
he  could  write  a  book.  He  did  so.  It  was  against  Luther,  and 
presented  humbly  to  Leo  X.,  with  a  Latin  inscription : — 

"  Anglorum  Rex  Henricus,  Leo  Decime,  mittit 
Hoc  opns  et  fidei  testem  et  amicitise." 

"  0  Leo  the  Tenth !  Henry,  King  of  England,  sends  thee  this  work, 
as  a  testimony  of  faith  and  friendship."  The  royal  author  solicited, 
in  recompence  of  his  faith  and  friendship,  the  title  of  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  which,  after  some  trouble,  was  obtained ;  but  the  prisoner  at 
large  of  the  Wartburg  rapidly  composed  an  answer.  John  Clerk, 
Henry's  Ambassador  to  Rome,  presented  the  volume  to  the  Pope,  and 
graced  the  presentation  with  a  speech,  wherein  he  informed  the  Holy 
Father,  that  his  master  had  been  instructed  by  able  teachers,  had 
often  disputed  with  the  most  learned  Britons,  winning  great  applause, 
and  had  at  last  dared,  not  without  glory,  to  wage  fight  with  Luther,  a 
man  of  no  contemptible  erudition.  Luther  accepted  the  challenge,  and 
the  Romanists  bitterly  complained  that  he  handled  the  king  too  rudely. 
Perhaps  he  did ;  but  in  those  days  disputants  were  not  gentle,  and  at 

*  "  —  mein  allerbestes  Bach,  die  Postilleo,  das  ieh  jc  gemacht  habe,  welches  auch 
die  Pnpisten  geruo  liaben.'' — Seckendorff,  turn,  i.,  p.  1G4. 


LUTHER'S  GERMAN  BIBLF.  71 

least    the    world   received    another   evidence    that    the   prisoner  was 
not  idle. 

The  great  work,  however,  then  taken  in  hand,  and  continued  from 
those  hours  of  solitude  until  the  end  of  his  life,  (for  he  constantly 
returned  to  it  in  the  intervals  of  correspondence  and  controversy,) 
was  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into  German.  The  sacred  volume, 
or  something  like  it,  was  already  in  circulation  from  German 
presses,*  but  in  closely  literal,  or  mischievously  paraphrastic,  versions 
of  the  Romanized  Vulgate,  and  doubly  imperfect.  The  basis  itself 
was  defective,  because  not  the  original  of  inspired  Scripture,  and 
also  because,  in  each  edition  made  under  a  Romish  bias,  more  various 
readings  were  adopted,  and  the  genuine  lection  displaced  accord- 
ing to  the  taste  of  the  collator,  or  his  anxiety  to  dogmatize.  The 
language  was  defective,  because  a  servile  transcript,  or  nearly  so, 
of  the  Latin  text  in  German  words,  bringing  out  combinations  that 
were  often  unintelligible,  and  sometimes  ludicrous.  Luther  saw 
the  necessity  of  superseding  those  misleading  productions,  by  such  a 
version  as  would  deserve  to  be  read  with  acceptance  and  expounded 
with  confidence  :  to  that  object  he  gave  his  energies,  although  a  con- 
test with  Prelates  and  Princes,  and  the  conducting  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, were  more  than  enough  to  occupy  even  his  uncommon  strength 
of  mind ;  and,  for  its  better  accomplishment,  engaged  the  co-opera- 
tion of  his  most  learned  friends,  Bugenhagius,  Justus  Jonas,  Melanc- 
thon,  Aurogallus,  and  others.  He  also  had  recourse  for  information 
to  learned  Jews,  and  made  use  of  all  persons  and  all  books  that  could 
afford  illustration  even  on  the  most  trifling  points.  Two  or  three 
days  were  not  unfrequently  spent  by  the  united  party  in  investigation 
for  the  rendering  of  a  single  word.  The  labour  was  immense  ;  but  it 
produced  a  work  of  which  Germany  makes  reasonable  boast.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  taken  as  the  standard  of  the  German  language  ;  and 
to  this  day,  like  our  own  inestimable  version,  it  is  a  literary  classic  ;  and, 
by  its  precision  and  fideli ty,  conveys  the  lasting  testimony  of  men  who 
trembled  at  the  mere  thought  of  inaccuracy,  to  rebuke  the  ignorance, 
levity,  or  incompetence  of  any  who  should  stoop,  in  later  times,  to 
make  a  version,  however  good,  the  basis  or  the  standard  of  another 
version,  and  offer  the  crude  performance  to  be  an  authoritative  me- 
dium of  evangelical  instruction  to  entire  nations.  Although  aided  by 
others,  Luther  made  the  version  his  own.  Every  word  was  written, 
finally,  by  himself,  after  having  been  chosen  or  adopted  by  the  effort 
of  his  own  mind.  In  prosecuting  this  mighty  labour,  he  aimed  at 
making  "  the  mind  of  the  Spirit "  clear  to  unlearned  readers ;  where- 
as, Romish  translators  had  endeavoured,  and  still  do  endeavour,  to 
express  the  mind  of  their  Church.  He  desired  to  make  his  version 
effective  :  they,  on  the  contrary,  speak  of  all  versions  as  incomplete 
and  of  no  authority,  the  modern  Latin  Vulgate  alone  excepted.  They 
make  this  version  the  standard  of  appeal,  and  many  of  them  set  it 

*  "  Beschreibung  einiger  alten  Deutschen  Bibel-Uebersetzungen  vor  D.  Luther's 
Zeit,"  in  the  "Syntagma  Commentationum "  of  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Goettiugae,  1759, 
demonstrates  the  truth,  of  this  statement,  which  is  extended  by  Seckendorff  to  the  Bibles 
printed  in  Nuremberg  in  1477,  1483,  and  1490,  and  at  Augsburg  in  1518. 


72  CHAPTER    II. 

above  the  sacred  originals.  Luther  made  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  the 
standard  of  appeal,  and  passed  the  ecclesiastical  version  by,  except  as 
one  help  with  many  others.  The  principles  of  Luther  and  the  Ro- 
manists were  thus  opposed  ;  but  his  principles  were  embodied  in 
every  sentence  of  his  Bible,  which  they  hated  more  bitterly  than  ever 
their  fathers  had  hated  the  translations  of  Waldenses  and  of  Wycliffe. 
Their  volumes  rendered  an  implied  reverence  to  the  work  of  the  Church 

not  of  St.  Jerome,  for  the  altered  Vulgate  differs  widely  from  his 

work,  as  any  one  may  see  by  comparing  the  columns  in  the  great 
Bible  of  Sabatier  ;  Luther  gave  exclusive  honour  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
who  speaks  by  the  inspired  writers.  He  was  jealous  over  his  work  * 
because  it  was  a  monument  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  high  principle 
that  gave 'soul  and  power  to  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, but  no  longer  pervades  entire  Protestantism  in  the  nineteenth. 
Many  of  us  are  accustomed  to  calculate,  in  cold,  worldly  prudence, 
on  the  prejudices  of  Continental  Romanists,  and  give  them  an  eccle- 
siastical Bible  instead  of  "the  verity,"  as  the  old  Reformers  properly 
called  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek.  We  send  them  versions  of  the  one, 
and  fear  to  teach  them  the  untarnished  perfection  of  the  other.  We 
have  caught  the  cloak  of  Erasmus,  and  put  off  the  mantle  of  Luther. 

Maimbourg,  a  faithful  representative  of  his  Church,  while  writing 
against  Lutherans  and  Calvinists,-f  gives  utterance  to  the  mind  of  Ro- 
manism ;  and  a  section  from  his  "  History  of  Lutherauism"  shall  repre- 
sent the  impression  made  on  the  Priests  by  the  publication  of  Luther's 
German  Bible.  He  writes  thus  : — "Meanwhile,  learned  men  were  found, 
who  showed  that  this  version  was  unfaithful  and  pernicious.  Among 
them  all,  Jerome  Emser  gained  the  most  distinguished  name,  but  also 
incurred  implacable  hatred  and  persecution  from  the  adverse  party. 
He  was  an  excellent  and  wise  man,  and  profoundly  versed  in  divine 
and  human  sciences,  a  Doctor  of  Leipsic,  and  Counsellor  of  George, 
Duke  of  Saxony,  the  Elector's  cousin.  To  those  admirable  gifts,  both 
natural  and  acquired,  he  added  great  zeal  for  religion ;  and  was 
among  the  first  who  opposed  the  rising  heresy  of  Luther,  ever  track- 
ing him  closely,  and  attacking  him  on  every  occasion.  It  excessively 
irritated  Luther,  that  he  should  have  him  for  a  perpetual  adversary ; 
nor  was  there  any  one  against  whom  he  wrote  so  many  books,  or  on 
whom  he  heaped  so  much  abuse.  This  was  that  man  of  God  who, 

*  "  Luther's  critical  learning  was  not  equal  to  that  of  Erasmus,  hut  in  strength 
of  understanding  no  man  ever  surpassed  him ;  and  in  resolution  and  integrity  he  was 
superior  to  all  the  learned  of  his  age."  "  The  last  edition,  which  was  printed  while 
Luther  was  living,  and  indeed,  not  quite  finished  till  after  his  death,  was  that  of  1546. 
In  the  Preface  to  this  edition,  which  comes  immediately  after  the  title-page,  he  delivers 
the  following  request  :  '  Dr.  Martin  Luther,  I  request  my  friends  and  my  foes,  my 
masters,  printers,  and  readers,  to  let  this  New  Testament  continue  mine.  If  they  find 
faults  in  it,  let  them  make  another.  I  know  well  what  I  make,  I  see  also  well  what 
others  make.  But  this  Testament  shall  remain  Luther's  German  Testament.  Now-a- 
days  there  is  neither  measure  nor  end  of  mending  and  bettering.  Let  every  man,  there- 
fore, take  heed  of  false  copies  ;  for  I  know  how  unfaithfully  and  untruly  others  have  re- 
printed what  I  printed.'." — Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  by  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
translated  by  Dr.  Marsh,  chap,  xxxi.,  sec.  7- 

t  Maimbonrg,  in  whom  the  spirit  of  the  Frenchman  was  more  vigorous  than  that  of 
the  Jesuit,  had  the  misfortune  to  write  something  offensive  to  the  court  of  Rome.  The 
Pope  expelled  him  from  the  Order.  The  King  pensioned  him. — Moreri. 


LUTHER    "  ON    THE    SECULAR    POWER."  73 

despising  the  importunities  and  insolence  of  Luther  and  his  followers, 
believed  that  he  should  deserve  excellently  of  Christendom  by  expos- 
ing himself  to  the  fury  of  the  Lutheran  faction,  which,  he  doubted 
not,  would  fall  on  him.  He,  therefore,  first  of  all,  in  public  and  in 
private,  both  writing  and  speaking,  detected  the  horrid  corruptions 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  exhibited  to  the  public  more  than  a  thou- 
sand falsifications  in  the  version.  Also,  that  an  antidote  might  not 
be  wanting  to  the  Catholics,  and  that  the  errors  of  the  Lutheran  ver- 
sion might  be  demonstrated,  he  composed  another,  more  exact  and 
faithful,  perfectly  agreeing  with  the  Vulgate,  whence  all  the  places 
might  easily  appear  that  were  corrupted  in  the  other.  In  consequence 
of  this,  many  Princes,  ecclesiastical  and  secular, — for  example,  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand,  brother  of  the  Emperor,  George  of  Saxony,  and 
the  Duke  of  Bavaria, — in  public  laws  and  edicts,  commanded  this 
perverse  version  to  be  burnt ;  and,  by  heavy  fines,  compelled  all  their 
subjects  to  give  up  all  the  copies  in  their  possession  to  Magistrates 
appointed  for  that  very  purpose.  This  so  exasperated  Luther,  that 
he  emitted  a  most  insolent  libel,  in  which  he  called  the  Princes 
tyrants  ;  and,  arrogating  to  himself  the  supreme  authority  that  he  had 
wrenched  from  the  Pope,  forbade  all  to  obey  ;  and  said,  that  if  any 
did  otherwise  than  he  had  commanded,  they  would  deliver  up  Christ 
to  Herod  to  be  slain."  * 

Well  may  Du  Pin  call  this  historian  romantic.  Emser,  "  that  man 
of  God,"  branded  as  a  horrid  corruption  every  instance  of  conformity 
to  the  original  text  when  it  differed  from  the  Vulgate,  and,  himself  a 
miserable  writer  of  German,  if  his  own  countrymen  may  be  believed, 
paraded  as  an  error  the  slightest  departure  from  an  accustomed  form. 
For  example  :  Luther  wrote  the  first  words  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 
Unser  Vater,  and  Emser  cried  out  "a  corruption,"  because  he  had 
not  written  Vater  Unser.  To  Emser  and  the  Ecclesiastics  these 
imaginary  corruptions  were  mortal  sins ;  and  they  called  on  the 
Princes  to  employ  secular  penalties  for  their  amendment.  Preachers 
were  clamorous,  and  the  decrees  against  Bible-reading  were  high-, 
sounding,  but,  at  first,  indefinite  as  to  penalties.  Emser  did  little 
more  than  circulate  a  reprint  of  that  very  "  Lutheran  version,"  with  a 
preface  of  his  own  ;  and  the  enemies  of  the  word  of  God  displayed  at 
once  the  malignity  of  their  temper,  and  the  littleness  of  their  power. 

This  Bible  controversy  gave  rise  to  another.  Dukes  had  interfered 
to  prohibit  their  subjects  from  reading  the  holy  Scriptures.  Luther 
saw  them  go  beyond  the  limits  of  their  authority,  and  hastened  to 
repel  that  aggression  on  religious  liberty,  by  the  publication  of  a 
tract  "  on  the  Secular  Power."  The  work  does  not  answer  to 
the  notice  of  it  given  by  Maimbourg ;  and  as  the  enemies  of  Christ, 
from  the  Pharisees  down  to  this  day,  have  always  accused  the  preach- 
ers of  divine  truth  of  stirring  up  sedition,  we  must  observe  the  book 
itself,  and  ascertain  whether  Luther, did  encourage  insubordination  to 
constituted  authorities.  On  the  contrary  :  he  proves  the  right  of 
Magistrates  to  govern,  by  citing  passages  of  Scripture  to  that  intent. 
He  says,  "  that  if  all  and  each  throughout  the  whole  world  were  truly 

*  Maimbourg,  sect.  52. 
VOL.    III.  -  L 


74  CHAPTER     II. 

believers,  there  would  be  no  need  of  Kings  or  Princes,  sword  or  laws. 
Of  what  use  would  they  be  in  such  a  state  of  things  ?  Then  would 
men  have  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  heart,  and,  by  Him  instructed, 
would  do  no  harm  to  any,  but  would  love  all,  and  patiently  suffer 
injury  and  death  itself.  For  where  hardships  are  suffered  patiently, 
where  nothing  is  done  but  what  is  just,  there  is  no  litigation,  nor 
strife,  nor  Judge,  nor  penalty,  nor  judgment,  nor  sword.  Therefore, 
among  true  Christians,  there  would  be  no  place  for  temporal  judg- 
ment and  the  sword ;  for  they  render  freely  more  than  any  laws  or 
any  doctrines  can  exact.  Hence  Paul  teaches  :  '  The  law  is  not  made 
for  a  righteous  man,  but  for  the  lawless  and  disobedient.' "  Yet 
Luther  would  not  abuse  this  passage.  "  But  because,"  he  proceeds 
to  say,  "  the  number  of  the  wicked  is  vast,  and,  among  a  thousand, 
there  is  hardly  one  true  Christian,  God  has  ordained  the  state 
of  Magistracy  and  political  government ;  which  if  he  had  not  done, 
men  would  have  destroyed  one  another.  There  is,  therefore,  a  two- 
fold government  :  the  spiritual,  which  makes  men  Christian  and 
pious,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  under  Christ  ;  and  the  temporal,  which 
restrains  the  impious  and  the  un-Christian,  that,  even  unwillingly, 
they  may  keep  peace.  This,  also,  St.  Paul  says :  '  Rulers  are  not  a 
terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil.' "  "  All  Christians  most  gladly 
submit  to  the  secular  sword,  for  the  sake  of  charity,  and  by  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  thus,  also,  they  may  obey  the  divine 
appointment,  and  serve  their  neighbour."  All  this  should  have  been 
inoffensive.  Not  so  such  sentences  as  the  following  : — "  If  the  Prince 
requires  thee  to  obey  the  Pope,  to  believe  this  or  that,  to  give  up 
books,  &c.,  thou  shalt  answer  thus  :  '  I  will  obey  thee  with  my  body 
and  my  goods  ;  command  me  according  to  the  authority  that  thou 
hast  on  earth,  and  I  will  obey.  But  I  will  not  obey  if  thou  com- 
mandest  me  to  believe,  or  to  give  up  books  :  for  thus  thou  commandest 
as  a  tyrant  what  thou  canst  not  exact  in  justice.'  And  if,  when  thou 
hast  answered  thus,  they  take  away  thy  goods,  or  thou  sufferest 
punishment  for  disobedience,  blessed  art  thou !  Render  thanks  to 
God  that  he  hath  made  thee  worthy  to  suffer  for  his  word.  Suffer 
the  rage  of  that  madman  :  he  will  have  his  Judge.  If,  then,  thou 
dost  not  contradict,  but  willingly  obeyest  him  that  prohibits  thy 
faith,  or  commandeth  thee  to  give  up  thy  books,  thou  hast  denied 
God."  *  In  the  same  work  he  exhorts  Princes  as  well  as  people, 
teaching  both  that,  in  matters  of  religion,  the  supreme  authority  is  in 
God  ;  and  that  nothing  can  be  required  or  rendered  contrary  to  his 
revealed  will,  without  sin. 

Returning  to  the  Wartburg,  we  find  the  great  Reformer  enduring 
conflicts  that  his  enemies  have  heartlessly  caricatured,  pretending 
that,  like  their  own  St.  Anthony,  he  fought,  bodily,  with  Satan.  His 
own  words  were  too  distinct  to  have  been  fairly  understood  as  convey- 
ing such  an  idea.  Describing  the  extreme  distress  of  soul  he  has 
suffered  while  contending  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  against  sugges- 
tions of  error,  which  he  attributes  to  Satanic  guile,  he  employs  strong 
personification  ;  yet  not  stronger  than  is  used  in  popular  language 

*  Seckendorf.,  pars  i.,  p.  211. 


WAR    FORESEEN.  75 

every  day  ;  and,  speaking  of  nights  in  which  he  has  lain  sleepless,  he 
says,  "  The  devil  begins  such  a  disputation  with  me  in  my  heart,  (in 
meinem  hersen,)  that  he  makes  me  pass  many  nights  in  bitterness 
and  anguish."  Devoted  to  the  holy  enterprise  of  raising  fallen  Chris- 
tendom by  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  conversant  in  the  policy  of  Kings 
that  arise,  and  Princes,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  that  take  counsel  toge- 
ther against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed,  he  cannot  but  foresee 
that  the  contest  will  be  a  cause  of  tumult  and  bloodshed.  His  fears 
were  natural,  and  expressed  with  so  great  clearness,  that  some  attri- 
buted to  him  the  gift  of  prophecy.  With  reference  to  the  zeal 
of  George,  Duke  of  Saxony,  in  enforcing  the  edict  of  Worms,  he 
writes  thus  in  a  familiar  letter  (February  27th,  1522):  "I  fear 
exceedingly,  that  if  the  Princes  continue  to  heed  this  hot-headed  Duke 
George,  there  will  be  a  tumult  that  will  overwhelm  both  Princes  and 
Magistrates  throughout  all  Germany,  and  involve  the  whole  body  of 
Clergy.  So,  at  least,  it  appears  to  me.  The  multitude  has  eyes, 
and  is  everywhere  awake.  The  people  neither  can  nor  will  be  over- 
come by  force.  It  is  the  Lord  who  does  these  things,  and  hides 
these  threatenings  and  imminent  perils  from  the  eyes  of  Princes. 
Yes,  through  their  blindness  he  will  bring  these  things  to  pass ;  and, 
already,  I  seem  to  see  Germany  swimming  in  blood.  Wherefore,  I 
pray  thee  by  the  compassions  of  Christ,  most  excellent  Wenceslaus, 
join  with  us  and  ours  in  prayer,  and  let  us  set  ourselves  as  a  wall 
between  God  and  the  people,  in  this  day  of  his  great  anger.  This  is 
a  serious  matter  that  is  coming  upon  us ;  and  that  foolish  fellow  at 
Dresden  (Eraser)  cares  nothing  for  the  people,  if  he  can  but  satisfy 
his  own  madness  and  inveterate  enmity.  Therefore,  if  thou  canst  do 
anything,  endeavour  that  the  Princes  be  admonished  by  means  of  your 
Senators  to  proceed  calmly  and  without  violence.  Let  them  consider 
that  people  are  no  longer  what  they  were  :  let  them  consider  that  a 
sword  most  certainly  hangs  over  their  heads  at  home.  They  so  act  as 
to  destroy  Luther;  but  Luther  will  so  act  that  they  may  be  preserved. 
The  perdition  that  they  are  contriving  will  not  fall  on  Luther,  but  on 
themselves ;  wherefore  I  fear  them  not.  Surely  I  am  speaking  this 
by  the  Spirit.  But  if  wrath  is  determined  in  heaven,  so  that  it  can- 
not be  stayed  by  prayers  nor  by  counsels,  let  us  implore  of  God  that 
our  Josiah  may  fall  asleep  in  peace  ere  the  world  be  left  to  itself  to 
be  turned  into  a  Babel."  * 

We  shall  shortly  see  the  fulfilment  of  the  presage,  and  the  answer 
to  the  prayer.  Germany  will  be  the  scene  of  tumult,  of  religious  war. 
Charles  V.,  who  has  endeavoured  to  purchase  the  aid  of  the  Pope 
against  his  enemy  the  King  of  France,  will  be  beaten  in  Germany 
itself;  but  Josiah,  the  Elector  Frederic,  will  have  fallen  asleep  in 
peace,  before  the  occurrence  of  those  events. 

Well  said  Luther  that  people  were  not  what  they  had  been.  The 
sermons  of  Savonarola  ;  the  writings  of  Wycliffe  ;  the  traditions  of  the 
Waldenses  ;  the  invectives  of  Huss ;  the  confession  of  the  Bohemian 
Brethren ;  even  the  plain  sayings  of  Erasmus,  sometimes  doubtful 
between  jest  and  earnest ;  the  dying  cry  of  martyrs  in  every  age ;  the 

*  Seckendorf.,  pars  i.,  p.  177- 
L    2 


76  CHAPTER    II. 

sage  instructions  of  Wesselus  ;  the  tradition  of  every  land,  for  every 
land  had  now  been  hallowed  by  the  pyres  of  martyrdom  ;  the  vows 
of  angry  Kings  to  blot  out  the  name  of  Babylon  ;  the  prophecies 
of  Joachim,  Hildegard,  and  a  multitude  of  others  ;  the  execrable 
iniquities  of  Rome,  seeming  to  demand  vengeance  ;  the  general  expect- 
ation of  Europe  ;  the  impunity  of  Luther  himself,  whom  people  now 
believed  to  be  shielded  and  reserved  for  some  great  work  to  the  con- 
fusion of  the  Legates,  the  Doctors,  and  the  orators,  whom  he  had 
again  and  again  put  to  silence  : — all  tradition,  all  history,  all  hopes 
and  fears,  indicated  a  grand  moral  revolution,  and  prepared  the  way. 
No,  people  were  not  what  they  had  been. 

This  was  first  confirmed  at  Wittemberg.     Luther  was  not  there ; 
kept  out  of  the  way,  perhaps,  that  he  might  not  be  elated  with  the 
glory.     He  was  laid  aside  in  the  keep  of  the  mountain- castle  ;  but 
his  Lord  was  cleansing  the  sanctuary  without  him.     The  Augustinian 
Monks  refused  to   say   private  masses   any   more,   and   gave   their 
thoughts  to  an  entire  reformation  of  the  altar-service,  that  it  might 
become  what  it  should  be,  a  eucharist  or  offering  of  praise  towards 
God,  and  a  communion,  or  united  act  of  confession  by  the  people. 
Throughout  electoral  Saxony,  new  Preachers  became  eloquent  in  pub- 
lishing the  truth,  and  old   ones  became  new   by  gathering  material 
from  the  Bible.     The  Bishops  threatened,  the  Magistrates  reluctantly 
supported   the    Bishops ;   but    "  the    common    people   heard  Christ 
gladly."     In  the  little  town  of  Zwickaw,  where  the  Gospel  had  long 
won  the  assent  of  many,   and  had  many  advocates,  Nicholas  Haus- 
mann,  a  holy  man,  is  invited  by  the  inhabitants  to  be  their  Pastor. 
He  doubts  his  ability  to  sustain  the  charge,  and  refers  the  question 
to  Luther  for  decision.   "  If  thou  acceptest  the  pastorate/'  said  Luther, 
"  thou  wilt  make  thyself  an  enemy  of  Pope  and  Bishops,  by  opposing 
their  decrees  :  if  thou  dost  not  oppose  them,  thou  wilt  make  thyself 
an  enemy  of  Christ."   He  decided  to  venture  all  for  Christ ;  and  Luther 
was  wont  to  say  of  him,  "  What  we  preach,  he  lives."     Freiberg  in 
Misnia,  an  opulent  and  splendid  city,  half  decides  to  cast  off  the  yoke 
of  Popery,  yet  hesitates  through  fear  of  the  edict  of  Worms  and  the 
Emperor.     Throughout  Friesland  the    people  are  in  doubt  between 
Popery  and  the  Gospel.     In  Halberstadt  two  intrepid  men,  Widensee 
and  Musleus,  preach  the  new  doctrine,  and  the  latter  is  seized  in  his 
bed  at  night,  and  cruelly  mutilated  by  the   Bishop  and  Canons  of  the 
church.*     Christiern,  King  of  Denmark,  inhibits  the  University  from 
condemning  the  writings  of  Luther,  applies   to   his   uncle,  Frederic 
of  Saxony,  for   a  Preacher  of   the   Gospel,   and   receives   Martin,  a 
Doctor  of  Wittemberg.     Bohemia    begins    again  to  hear  the    truth, 
preached  openly  by  Eberbach,  Rector  of  a  school.     In  Pomerania, 
Bugenhagius,  convinced  by  a  book  of  Luther's  which  he  had  taken 
up  to  read  with  abhorrence,  as  the  production  of  a  heretic,  and  his 
colleague  Cnophius,  teach  the  same  doctrine  in  the  flourishing  aca- 
demy of  Treptov,  and  attract  youth  by  crowds  from  the  neighbouring 
country  of  Livonia.     Along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  teachers  of  Gos- 

*  "  Canonieorum   et  Suffraganei  instinctu  noetti   captus  et  virilitate  orbatus  fuit." 
—Seek.,  pars  5.,  p.  178. 


JACOB    SPRENG.  77 

pel  truth  suddenly  make  their  appearance,  and  are,  in  vain,  assailed 
with  persecution.  Even  in  Worms,  where  the  sentence  against  Luther 
and  his  doctrine  was  ratified,  Charles  had  no  sooner  turned  his  back 
than  persons  were  seen  placing  portable  pulpits  in  the  streets,  the 
churches  being  closed  against  innovation,  that  Lutheran  Preachers 
might  address  the  listening  multitude.  Not  fewer  than  ten  Preachers 
are  named  as  engaged  in  promulgating  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  in 
Erfurt,  where  the  way  has  been  prepared  by  profoundly  learned  pro- 
fessors of  Greek  and  Hebrew,  who  have  released  from  the  yoke 
of  superstition  a  large  body  of  youth  frequenting  their  academy.  At 
Strasburg,  Cellius  preaches  with  great  freedom  and  equal  success  ;  is 
accused  by  the  Fiscal  of  the  Bishop,  as  interfering  with  the  interests 
of  his  master ;  and  defends  himself  by  the  example  of  all  Germany, 
affirming  that,  in  spite  of  the  edict,  there  is  no  city,  town,  village, 
monastery,  academy,  chapter,  nay,  not  even  family  or  house,  in  which 
profession  is  not  made  of  the  Lutheran  sect,  so  called. 

In  Belgium,  too,  notwithstanding  every  possible  effort  to  shut  out 
the  Gospel,  it  finds  admission,  and  is  made  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation.  But  here  we  pause  to  survey  a  scene  of  persecution. 
Jacob  Spreng,  Prior  of  the  Augustine  Monks,  has  preached  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel,  as  taught  by  Luther,  fur  two  years  past.  Now, 
the  edict  of  Worms,  although  sent  into  the  country  without  any  pre- 
vious consultation  of  the  States,  and  in  violation  of  their  privileges, 
is  to  be  enforced.  Spreng  is  arrested,  carried  to  Brussels,  and 
examined  by  Jerome  Aleander,  Commissary  Apostolic,  the  man  who 
took  the  lead  at  Worms  against  Luther,  and  drew  up  the  edict. 
Aleander  is  assisted  by  Vandernoot,  Chancellor  of  Brabant,  Herbout, 
Suffragan  of  Cambray,  Glapio,  a  Confessor  of  the  Emperor,  and 
others.  Spreng  was  eminent  for  learning ;  his  position  as  Prior 
of  a  convent,  and  that  of  the  same  order  as  Luther,  and  the 
respect  shown  him  by  Erasmus,  made  him  a  conspicuous  mark  for 
vengeance.  Brought  as  a  criminal  into  the  presence  of  these  person- 
ages, they  produced  a  paper  containing  thirty  articles  of  Lutheran 
heresy  which  he  was  charged  with  holding,  and  required  to  abjure. 
According  to  this  paper,  Luther  had  taught  and  Spreng  had  adopted 
the  monstrous  propositions,  that  all  the  good  works  of  saints  are  sins  ; 
every  work  performed  by  a  man's  free  will,  however  good,  is  a  sin  ; 
concupiscence  remains  in  baptized  persons,  therefore  every  action  any 
one  performs,  however  good,  is  sin  ;  sorrow  for  sin  does  not  conduce 
to  justifying  grace  ;  sorrow  for  one  transgression,  if  there  be  not 
sorrow  for  all,  is  sin.  These  are  exaggerations  of  Luther's  statements 
respecting  original  sin,  and  justification  by  faith  alone,  and  contradict 
his  real  doctrine  ;  but  the  Prior  was  summarily  commanded  to  abjure 
the  whole  set  of  articles,  and  swear  to  the  whole  body  of  Popish 
dogmas,  or  go  to  the  stake.  To  avoid  the  fire,  he  read  a  recanta- 
tion of  what  he  had  preached,  as  faell  as  of  the  absurdities  alleged  : 
the  Inquisitors  conceived  that  they  had  gained  a  victory,  and  dismissed 
him  from  their  presence.  He  then  went  to  Bruges,  and  endeavoured 
to  put  away  the  disgrace  of  recantation  by  preaching  as  before  ;  but 
was  soon  seized,  taken  back  to  Brussels,  and  imprisoned.  A  Francis- 


78  CHAPTER    II. 

can  Monk  helped  him  to  make  his  escape,  and  he  fled  to  Bremen, 
published  an  account  of  the  whole  affair,  acknowledged  his  sin  in 
denying  Christ,  when  under  fear  of  death,  and  for  many  years  taught 
the  Gospel  in  that  free  city. 

Various  intelligence  reached  Luther.      He  heard  with  joy  of  this 
simultaneous  spreading  of   sound  doctrine,  and  of  these  beginnings 
of  ecclesiastical  reform  ;  while  many  occurrences  made  it  evident  that 
the  guidance  of  one  mind  was  needed  to  prevent  confusion  and  con- 
sequent failure.     Justus  Jonas,  one  of  his  most  beloved  friends,  still 
taught  canon  law  at  Wittemberg,  although  the  volumes  containing 
it  had  been  burnt  with  the   Pope's    Bull,   amidst  general  applause. 
Jonas  was  weak  enough  to  follow  the  mischievous  vocation  of  Canonist 
for  the  sake  of  a  salary,   while  Luther  strenuously  and  judiciously 
advised  that  Princes  should  declare  the  canon  law  to  be  obsolete  in 
their  States.*     The  Canons  of  Wittemberg  persisted  in  superstitions 
that  most  of  the  other  Clergy  had  cast  off,  and  their  manners  were  as 
corrupt  as  their  worship,  and  as  flagrant  as  their  covetousness.     He 
longed  for  the  suppression  of  that  establishment,  and  an  appropriation 
of  its  revenue  to  some  useful  purpose.   Carlstadt,  Doctor  of  Theology, 
a  Canon  and  Archdeacon  in  the  church  of  All  Saints,  Wittemberg, 
from  whom  Luther  had  received  his  degree  of  Doctor,  was  carrying 
his  doctrine  into  practical  application  with  more  zeal  than  knowledge. 
Luther  therefore  ventured,  disguised  as  he  was,  to  make  an  excursion  to 
Wittemberg ;  and  to  the  delight  of  Amsdorff,  "  Sir  George"  presented 
himself  in  his  house.     Melancthon,  and  a  few  others,  were  summoned 
in  haste ;  and  after  spending  a  short  time  in  ascertaining  the  exact 
state  of  affairs,  he  returned  to  the  Wartburg,  and  honestly  communi- 
cated to  Spalatine  an  account  of  his  clandestine  visit.     But  thence- 
forth he  grew   more  and  more  impatient   of  the  "  desert,"  and  at 
last  fairly  broke  prison.     Carlstadt  had  married,  so,  indeed,  had  one 
other  Priest ;    but  he  had  also  administered  the   eucharist  in  both 
kinds,  without    consulting  any  one,  and   demolished  the  images  in 
All  Saints'  church,  to  the  scandal  of  many,  who  were  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  cast  the  idols  to  moles  and  bats,  and  to  the  alarm  of  Luther, 
who  thought  it  right  to  proceed  gradually,  and  with  prayerful  caution, 
in  all  reforuij  whether  of  doctrine  or  of  worship.     At  Zwickaw,  also, 
there   was   great   stir  made    by  proceedings  of   another  kind.     One 
Nicholas  Storch  fancied  himself  a  Prophet,  made  twelve  poor  men  his 
attendants  under  the  titles  of  Apostles,  strutted  like  a  trooper,  in  a 
strange  garb,  and  excited  the  multitude  by   wild  harangues,  called 
sermons.     The  hasty  zeal  of  Carlstadt,  and  the  fanaticism  of  Storch, 
had  afforded  some  colour  of  reason  to  a  decree  from  Nuremberg,  issued 
by  the  Elector  Palatine,  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,  for  the  repres- 
sion of  excesses,  and  punishment  of  profaners  of  the  mass,  married 
Priests,  and  those  who  administered  the  Lord's  supper  in  both  kinds. 
On  his  way  from  the  Wartburg,  Luther  stopped  to  write  a  hasty 
letter  to  the  Elector,  and  then  hurried  on   to  the  scene  of  labour. 

*  He  correctly  called  it  "jus  Pontificium."  It  certainly  is  pontifical  law,  aiid  of  the 
worst  kind.  Some  use  is  made  of  it  in  this  countey,  but  it  caiiiio.  be  U-galiy  taught, 
uor  degrees  given  -utriusque  juris. 


GRADUAL    REFORMS.  79 

After  a  day  or  two  had  been  spent  in  ascertaining  the  true  state 
of  affairs,  he  took  his  place  in  the  pulpit  of  All  Saints,  and,  during 
one  week,  delivered  a  succession  of  sermons,  calculated  to  counteract 
the  intemperance  of  Carlstadt,  still  the  tumult  of  Wittemberg,  and 
unite  the  citizens  in  the  right  prosecution  of  the  grand  object.  But 
it  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  volume  to  describe  the  controversies 
and  fanaticism  that  attended  the  Reformation  in  its  course.  Let  it 
suffice  to  observe,  that  the  public,  profoundly  ignorant,  and  under 
strong  excitement,  was  inevitably  swayed  by  every  new  impulse,  good 
or  evil ;  and  that  the  teachers  of  the  people,  themselves  ill  taught, 
but  claiming  the  privilege  of  a  strange  and  untried  liberty,  were  liable 
to  transgress  the  bounds  of  sound  reason  and  humble  piety.  The 
prison-house  of  Romanism  was  suddenly  burst  open,  good  and  bad 
were  set  loose  together,  and  their  misdeeds  are  to  be  attributed  to  the 
bondage  and  ignorance  of  a  former  state,  not  to  the  truth  that 
brought  spiritual  freedom  to  some,  and  the  events  that  presented  an 
inferior  sort  of  liberty  to  others.  Our  present  concern  is  not 
with  agitated  masses,  fanatics,  and  politicians,  but  with  the  preachers, 
confessors,  and  martyrs  of  Christ. 

In  justification  of  Luther,  it  is  necessary,  once  for  all,  to  repeat, 
that  his  innovation  on  ancient  forms  was  cautious  and  slow.  He 
would  have  images  to  remain  unbroken  until  they  should  be  displaced 
by  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  as  the  idols  of  Paganism  had  disappeared 
after  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles.  His  first  change  in  the  baptismal 
service,  (A.D.  1522,)  consisted  merely  in  translating  it  into  German, 
with  the  addition  of  notes,  wherein  the  people  were  instructed  that 
the  ceremonies,  still  retained,  were  not  necessary,  and  had  no  virtue ; 
and  that  baptism  might  be  as  well  administered  without  them.  As  to 
the  communion,  he  did  no  more  than  give  suitable  advice  to  those 
who  consulted  him  before  setting  aside  the  old  mass,  generally 
teaching  the  absurdity  of  transubstantiation  and  communion  in  one 
kind  ;  and  advising,  that  the  people  should  be  taught  better,  pro- 
vided with  hymns  to  be  sung  in  German,  and  familiarly  instructed  in 
the  meaning  of  the  service :  coercion  he  abhorred.  Neither  did  he 
give  just  cause  of  complaint  on  account  of  the  impropriation 
of  church  property,  by  craving  after  the  wealth  of  suppressed  monas- 
teries and  other  endowments.  A  remarkable  illustration  of  his  disin- 
terestedness, and  that  of  his  brethren,  is  afforded  in  the  narrative 
of  an  ecclesiastical  reformation  in  the  small  town  of  Leisnic,  in 
Electoral  Saxony,  with  some  neighbouring  villages.  After  a  compact 
with  the  Abbot  of  a  monastery  within  the  district,  confirmed  by  the 
Elector,  the  chief  persons  of  Leisnic  and  the  villages,  with  the  Senate 
and  representatives  of  the  population,  met  together  to  dispose  of  the 
ecclesiastical  revenue  that  fell  into  their  hands.  They  agreed  that  a 
board  should  be  annually  elected  for  the  distribution  of  the  fund, 
employing  it  for  the  maintenance -of  parochial  Ministers,  Deacons, 
Schoolmasters,  and  Schoolmistresses,  and  for  the  relief  of  the  poor, 
that  neither  Monks  nor  other  beggars  might  burden  the  public.  And 
in  each  church  there  were  to  be  placed  two  vessels,  one  to  receive 
bread,  meat,  and  other  eatables,  and  the  other  for  money.  In  time 


80  CHAPTER    II. 

of  dearth  or  want,  the  poor  were  to  be  supplied,  by  this  means,  as  well 
as  from  voluntary  charity.  The  Clergy  retained  no  power  over  their 
former  property  ;  their  maintenance  was  shared  with  schools  and 
paupers ;  the  laity  administered  all  at  their  pleasure  ;  and  Luther, 
free  from  avarice  and  ambition,  approved,  if  indeed  he  had  not 
advised,  the  arrangement.  "I  think,"  said  he,  "your  plan  ought  to 
be  published,  for  imitation  by  others.  For  the  wealth  of  the  Clergy, 
who,  under  show  of  conducting  divine  worship,  have  appropriated  to 
themselves  much  of  the  good  things  of  this  world,  has  come  to  be  so 
exorbitant,  that  neither  God  nor  man  will  bear  with  them  any  longer. 
But  as  monasteries  now  begin  to  be  deserted,  and  as  there  are  none 
who  seem  disposed  to  take  up  their  abode  in  them  for  the  future,  and 
this  change  is  attributed  to  their  doctrine,  care  should  be  taken  that, 
in  order  to  disarm  envy,  the  derelict  property  of  monasteries  and 
colleges  do  not  become  the  prey  of  avaricious  men,  but  be  piously 
and  usefully  employed."  *  An  opposite  line  of  conduct  would  have 
laid  him  open  to  a  charge  of  spoliation,  and  supplied  a  pretext  to 
persecutors. 

Persecution,  as  ever,  kept  equal  pace  with  reform.  George  Duke 
of  Saxony  destroyed  as  many  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  at  Leipsic, 
as  he  could  buy  up  from  the  more  timid  citizens,  and  severely 
punished  those  who  refused  to  surrender  theirs.  The  Bishop  of  Mers- 
burg  visited  the  University,  and  prohibited  the  students,  under  severe 
penalties,  from  reading  the  New  Testament,  and  from  going  into  the 
neighbouring  territory  to  hear  the  sermons  of  Preachers  protected  by 
the  Elector.  In  Antwerp  the  persecution  that  was  begun  with  the 
imprisonment  of  the  Prior  of  the  Augustinian  monastery  became  very 
severe.  The  inmates  of  that  house  were  all  imprisoned ;  many 
of  them  recanted  to  avoid  burning,  and,  after  a  short  time,  were 
released.  As  if  to  destroy  a  strong-hold  of  heresy,  the  building 
itself  was  demolished.  But  as  to  some  of  the  brethren  who  remained 
in  prison,  no  threats  could  induce  them  to  recaut.  Two  of  these  were 
Henry  Voe's  and  John  von  Esse,  the  proto-martyrs  of  Lutheranism. 
They  confessed  to  Aleauder  and  his  colleagues,  that  they  had  read  the 
Bible,  studied  Luther's  expositions  of  it,  and  preferred  that  sacred 
book  to  all  the  decrees  and  sentences  of  Popes  and  Doctors.  They 
declared  that  the  Roman  Pontiff  had  no  rightful  authority  from  Christ 
to  govern  the  Church,  and  that  his  only  duty  was  to  feed  the  flock 
with  the  word  of  life.  Faith,  they  maintained,  could  not  be  separated 
from  charity,  because  charity  is  the  fruit  of  faith ;  and  faith  without 
love  is  dead.  As  for  the  mass,  they  affirmed  that  the  only  sacrifice 
for  the  sins  of  men  was  offered  once  upon  the  cross.  When  plied 
with  trifling  scholastic  questions,  they  refused  to  answer  ;  but  at 
length,  when  one  of  their  Judges  said  that  they  had  been  seduced  by 
Luther,  Henry  broke  silence,  and  replied,  "  Yes,  even  so  as  the 
Apostles  were  seduced  by  Christ."  The  usual  inquisitorial  ceremonies 
followed,  and  they  were  taken  to  the  stake,  rejoicing  by  the  way  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  Christ.  Being  placed  on  a 
pile  of  wood,  as  it  was  lighted,  and  the  flames  began  to  rise,  they  said, 

*  Seckendorf.,  para  i.,  p.  237. 


LUTHER  S  LETTER  TO  THE  NETHERLANDS.          81 

that  the  flames  were  as  roses  strewed  under  their  feet.  They  then 
chanted  the  Te  Deum  in  alternate  verses,  until  the  fire  deprived 
them  both  of  voice  and  life,  verifying  that  sublime  sentence,  "  The 
noble  army  of  martyrs  praise  thee,"  and  their  souls  ascended  to  join  in 
the  songs  of  paradise.  The  men  of  Antwerp  were  not  dismayed,  but 
filled  with  indignation.  "This  is  the  work  of  hangmen,"  said  Eras- 
mus, "  not  of  Divines."  Four  days  after,  another  Monk  was  brought 
out  and  burnt  on  the  same  spot ;  but,  not  to  irritate  the  public  more 
by  their  open  execution,  others,  we  know  not  how  many,  were  killed 
in  prison. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  their  martyrdom,  Luther  wrote  a  letter 
"  to  the  brethren  in  Holland,  Brabant,  and  Flanders,"  congratulating 
them  that  some  of  their  number  had  been  honoured  before  all  others 
in  suffering,  for  the  name  and  Gospel  of  Christ,  injury,  shame,  afflic- 
tion, troubles,  imprisonment,  and,  at  last,  death  itself.  "Those  two 
happy  and  precious  souls,  Henry  and  John,  counted  not  their  lives 
dear  to  them  at  Brussels,  so  that  they  might  but  proclaim  Christ  more 
loudly.  0  how  contemptuously,  and  with  how  shameful  punishment, 
were  their  souls  condemned !  But  with  what  ineffable  glory  and 
unspeakable  joy  shall  they  return  again  to  give  true  judgment  against 
those  from  whose  lips  they  heard  that  wicked  sentence!"  "We 
of  Upper  Germany,  dear  brethren,  have  not  yet  had  so  high  a  dignity 
conferred  on  us,  that  we  should  be  thus  made  victims  unto  Christ, 
that  we  should  be  so  offered  up  as  a  splendid  hecatomb  ;  yet  some 
of  us  have  not  lived  without  persecution,  nor  are  we  now  free  from 
it."  "  Although  our  adversaries  call  you  Hussite,  Wycliffite,  and  even 
Lutheran  heretics,  and  will  boast  largely  of  this  murderous  execution, 
we  are  not  taken  by  surprise,  nay,  our  spirit  gathers  greater  courage 
from  this  very  thing.  For  it  cannot  be  but  that  the  cross  of  Christ 
should  have  bitter,  blasphemous,  and  impious  calumniators.  But  our 
Judge  is  at  the  door,  and  He  will  soon  pronounce  sentence.  This  we 
assuredly  know  :  it  is  beyond  all  doubt."  *  Luther  wrote  an  elegy 
on  their  death. f  Surius,  a  Carthusian,  calls  them  martyrs  of  the 
devil,  because  they — like  the  father  and  mother  of  this  same  Surius 
— died  beyond  the  pale  of  what  he  calls  the  Church.  The  effect  pro- 
duced was  quite  the  reverse  of  what  the  commissioners  against  heresy 
calculated.  The  Belgians  were  excited  to  inquiry  ;  public  opinion 
rose  against  the  persecutors ;  and  Popish  writers  would  gladly  have 
denied  the  deed.  Maimbourg  does  endeavour  to  smother  it  in  silence. 
Erasmus  wrote  thus :  "  It  is  not  just  that  any  error  should  be 
punished  by  fire,  unless  it  have  been  followed  by  sedition,  or  some 

*  Seckendorf.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  279,  280. 

t  This  elegy,  beginning  with  the  words,  Ein  neues  lied  wir  hcben  an,  "  We  raise  a 
new  song,"  was  printed  in  some  editions,  it  is  said,  of  Luther's  Caniionale,  or  "  Hymn- 
book."  On  this  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  First,  That  the  composition  bears  no  resem- 
blance to  a  hymn,  as  may  be  seen  in  Seckendorff  (p.  280).  Secondly,  That  Luther 
had  not  yet  begun  his  Hymn-book.  A  year  afterwards,  1524,  he  began  that  work  by 
publishing  eight  hymns,  some  written  by  himself,  and  others  by  some  friends,  and  the 
whole  set  to  music  by  Walther,  band-master  at  the  court  of  the  Elector.  It  has  been 
customary  with  Popish  writers  to  represent  heretics,  so  called,  as  worshipping  their  mar- 
tyred brethren  ;  but  we  have  not  yet  found  one  instance  of  the  kind.  For  the  date,  <fec., 
of  the  Cantiouale,  see  Gerdes,  Hist.  Ev.  Ren.,  ii.,  124. 
\OL.  III.  M 


82  CHAPTER    II. 

other  crime,  legally  punishable  by  death.  The  theologians  of  Paris 
differ  widely  from  those  of  Italy  on  many  points  relating  to  the  power 
of  the  Pope,  and  one  party  must  necessarily  be  in  error ;  yet  one  does 
not  bring  the  other  to  the  fire.  The  followers  of  Thomas  differ  in 
many  things  from  those  who  .adhere  to  Scott,  and  yet  the  same  school 
bears  with  both.  Now,  I  am  very  much  afraid  that,  by  those  vulgar 
remedies,  by  recantations,  imprisonments,  and  burnings,  the  evil  will 
only  be  aggravated.  At  Brussels,  for  example,  first,  two  are  burnt, 
and  then  the  whole  city  begins  to  favour  Luther."  And  "wherever," 
he  said  some  years  afterwards,  "  wherever  the  Nuncio  (Aleander) 
raised  smoke  (by  burning  books  and  heretics),  wherever  the  Carmelite 
(Hochstraten)  exercised  his  cruelty,  you  might  say  that  that  place 
became  a  seed-plot  of  heresy."  *  So  said  many  others.  However, 
the  persecutors,  having  tasted  blood,  could  not  be  satiated,  and  other 
victims  were  forthwith  added  to  the  number.  The  Provincial  of  the 
Carmelites  at  Halberstadt  was  murdered  in  his  bed,  at  the  instigation, 
it  was  believed,  of  the  Priests.  A  Preacher  in  Antwerp  was  put  into 
a  sack,  and  drowned  in  the  Scheldt. 

Miltenberg  on  the  Maine,  in  the  Electorate  of  Mentz,  had  received 
the  Gospel  by  the  ministration  of  John  Draco  of  Carlstadt.  To  reclaim 
his  flock,  the  Cardinal  Elector,  Albert,  sent  a  troop.  The  soldiers 
sacked  the  town,  killed  some  converts,  and  imprisoned  others.  Draco 
fled :  his  Deacon  remained  in  concealment,  and  narrowly  escaped 
death.  His  hiding-place,  the  house  of  a  widow,  was  discovered,  and 
a  soldier  sent  to  seize  him.  At  the  man's  approach,  the  Deacon  rose, 
embraced  him,  and,  using  the  usual  words  of  cordial  salutation,  said, 
"  Here  I  am :  plunge  your  sword  into  my  bosom."  The  soldier  trem- 
bled with  astonishment,  dropped  the  sword,  hastily  picked  it  up, 
walked  away  ;  and,  instead  of  seizing  the  servant  of  God,  protected 
him  from  violence.  The  citizens  of  Worms,  Augsburg,  and  Eslingen, 
were  also  put  under  coercive  discipline,  and  thereby  made  more  impa- 
tient of  the  insufferable  yoke  of  priestly  despotism.  They  were 
among  the  first  to  cast  off  Popery  altogether,  f 

While  these  things  were  done  in  Antwerp,  Brussels,  Halberstadt,  and 
Mentz,  a  similar  trial  befell  the  infant  church  of  Meaux  in  France. 
Already  there  was  an  awakening  in  Paris.  Even  in  the  University, 
Lefevre,  one  of  the  most  eminent  Professors,  published  a  commentary 
on  the  New  Testament,  far  in  advance  of  the  current  theology,  and 
every  day  gained  clearer  light  and  firmer  confidence.  Farel,  a  favourite 
student,  just  passing  out  of  Romish  darkness,  was  soon  to  appear  in 
the  field  as  a  reformer  of  France.  Margaret  of  Navarre,  sister  of  the 
King,  in  earnest  for  her  own  salvation,  embraced  the  same  faith,  and 
encouraged  those  who  taught  it.  The  new  doctrine  seemed  worthy 
of  consideration  to  many  at  court,  who  were  yet  ignorant  of  its  power  ; 
and  at  Meaux,  a  company  of  earnest  seekers  of  salvation  forsook  the 
legendary  Preachers,  and  gladly  heard  others  proclaim  salvation  by 
faith  in  Christ  alone.  At  Paris,  literary  and  religious  bigotry  were 
aroused  in  the  Sorbonne  :  Lefevre,  Farel,  and  others  withdrew  to  Meaux, 

*  Erasmi  Epist.,  lib.  xxii.,  Ad  Math.  Kretzerum. 
t  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Luth.,  pars  i.,  pp.  23 — 279. 


JEAN    LECLERC.  83 

and,  united  with  the  brethren  in  that  city,  formed  a  strong  body 
of  confessors,  having  Briconnet,  the  Bishop,  at  their  head.  There, 
too,  opposition  was  aroused.  A  Franciscan  Monk,  hating  the  truth, 
dreading  its  advance,  and  irritated  at  the  boldness  of  the  new  Preach- 
ers, who  counted,  perhaps,  too  confidently  on  friends  at  court,  instead 
of  relying  singly  on  God,  demanded  of  Briconnet  a  suppression  of  the 
rising  sect.  The  Bishop,  on  the  contrary,  protected  his  brethren, 
preached  as  they  did,  and  censured  the  Franciscan  for  his  interference. 
From  the  Bishop,  therefore,  he  went  to  Paris,  and  applied  to  Parlia- 
ment for  the  suppression  of  heresy  at  Meaux.  Briconnct,  overtaken 
by  fear,  and  making  compromise  with  conscience  under  a  notion  that 
the  reformers,  if  banished  from  Meaux,  might  preach  elsewhere, 
eventually  issued  an  injunction  to  put  them  all  to  silence.  During  those 
three  or  four  years  of  evangelical  preaching,  images  of  saints  con- 
tinued in  the  churches ;  the  externals  of  worship  underwent  no 
change.  Yet  the  doctrine  sank  into  the  hearts  of  many  ;  and  the 
wool-carders  and  weavers  of  Meaux,  like  those  of  Metz,  centuries 
before,  read,  discoursed,  and  prayed  in  their  workshops,  arguing  the 
Gospel  out  to  its  full  conclusions,  unrestrained  in  judgment  by  any 
calculations  as  to  public  policy.  A  carder,  Jean  Leclerc,  acted  as 
Scripture-reader, — to  borrow  a  modern  term, — and  went  from  house 
to  house  enforcing  the  truth  that  had  made  him  free.  Some  incident, 
of  which  there  is  no  distinct  record,*  aroused  his  zeal,  and  he  did 
nothing  less  than  write  a  placard  against  indulgences  and  the  Roman 
"  Antichrist,"  f  and  affix  it  to  the  door  of  the  great  church  (A.D. 
152J).  He  was  thrown  into  prison,  tried  for  heresy,  and  condemned 
to  be  beaten  with  rods,  openly,  on  three  successive  days,  and  branded. 
With  hands  tied  and  feet  bare,  he  was  led  through  the  town,  and 
scourged.  A  crowd  followed  the  bleeding  man,  some  breathing  ven- 
geance and  slaughter,  others  trembling  with  fear  for  themselves.  One 
woman,  his  mother,  walking  beside  him,  breathed  every  now  and  then 
into  his  ear  a  sentence  of  pious  exhortation.  This  was  repeated  the 
second  day,  and  again  on  the  third,  the  procession  ending  at  the  place 
of  common  execution,  where  the  hangman  had  a  fire,  and  iron  red  hot, 
ready  to  impress  the  mark  of  shame  upon  his  forehead.  As  the  brand 
was  drawn  from  the  fire,  and  while  they  were  holding  him  to  suffer  the 
barbarous  infliction,  a  cry  was  heard.  It  was  the  voice  of  his  heroic 
mother,  "  Long  live  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  marks !"  The  exclamation 
may  sound  strange  to  Englishmen,  but  the  French  words  convey  no 
idea  of  irreverence. |  It  was  a  shout  of  spontaneous  praise  to  Him 
for  whom  she  saw  her  son  persecuted  :  it  was  a  shout  of  exultation 
too,  as  if  the  mother,  under  the  last  stroke  of  anguish,  had  said, 
"  Henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  him  :  he  bears  in  his  body  the  marks 
of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Her  husband  was  a  persecutor ;  but  she  led 
home  her  son,  to  wash  his  wounds  and  help  his  faith  ;  and  of  the  awe- 
struck people,  not  one  presumed  to  lay  hands  on  her.  Young  Leclerc 
soon  left  the  town,  found  work  at  Rosay,  about  six  leagues  distant,  and 

*  "  Centre  quelques  perdons." — Beze,  Hist.  Eeclos.,  livre  premier. 
t  Varillas,  apud  Seekeiuiorf.,  pars  i.,  p.  282. 
1  •'  Vive  Jesus  Christ,  et  ses  enseigues." — Beze. 

M    2 


84  CHAPTER    II. 

afterwards  at  Metz.  In  that  city  he  continued  to  confess  our  Master : 
not  in  the  character  of  a  Minister,  as  has  been  said,*  but  of  a  lay- 
man ;  and  living  by  his  craft  of  wool-carding,  he  preached  Christ 
from  house  to  house,  until  once  more  aroused  to  an  act  that  brought 
him  to  the  stake.f  About  a  league  out  of  town  stood  a  chapel,  con- 
taining J  images  of  the  Virgin  and  most  popular  saints  in  the  country, 
— a  sort  of  local  pantheon.  Once  every  year  the  people  of  Metz  used 
to  make  an  easy  pilgrimage  to  the  place  to  worship  the  images,  to  get, 
as  they  were  told,  pardon  of  their  sins,  and  fulfil,  by  offerings  of  money, 
the  true  intention  of  the  Church  towards  the  incumbents.  Leclerc  saw 
the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry,  his  spirit  was  stirred  up  within 
him  ;  he  believed  the  command  to  "  utterly  overthrow  and  quite  break 
down  their  images"  to  be  binding  on  himself,  and,  obeying  that 
impulse,  quitted  Metz  at  night-fall,  went  into  the  chapel,  utterly  over- 
threw and  quite  broke  down  the  idols  ;  and,  early  next  morning, 
re-entered  the  city-gate  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  The  bells  rang 
in  every  tower  ;  the  town  was  up  ;  trades  and  their  devices,  brother- 
hoods, Priests  and  Canons,  marched  away  with  music  and  banners  to 
the  "holy  house:"  but  Bel  had  fallen,  Dagon  lay  shattered  on  the 
threshold.  The  gods  were  in  fragments  on  the  floor.  Sacrilege ! 
cried  the  Monks.  The  people  were  furious  ;  and,  the  whole  train 
broken,  back  they  came  promiscuously,  clamouring  for  death  to  the 
culprit.  Branded,  yet  not  dismayed,  Leclerc  awaited  them.  He  was 
apprehended,  taken  before  the  Judges,  condemned  to  be  burnt  alive 
at  a  slow  fire,  and  instantly  taken  to  the  hearth.  Instruments 
of  torture  were  ready.  With  red-hot  pincers  they  tore  off  his  right 
thumb,  then  his  nose,  then  the  flesh  off  both  arms,  then  again  from 
his  breast.  Still  unmoved,  his  soul  abode  in  peace  ;  and,  while  endur- 
ing the  agony,  he  recited,  in  a  clear  and  loud  voice,  "Their  idols  are 
silver  and  gold,  the  work  of  men's  hands.  They  have  mouths,  but 
they  speak  not ;  eyes  have  they,  but  they  see  not ;  they  have  ears, 
but  they  hear  not ;  noses  have  they,  but  they  smell  not.  They  have 
hands,  but  they  handle  not ;  feet  have  they,  but  they  walk  not ; 
neither  speak  they  through  their  throat.  They  that  make  them  are 
like  unto  them ;  so  is  every  one  that  trusteth  in  them.  0  Israel, 
trust  thou  in  the  Lord :  he  is  their  help  and  their  shield."  (Psalm 
cxv.  4 — 9.)  The  same  mob  that  had  clamoured  for  his  death 
stood  round  and  heard  in  silence.  Their  lips  were  sealed.  No  one 
durst  raise  a  hand  to  stop  that  mouth  whence  God's  testimony 

*  Said  by  Dupin,  denied  by  Gerdes,  Hist.  Ev.  Ren.,  iv.,  19. 

f  An  act  of  "  somewhat  immoderate  and  imprudent  zeal,"  thinks  D'Aubigne,  if  his 
translator  renders  it  correctly.  But  this  admirable  historian,  even  quoting  Corneille  for 
illustration,  cancels  his  own  censure  by  the  force  of  plain  description. 

t  And  because  the  building  contained  those  sacred  objects,  it  was  called  a  Chapel. 
The  derivation  of  the  name  is  curious,  as  given  by  Du  Cange,  sub  voce  CAPELLA.  "  1. 
Brevior  capa.  2.  Postmodum  appellata  aedes  ipsa  in  qua  asservata  est  Capa,  seu  Capdla 
S.  Martini,  intra  Palatii  ambitnm  iiuedificata :  in  quam  etiam  Sanctorum  aliorum  Aetycu/a 
illata,  unde  ob  ejusmodi  Reliquiarum  reverentiam  sediculae  istae  Sanct<s  Capellae  vulgo 
appellantur.  3.  Ministeria  ac  vasa  sacra.  4.  Cancellaria.  5.  ^Edicula  in  qua  cimelia 
asservabantur.  6.  Quaevis  aedicula  sacra,  oratorium,  quod  proprios  sacerdotes  non 
habet :  seu  sedes  sacra  quae  non  erat  baptismalis."  The  more  recent  and  familiar  vise 
of  the  word,  as  given  by  this  authority,  is  a  building  for  some  special  and  secondary 
purpose. 


JEAN    CASTELLANE — WOLFGANG    SCHUCH.  85 

against  idolatry  proceeded.  When  half  dead,  he  was  thrown  into  a 
slow  fire.  The  people  shuddered  and  dispersed.  A  flourishing  church 
soon  rose  in  Metz. 

Although  the   tribunal   of   the   Inquisition  was   not  organized   in 
France,  as  in  Spain  and  Italy,  its  forms  were  adopted ;  and  Eccle- 
siastics  received    power    from  the    Pope   to    act    as    Inquisitors    of 
heretical   pravity.      These  forms   were   in  no  instance   more  exactly 
followed  than  in  the  case  of  Jean  Castellane,  Doctor  of  Divinity,  who 
had  zealously  preached  the  Gospel  in  several  places,  especially  at  Bar- 
le-Duc,  Vitry,  Chalons,  and  Metz.     One  day,  on  returning  from  Metz, 
he  was  made  prisoner  by  armed  servants  of  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
and  lodged  in  the  castle  of  Nomeny.     The  citizens  of  Metz,  provoked 
by  this   outrage,  took  a  reprisal,  by  imprisoning   some   dependents 
of  the   Cardinal,   who,   in    vain,    demanded   their    release,   until   the 
Vicar-General,  furnished  with  letters  from  Rome,  came  to  Metz,  and 
so  wrought  on  the  Magistrates,  that  the  Cardinal's  men  were  set  at 
liberty.     Still  Castellane  was  kept  in   durance  for  more  than  eight 
months,  persevering  in   confession  of  Christ  under  the  infliction  of 
those  cruelties  that  can  be  so  easily  practised  on  helpless  prisoners. 
From  Nomeny  he  was  taken  to  Vic,  see  of  the  Bishop  of  Metz,  and 
there  again  immured,  again  tormented  in  like  manner,  and  still  con- 
stant.    As  an  incorrigible  heretic  he  was  sentenced  by  Savin,  "  Inqui- 
sitor of  the  Faith,"  to  be  degraded.     The  ceremony  of  degradation 
was  performed  with  more  than  usual  parade ;  for  the  Bishop,  mak- 
ing one  of  those  discretional  additions  to  the  form  which  were  allowed 
to  those  who  desired  credit  for  extraordinary  zeal,  scraped  the  nails 
and  finger-tips  of  both  hands,  wherewith  he  had  touched  the  conse- 
crated wafer,  that  the  surface  which  had  been  once  in  contact  with 
that  mysterious  object,  might  not  remain  to  the  person  of  a  layman. 
The   degradation   being  finished,    the  Bishop   addressed   the   secular 
Judge,  "  My  Lord  Judge,  we  pray  you  as  heartily  as  we  can,  for  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  contemplation  of  tender  pity  and  mercy,  and  for 
the  respect  of  our  prayers,  that  you  will  not  in  any  point  do  anything 
that  shall  be  hurtful  to  this  miserable  man,  or  tending  to  his  death, 
or  to  maiming   of  his  body."     My  Lord  Judge  did  as  the  Church 
really  desired.     He  sentenced  "  the  miserable  man  "  to  be  burnt  alive, 
who  suffered  with  valiant  constancy,  to  the  encouragement  of  many 
faithful,  and  the  conversion  of  a  great  company  from  the  old  super- 
stition to  Christian  truth*  (January  12th,  1525). 

The  peasant  war,  of  which  we  shall  speak  presently,  had  not 
yet  begun.  The  French  provinces  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  were 
not  yet  disturbed ;  and  therefore  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  could  not 
plead  any  reasonable  fear  of  sedition  to  excuse  his  proceedings 
against  Wolfgang  Schuch,  a  pious  German  Priest,  who  had  lived 
in  the  small  town  of  Hippolyte  for  many  years,  and  had  gradually 
acquired  great  influence  over  the  inhabitants  by  every  quality  that 
should  distinguish  a  Minister  of  Christ.  Under  his  direction  and 
teaching,  Hippolyte  was  thoroughly  reformed.  Images  and  the  mass 
were  set  aside ;  and  not  Wolfgang  only,  but  the  whole  town,  was 
,  •  #  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  vii. 


86  CHAPTER    II. 

involved  in  the  factitious  guilt  of  heresy.     All  this  had  taken  place, 
when  Duke  Anthony  issued  a  mandate  to  enforce  the  condemnation 
of  the  doctrine  described  as  damnable  in  Papal  Bulls  and  the  imperial 
edicts,  and  commanded  his  subjects  that  none  should  preach  it ;  and 
that  whoever  had  any  of  Luther's  books  should  give  them  up  within 
a  time  appointed,  under  a  severe  penalty.     The  entire  population  of  a 
town,  however,  could  not  be  managed  by  a  proclamation.      He  laid 
the  case  of  Hippolyte  before   the  Vicar-General  of  the  Cardinal  of 
Lorraine,  specially  appointed  by  the  Pope  to  root  out  heresy  in  that 
province  and  the  neighbourhood.     The  Vicar  collected  reports,  and 
books  written  by  Wolfgang,  and  laid  the  whole  before  the  Sorbonne,  for 
their  judgment.     The   College    soon   found   thirty-one   articles   con- 
trary to  their  own  theology,  and  gave  each  a  correspondent  censure. 
The  fourth  declared  that  the  canon  of  the  mass,  praying  that  God 
would  accept  the  oblation  and  sacrifice,  is  blasphemous.     Their  cen- 
sure pronounced  this  article  to  be  schismatic,  impious,  and  a  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whom,  said  they,  the  sacred  canon 
is  inspired.*     Duke  Anthony  received  the  censures  of  the  Sorbonne  ; 
and,  from  the  Priests,  heard  a  rumour  that  Wolfgang  excited  the  peo- 
ple to  insubordination.     This  report  stirred  his  anger  ;  and  he  began 
to  talk  of  fire  and  sword.     Wolfgang,  aware  of  this,  instantly  wrote  a 
letter  to  him,  containing  a  clear  and  respectful  statement  of  his  con- 
duct, as  well  as   his   doctrine ;  and  defending   the  people  from  the 
charge   of   disaffection   to   the    government.     The  letter  was    either 
intercepted,  or  thrown  aside  in  contempt ;  and  the  Duke  prepared  to 
march  on   Hippolyte,  and  raze  it  to  the  ground.     No  sooner  did  the 
faithful  Pastor  hear  of  this,  than  he  set  out  for  Nancy,  the  capital 
of  Lorraine,   and  residence  of  the   Duke,  there   to   solicit  a  hearing 
of  his  cause,  to  avert  the  tempest,  and,  like  a  good  shepherd,  die  rather 
than  his  flock  should  be  destroyed.    But  no  sooner  had  he  entered  the 
gate  of  Nancy,  than  the  Duke  had  him  thrown  into  a  dark  and  filthy 
dungeon;  and,  instead  of  being  allowed  a  hearing,  he  was  now  and  then 
conveyed  away  to  a  Franciscan  monastery  to  undergo  interrogation  and 
threatening.  One  Bonaventura,  Provincial  of  that  order,  corpulent,  stu- 
pid, and  having  but  one  eye,  used  to  assail  him  as  a  heretic,  a  Judas,  a 
Beelzebub;  and  declared,  that  to  say,  "Our  Father,"  and  "Hail,  Mary," 
was  religion  enough  for  any  man.     Finally,  the  Inquisitor  condemned 
him  to  the  fire,  after  he  had  been  imprisoned  for  a  whole  year.     On 
hearing  the  sentence,  the  good  man  was  filled  with  joy,  and  exclaimed, 
"  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord."   Thither  he  was  to  be  translated  from  the  dungeon  and  from  the 
Friars.     Going  to  the  place  of  execution,  he  passed  by  this  monas- 
tery, and  found  the  brown-clad  brotherhood  waiting  in  the  street,  with 
"  the  Cyclops,"  Bonaventura,  at  their  head,  standing  and  pointing  to 
some  images  that  adorned  the  gate-way.      "  Ho  there,"   he  shouted, 
"  master  heretic  !  show  honour  to  God,  to  his  mother,  and  his  saints  !" 

*  The  Canon  Missa:  is  no  more  than  the  liturgy  appointed.  But  there  was  the  Gallic 
Canon  :  was  that  inspired  ?  And  the  Ambrosian,  Mozarabic,  and  others :  are  they 
inspired  ?  But  the  Roman  Canon  was  adopted  late  iii  France,  and  the  Roman  inspired 
Breviary  is  not  uniformly  used  even  in  1850. 


FRANCTS    I.    PERSECUTES.  87 

Wolfgang  answered,  "0  thou  hypocrite,  thou  whited  wall  !  God  will 
destroy  thee,  and  bring  thy  deceit  and  thy  impostures  to  the  light." 
Having  reached  the  place  of  release,  he  was  asked  if  he  would  have 
the  punishment  mitigated.  He  answered,  "  No :  God  has  always 
stood  by  me.  He  will  not  desert  me  now  when  I  have  need  of  him. 
Let  the  sentence  be  executed."  An  immense  heap  of  wood  was  ready, 
hedged  high  round  with  faggots  and  straw.  Chanting  the  51st 
Psalm,  he  steadily  walked  into  it ;  and  as  the  smoke  rose  thick,  and 
the  flames  reddened,  Wolfgang  Schuch  was  heard  to  pray  :  "  Do  good 
in  thy  good  pleasure  unto  Zion  ;  build  thou  the  walls  of  Jerusalem." 
(August  19th,  1525.)  He  had  not  long  entered  into  "the  house  of 
the  Lord,"  when  the  Vicar-General,  who  gave  sentence  against  both 
Castellane  and  him,  suddenly  dropped  down  dead  ;  and  a  brother 
Inquisitor  in  this  case,  the  Abbot  of  Glair-lieu,  startled  at  the  discharge 
of  cannon  in  a  salute,  died  instantly.  Thus  were  they  summoned 
to  the  bar  of  God  without  a  moment  for  repentance.* 

In  Paris  there  was  much  excitement :  the  library  of  Berquin,  a  con- 
verted nobleman,  was  burnt,  and  he  imprisoned,  but  soon  released  by  an 
order  of  Francis  I.,  to  satisfy  the  nobility,  who  were  indignant  at  seeing 
one  of  their  order  delivered  over  to  the  Priests.  At  Meaux,  after  the 
departure  of  Leclerc,  the  poorer  members  of  the  evangelical  society 
continued  to  meet  in  secret.  Jacques  Pavares,  a  native  of  Boulogne, 
had  been  brought  to  Meaux  by  the  Bishop.  He  was  young,  but 
learned,  and  sincere.  Him  they  imprisoned,  and  terrified,  or  persuaded, 
into  recantation.  After  penance  he  was  absolved  and  set  at  liberty ; 
but  unable  to  hide  his  sorrow  for  having  denied  Christ,  or  to  repress 
his  zeal,  he  incurred  their  vengeance,  and  was  burnt  alive  in  the  Place 
de  Greve,  Paris,  (A.D.  1525,)  suffering  death  with  constancy.  Not  long 
afterwards,  a  person  known  as  the  hermit  of  Livry,  a  place  on  the 
road  towards  Meaux,  was  burnt  opposite  the  church  of  Notre  Dame. 
The  great  bell  tolled,  and  an  immense  concourse  of  spectators  surrounded 
the  place  of  martyrdom,  having  been  invited  by  the  Doctors  of  the 
Sorbonne  to  witness  the  death  of  a  man,  "  already  damned,  whom 
they  were  sending  to  the  fire  of  hell."  f 

Francis  I.  had  left  the  Priests  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
innovation  of  Lutheranism,  and  his  subjects  to  be  sacrificed  to  their 
vengeance,  while  he  went  to  war  with  Charles  V.  The  campaign  was 
fought  through  in  Lombardy,  Francis  beaten,  taken  prisoner,  and 
carried  into  Spain.-  Liberated  from  captivity,  and  returned  to  France, 
he  found  Lutheranism,  as  it  was  then  newly  called,  making  great  pro- 
gress. "  The  wrath  of  God,"  said  the  Priests,  "  has  been  poured  out 
on  the  King  and  on  the  kingdom,  in  retribution  for  the  sin  of  heresy, 
which  ought  to  have  been  extirpated  at  its  first  appearance."  Reasons 
of  state,  no  doubt,  determined  him  to  court  the  favour  of  Rome  ; 
and,  following  the  advice  of  Antoine  du  Prat,  Chancellor  of  the  king- 
dom, he  lent  the  Magistracy  for  the  worst  service  of  the  Church,  by 
ordaining  that  thenceforth  accusations  against  Lutherans  should  be 

*  Gerdes,  Evang.  Renovat.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  44—51  ;  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments, 
book  vii. 

t  Beze,  Hist.  Ecclea,,  livre  premier. 


88  CHAPTER    II. 

made,  in  the  first  instance,  to  secular  Judges  and  Magistrates ;  "  be- 
cause," said  the  Chancellor,  "  the  crime  of  blasphemy  is  included  in 
that  of  Lutheranism."  The  Doctors  Beda  and  Quercu,  and  their 
adherents,  seconded  the  royal  ordinance  with  the  utmost  zeal ;  all  the 
Parliaments,  but  chiefly  that  of  Paris,  entertained  the  subject,  and  a 
simultaneous  persecution  overran  the  country. 

Denis  d'Rieux  was  burnt  at  Meaux,  for  having  truly  said  that  the 
mass  is  a  renunciation  of  the  death  of  Christ.  To  his  last  breath  (July, 
1528)  he  maintained  that  it  is  so.  Louis  de  Berquin,  whose  library 
had  been  destroyed,  and  whom  the  King  had  formerly  released  from  a 
sentence  of  perpetual  imprisonment,  was  finally  condemned,  hung,  and 
his  body  burnt,  because  he  would  not  submit  to  consent  to  the  burning 
of  his  writings,  and  to  recant.  Despite  the  remonstrances  of  his  friends, 
persons  of  the  highest  rank  after  royalty,  that  nobleman  was  taken 
to  the  Place  Maubert,  and  there  consumed.  Yet  Merlin,  Penitentiary 
of  Paris,  who  directed  the  execution,  said,  in  a  loud  voice,  after  the 
martyr  had  expired,  that  for  a  hundred  years  there  had  not  been  a 
better  Christian  than  Berquin.  His  constancy  made  a  profound  im- 
pression on  the  inhabitants  of  Paris,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
Penitentiary  inexpressibly  mortified  his  accusers  and  judges.  The 
night  after  this  martyrdom,  (November  llth,  1529,)  there  was  an 
unseasonable  frost ;  famine  followed,  and  after  famine  pestilence. 
The  Clergy  had  lately  attributed  war  to  divine  judgment,  because 
of  the  tolerance  of  heresy  :  the  people  might  now  reasonably  attribute 
famine  and  pestilence  to  the  same  cause,  but  for  a  very  opposite  offence. 

The  blood  of  martyrs  was  as  a  shower,  refreshing  the  Lord's  heritage. 
Piety  revived  all  over  France,  with  witnesses  against  idolatry.  In  the 
town  of  Nonnay  in  Languedoc,  the  inhabitants  were  enslaved  to  a  childish 
superstition.  A  chest  was  suspended  from  the  roof  of  their  church, 
said  to  be  full  of  precious  relics  ;  but,  as  if  it  were  more  sacred  than  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  no  mortal  might  look  into  it,  under  penalty  of  palsy 
and  blindness.  On  Ascension-days  it  was  lowered  with  mysterious 
solemnity,  and  carried  through  the  town  at  the  head  of  a  long  procession 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  all  half  naked,  bare-headed,  and  bare- 
footed. The  sinner  that  could  approach  and  kiss  the  chest,  or  creep  under 
it,  accounted  himself  happy.  When  the  procession,  one  year,  passed  by 
the  prison,  all  the  prisoners  were  said  to  be  delivered,  Lutherans  except- 
ed,  from  every  crime  they  had  committed.  But  a  Franciscan  Doctor, 
named  Etienne  Machopolis,  who  had  been  in  Germany  and  heard  Luther 
preach,  raised  his  voice  against  that  trickery,  and  many  other  practices 
of  the  same  kind.  He  was  driven  from  the  monastery ;  but  another 
Monk  of  the  same  order,  Etienne  Renier,  took  his  place,  and  preached 
yet  more  fully  the  truths  of  holy  Scripture.  Renier  was  imprisoned, 
and  afterwards  put  to  death  at  Vienne,  enduring  the  fire  with  singular 
constancy.  No  sooner  was  he  removed  than  the  Schoolmaster  of  the 
place,  a  man  named  Jonas,  learned  and  pious,  continued  the  same 
confession,  and  was  in  turn  imprisoned.  Some  friends  helped  him  to 
escape ;  and  the  Archbishop,  enraged  at  this  succession  of  preachers, 
caused  twenty-five  persons  to  be  apprehended  and  taken  to  Vienne. 
Some  of  them  died  in  prison,  by  disease  or  ill  treatment,  and  the 


JEAN    DE    CATUKCE.  89 

remainder  were  eventually  released  with  an  ostentation  of  extreme 
clemency. 

Orleans,  Bourges,  and  Toulouse,  heard  the  Gospel.  Toulouse  was 
one  of  the  darkest  towns  in  France.  The  Parliament  was  sanguinary ; 
the  University,  almost  worthless  ;  the  churches  were  full  of  relics,  and 
other  instruments  of  idolatry  ;  and  the  inhabitants,  so  given  up  to 
superstition,  that  whoever  did  not  kneel  down  when  the  bell  rang  for 
"Hail  Mary,"  or  neglected  to  pull  off  his  cap  before  an  image,  or  had 
eaten  a  morsel  of  flesh  on  a  day  of  abstinence,  was  at  once  noted  as  a 
heretic.  Some  enlightened  men,  however,  began  to  publish  the  truth 
even  in  Toulouse.  One  of  them,  a  licentiate  in  canon  law,  Jean  de 
Caturce,  spoke  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and 
endeavoured  to  substitute  reading  of  the  Bible,  on  feast-days,  for  pro- 
fane sports.  He  was  imprisoned.  His  friends  endeavoured  to  per- 
suade him  to  purchase  liberty  by  recanting  but  three  points  of  a 
lecture  he  had  delivered.  This  effort  failing,  he  was  left  to  the  sentence 
of  death.  A  ceremonial  degradation  occupied  three  hours,  during 
which  time  he  had  many  opportunities  of  defending  his  cause,  and 
instructing  the  crowd  of  spectators.  A  singular  occurrence  took  place 
there.  The  preacher — for  sermons  made  part  of  those  revolting 
exhibitions — took  for  text  these  words  :  "  The  Spirit  speaketh  ex- 
pressly, that  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith, 
giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of  devils."  Caturce  was 
listening  attentively,  but  the  preacher  paused.  His  text  was  ended. 
"  Go  on,"  cried  Caturce,  "  go  on  with  your  text."  The  preacher 
was  embarrassed  :  he  stood  mute,  utterly  unable  to  remember  the  first 
sentence  of  his  sermon.  "  Then,  if  you  will  not  finish  it,"  proceeded 
the  martyr,  "  I  must.  '  Speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy ;  having  their  con- 
science seared  as  with  a  hot  iron  ;  forbidding  to  marry,  and  com- 
manding to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  hath  created  to  be  received 
with  thanksgiving  of  them  which  believe  and  know  the  truth.' " 
This  recitation  by  no  means  contributed  to  restore  self-possession  to 
the  speaker.  Every  eye  was  turned  on  Caturce,  who  followed  up  his 
text  with  a  spirited  exposition.  From  the  scaffold  on  which  he  had 
been  degraded  he  was  led  to  the  palace,  or  town-house,  where  he 
heard  his  final  sentence  ;  and  as  they  took  him  away  to  the  stake,  he 
exclaimed  aloud,  in  Latin,  "  0  palace  of  iniquity,  and  dwelling  of 
injustice  !"  He  bore  the  fire  with  constancy  *  (A.D.  1532).  But  we 
must  now  quit  France. 

In  order  to  pursue,  with  distinctness,  the  current  of  events  in  Ger- 
many, it  is  necessary  to  return  to  the  period  when  Luther  lay  con- 
cealed in  Thuringia,  and  mark  the  commencement  of  a  political  move- 
ment, intimately  relating  to  the  religious,  and  most  necessary  to  be 
described  in  a  history  of  persecution.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1521,  an  imperial  Diet  was  convened  at  Nuremberg.  The  Emperor 
was  absent,  but  Ferdinand  his  brother  presided  in  his  stead.  Adrian 
VI.  held  his  first  consistory  in  Rome  in  the  month  of  November,  and, 
with  the  assent  of  the  Cardinals,  appointed  Francesco  Chieregato, 
Bishop  of  Teramo,  to  be  his  Nuncio  at  the  Diet.  Chieregato  presented 
*  Beze,  Hist.  Eccles.,  livre  premier. 

VOL.    III.  N 


90  CHAPTER    II. 

himself  at  Nuremberg  without  delay,  and  delivered  the  letters  of 
his  master  to  the  Electors,  Princes,  and  deputies  of  cities.  Adrian 
complained  that,  although  Luther  had  been  condemned  by  his 
predecessor,  Leo  X.,  and  although  that  sentence  had  been  supported 
by  the  edict  of  Worms,  published  throughout  Germany,  he  was  still 
permitted  to  persist  in  heresy,  and  to  publish  new  books,  supported 
by  the  nobles  as  well  as  by  the  populace.  St.  Paul,  indeed,  had  said, 
that  there  must  be  heresies,  in  order  that  they  who  are  approved  may 
be  made  manifest ;  but  it  was  not  a  time  to  tolerate  heresy,  when  the 
Turks  were  threatening  to  overwhelm  Christendom.  Princes  and 
people  should  no  longer  connive  at  so  great  an  impiety ;  nor  should  a 
simple  Monk  be  suffered  to  seduce  them  out  of  the  path  followed  by 
their  ancestors.  If  the  sectaries  of  Luther  were  allowed  to  transgress 
ecclesiastical  laws  with  impunity,  they  would  soon  break  all  other 
laws.  If  they  were  allowed  to  appropriate  to  themselves  Church  pro- 
perty, they  would  rob  the  State.  If  they  could  insult  Priests  with 
impunity,  they  would  not  respect  laymen,  nor  spare  their  wives  and 
daughters.  He  counselled  and  exhorted  them,  if  other  methods  did 
not  avail,  to  employ  fire  for  the  extirpation  of  Luther  and  his 
adherents,  as  fire  had  been  employed  for  the  destruction  of  Dathan 
and  Abiram,  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  Jovinian  and  Vigilantius,*  John 
Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague.  The  Pope  sent  a  similar  epistle  to  each 
of  the  Princes  ;  and  that  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony  contained  an  urgent 
exhortation  to  put  down  Luther,  and  to  consider  how  deeply  his  pos- 
terity would  be  dishonoured  if  he  persisted  in  favouring  a  madman. 
The  instructions  of  Chieregato  were  strongly  to  the  same  effect,  Luther 
being  likened  to  Mohammed. 

The  Diet  replied  in  the  usual  complimentary  manner  as  to  the  Pope 
and  his  good  wishes  ;  but  with  regard  to  his  demand  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  sentence  against  Luther,  and  the  extirpation  of  heresy, 
they  gave  strong  reasons  for  not  having  done  so.  1.  By  the  books 
of  Luther,  most  persons  were  persuaded  that  the  court  of  Rome  had 
done  great  harm  in  Germany.  If,  therefore,  the  edict  of  Worms  had 
been  enforced,  people  would  have  charged  their  rulers  with  encourag- 
ing abuses  and  impiety,  and  popular  tumults  might  have  followed. 
2.  It  was  necessary  to  employ  the  most  proper  remedies  for  all 
evils.  But  the  Pope  and  his  Nuncio  had  both  confessed  that  the 
evils  then  prevalent  were  the  consequence  of  sin  ;  and  the  fit  remedy 
would  be  a  reformation  of  the  court  of  Rome,  which  the  Pope  had 
promised.  3.  If  abuses  and  vexations  (which  would  be  specified) 
were  not  ended,  there  could  be  no  peace  between  laymen  and  Eccle- 
siastics. 4.  As  the  annates  paid  by  Germany  for  a  crusade  against 
the  Turks  had  not  been  so  employed,  they  required,  as  a  condition 
of  compliance  with  the  Pope's  wishes,  that  those  moneys  should  be 
kept  in  Germany.  And  the  Diet  proceeded  to  say,  that  as  Adrian 
asked  their  opinion  concerning  remedies  of  the  evils  he  enumerated, 
they  must  observe  that  that  of  Luther  was  not  the  only  one.  There 

*  The  trifling  mistake  as  to  the  nse  of  fire  on  these  four  persons,  would  not  be 
severely  noted.  .  Death,  temporal  and  eternal,  is  always  denounced  on  those  who  make 
free  with  the  "  goods  of  the  Church." 


THE    HUNDRED    GRIEVANCES.  91 

were  many  gross  and  inveterate  abuses  in  the  Church,  for  which  there 
could  be  no  remedy  more  proper,  efficient,  and  desirable  than  a  pious, 
free,  and  Christian  Council,  convoked  in  some  suitable  place  in  Ger- 
many, with  consent  of  the  Emperor,  wherein  laymen  as  well  as  Church- 
men should  have  entire  permission  to  say  what  they  pleased,  notwith- 
standing any  preceding  oath  or  obligation  to  the  contrary.  Persuaded 
that  the  Pope  would  not  refuse  so  reasonable  a  request,  they  engaged 
to  use  their  influence  with  the  Elector  of  Saxony  to  prevent  the 
Lutherans  from  writing  or  printing  any  new  books ;  and  at  the  same 
time  to  order  that,  through  all  Germany,  preachers  should  conform 
to  the  Gospel,  purely  and  simply,  according  to  the  approved  doc- 
trine of  the  Church,  without  touching  on  points  that  might  provoke 
sedition,  or  awaken  controversy.  To  this  end  they  promised  or  pro- 
posed some  restrictions  and  precautions. 

The  Nuncio  made  a  reply,  partly  evasive,  and  partly  querulous.  He 
much  disliked  the  general  tendency  of  their  answer,  especially  in  some 
of  the  proposals,  as  injurious  to  the  independence  of  the  pontificate. 

The  Diet  rejoined  that  he  seemed  to  measure  good  and  evil  by  the 
standard  of  the  court  of  Rome,  and  proceeded  to  prepare  a  document 
containing  an  enumeration  of  the  evils  inflicted  by  that  court  in 
Germany.  It  is  known  as  the  "  Hundred  Grievances;"  (Centum  Gra- 
vamina ;)  and  Chieregato,  that  he  might  not  hear  it,  withdrew  from 
Nuremberg  without  ceremony.  The  members  of  the  Diet  considered 
that  the  fugitive  Nuncio  had,  by  his  unceremonious  departure,  treated 
the  empire  with  disrespect  ;  and  when  the  document  was  read  in  full 
assembly,  some  additions  were  made,  to  give  it  greater  pungency. 
The  "  Hundred  Grievances"  was  a  distinct  exposition  of  the  corrup- 
tions and  wrongs  referred  to  in  their  answer  to  the  Pope's  letter. 
This  singular  correspondence,  with  the  acts  of  the  Diet,  were  printed, 
by  authority,  and  circulated  throughout  Germany,  to  the  great  advan- 
tage of  the  cause  of  reformation.  The  Pope  died  soon  after  the 
return  of  Chieregato. 

Giulio  de'  Medici,  cousin  of  Leo  X.,  succeeded  to  the  throne,  under 
the  title  of  Clement  VII.  It  displeased  him  that  Adrian  had  lowered 
the  pontifical  dignity  by  confessing  the  sins  of  the  court  and  Clergy, 
and  by  asking  advice  of  the  Germans,  which  had  brought  up  a  demand 
for  a  Council,  a  thing,  of  all  others,  most  to  be  dreaded.  He  there- 
fore sent  Lorenzo  Campeggio,  Cardinal  of  Santa  Anastasia,  to  dis- 
charge the  functions  of  Legate  at  the  Diet,  which  was  still  at  Nurem- 
berg, with  instructions  to  evade  the  importunity  of  the  Germans ;  but, 
as  some  reform  was  undeniably  needed,  to  throw  the  inconveniences 
thereof  on  the  German  priesthood,  leaving  the  Roman  in  undisturbed 
enjoyment  of  their  own  pleasure.  Campeggio  hastened  to  Nurem- 
berg, assumed  a  posture  of  extreme  dignity,  pretended  to  know 
nothing  of  their  correspondence ,  with  Adrian,  and  offered  them  a 
trifling  plan  for  reforming  the  dress  and  manners  of  the  inferior  Clergy 
in  Germany.  Both  in  a  public  discourse  and  in  private  conversations 
the  Legate  ceased  not  to  denounce  the  demands  contained  in  the 
"  Hundred  Grievances"  as  most  unjust,  and,  for  all  reasons,  divine 
and  human,  impossible  to  be  granted  by  the  Pontiff.  "  Never,"  said 

N  2 


92  CHAPTER    II. 

he,  "  would  His  Holiness  surrender  the  principal  emoluments  that  for 
ages  have  maintained  the  dignity  of  Popes  and  Prelates  :  never  would 
he  consent  to  be  robbed  of  his  revenues  in  Germany,  nor  allow  an 
example  that  other  nations  would  quickly  imitate."  With  this  Nuncio, 
as  with  his  predecessor,  and  as  with  the  court  and  clergy  of  Rome, 
the  question  was  one  of  wealth  and  power,  to  the  utter  exclusion 
of  every  nobler  consideration.*  He  conceived  the  motives  of  Luther 
and  the  Germans  to  be  equally  sordid  with  his  own.  The  Diet  main- 
tained its  ground,  sent  an  answer  to  Clement  resembling  that  which 
they  had  returned  to  Adrian,  and  closed  their  sessions,  on  April  18th, 
1524.  One  determination  demands  attention.  It  was  that  the  States 
of  the  empire  should  meet  at  Spire  on  November  1 1  th  following.-)- 

Here  are  three  parties.  Luther  and  his  friends,  with  all  who 
desire  evangelical  reformation  in  Germany ;  Zuinglius  in  Switzerland, 
with  multitudes  who  receive  his  doctrine  ;  the  Bohemian  Brethren  ; 
the  Lollards  in  England  ;  and  good  men  in  all  parts  of  Europe  who 
agree  in  the  rejection  of  Popery,  and  desire,  but  with  some  diversity 
of  judgment  on  lesser  articles,  to  establish  the  leading  article  of 
Christian  faith, — the  supremacy  of  Christ  in  all  things  over  his  church. 
These  are  the  first  party.  The  Pope  and  priesthood  are  the  second. 
The  third  consists  of  the  States  and  people  of  Germany,  with  whom 
the  secular  magistracy  and  laity  of  Europe  generally  sympathize. 
Rome  calls  on  the  two  latter  to  crush  the  first  party  by  force.  The 
reformers  call  on  the  laity  to  cast  off  the  insufferable  yoke  of  spiritual 
despotism.  The  laity  endeavour  to  profit  by  the  religious  difference 
to  humble  the  Papacy  that  has  rapidly  risen  to  power  since  the  heal- 
ing of  the  schism  at  Constance.  Contrary  to  the  wishes  of  Rome,  and 
contrary  to  the  interests  of  Christianity,  as  it  might  have  seemed  to  a 
cursory  observer,  the  world  assumes  the  office  of  arbitrator  between 
the  falling  and  the  rising  churches.  Yet  God  overrules  the  strange 
position  to  the  eventual  establishment  of  his  kingdom. 

Each  new  event  tended  to  complicate  the  whole,  and  to  frus- 
trate human  counsels.  Campeggio,  whose  wisdom  advanced  close  on 
the  verge  of  folly,  assembled  a  few  members  of  the  Diet,  after  the 
majority  had  left  Nuremberg  ;  and  these,  as  friendly  to  the  court 
of  Rome,  being  chiefly  Ecclesiastics  or  their  agents,  constituted  them- 
selves an  independent  body  J  at  Ratisbon.  They  even  took  upon 
them  to  decree,  (July  6th,  1524,)  that  the  edict  of  Worms  should  be 
executed  in  all  their  states  and  domains  ;  that  there  should  be  no 
religious  innovation  ;  that  "  apostate  Monks,"  Priests  who  married, 
communicants  who  had  not  confessed,  and  persons  who  ate  flesh  on 
unlawful  days,  should  be  punished  ;  that  all  their  subjects  who  then 
prosecuted  their  studies  in  the  University  of  Wittemberg,  should  be 
compelled  to  leave  it  within  three  months,  and  study  elsewhere.  Next 
day,  the  Cardinal  Legate  published  his  rejected  regulations  for  extir- 

*  Pallavicini,  Hist.  Cone.  Trident.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  x.,  sect.  12,  13. 
t  Fra  Paolo  Sarpi,  Hist.  Cone.  Trente,  i.,  25 — 30.  (Courayer.) 
t  They  were,  Ferdinand,  the  Emperor's  brother ;  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg ;  two 

Dukes    of    Bavaria ;    the   Bishops  of    Trent    and   Ratisbon  ;    and  the  agents  of  nine 

other  Prelates. 


HENRY    OF    ZUTPHEN.  93 

rating  Lutheranism,  and  regulating  the  life  and  manners  of  the  infe- 
rior Clergy  in  Germany,  and  against  sorcerers  and  witches.  These 
proceedings  roused  the  indignation  of  the  states.  It  was  insufferable 
that  a  handful  of  persons  should  arrogate  the  power  of  doing  what 
the  Diet  had  refused  to  do.  They  thought  it  ridiculous,  nay,  insolent, 
in  the  Legate,  to  offer  a  mock  reform  of  poor  parish  Priests,  with 
penalties  on  witches,  instead  of  a  real  reformation  of  the  Bishops  and 
Cardinals,  under  whose  rapacity,  corruption,  and  mismanagement  Ger- 
many had  been  suffering  for  ages.  The  Emperor,  too,  was  offended 
with  the  Diet,  which  had  presumed,  in  his  absence,  to  ask  the  Pope 
for  a  Council ;  a  demand,  he  thought,  which  ought  to  have  been  made, 
if  made  at  all,  by  himself  alone,  the  Pope  and  he  being  the  only  per- 
sons competent  to  treat  on  the  convocation  of  a  General  Council. 
Clement  exhorted  him  to  withhold  his  sanction  from  the  request  for  a 
Council,  and  to  forbid  the  projected  assembly  at  Spire  ;  and  the  sub- 
servient Csesar  accordingly  dictated  a  severe  and  indignant  letter  to 
the  states,  written  from  Spain  (July  15th,  1524).  On  the  other 
hand,  most  of  the  free  cities  and  the  states  friendly  to  Luther  were 
represented  in  a  convocation  at  Spire,  who,  regardless  of  the  imperial 
brief,  determined  to  appoint  learned  persons  to  examine  matters 
relating  to  religion,  and  prepare  a  confession  to  be  presented  there  at 
the  time  appointed. 

In  the  hostile  states,  the  edict  of  Worms  was  enforced  by  civil 
authority,  except  where  the  Magistrates  or  people  were  friendly  to  the 
preachers.  Even  then  the  malignant  ingenuity  of  persecutors  some- 
times compassed  the  death  of  hated  Lutherans.  For  example  :  Henry 
of  Zutphen,  Prior  of  a  monastery  in  Antwerp,  expelled  thence,  as  we 
have  seen,  for  Christ's  sake,  found  refuge  in  Bremen.  Resting  in 
that  city  on  his  way,  as  he  intended,  to  join  Luther  at  Wittemberg,  he 
was  first  invited  to  give  a  sermon,  and  then  to  continue  in  the  city  as 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.  The  Senate  sustained  the  wish  of  the 
citizens,  in  spite  of  the  Clergy ;  and  his  ministry  was  blessed  to  the 
conversion  of  multitudes  from  the  old  superstition.  The  Archbishop 
of  the  province,  with  his  Priests,  left  no  means  untried  to  destroy  the 
preacher ;  and  the  Senate  as  constantly  protected  him.  The  last 
Bull  of  Leo  X.,  and  the  edict  of  Worms,  were  displayed  on  the  church- 
door  ;  and  persons  were  sent  to  listen  to  his  sermons,  in  hope 
of  catching  some  sentence  that  might  be  made  to  sound  like  an  incen- 
tive to  sedition,  and  serve  to  aggravate  the  charge  of  heresy.  Many 
of  the  listeners  were  converted,  witnessed  his  doctrine  to  be  God's 
truth,  and  showed  by  newness  of  life  that  it  was  "  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation."  The  Bull  and  the  edict  were  passed  unheeded  by 
the  men  of  Bremen. 

While  ministering  so  happily,  he  received  a  letter  from  a  Lutheran 
parish  Priest,  and  several  other  persons,  earnestly  inviting  him  to 
Meldorf,  a  town  in  Dithmarsch,  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  there,  amidst 
a  superstitious  and  licentious  population.  The  letter  was  submitted 
to  a  few  members  of  his  congregation,  with  a  request  to  be  advised 
and  assisted  for  the  journey  thither.  They  thought,  however,  that, 
h  living  been  chosen  as  their  Minister,  Master  Henry  should  not  leave 


94  CHAPTER    II. 

them,  but  abide  by  the  work  so  successfully  begun  ;  or,  at  least,  defer 
his  purpose  for  a  time,  until  the  Gospel  should  have  taken  deeper 
root  in  the  town  and  surrounding  villages.  He  thought  otherwise. 
To  him  it  seemed  that  many  in  Bremen  were  well  able  to  instruct  the 
infant  church  ;  and  that  a  call  to  preach  Christ  to  a  population  almost 
destitute  of  Christian  knowledge,  ought  not  to  be  refused.  The  con- 
viction of  duty  was  resistless.  At  length,  others  also  began  to  regard 
the  call  as  of  God  ;  and  he  set  out  for  Meldorf,  desiring  his  friends  to 
inform  the  congregation  of  his  departure,  and  promise  them  that, 
having  fulfilled  the  new  commission,  he  would  return  to  Bremen.  The 
friendly  Priest,  with  a  little  company  of  inquirers,  thirsting  after 
truth,  cordially  welcomed  their  new  instructer.  Tornborch,  Prior 
of  the  Dominicans,  faithful  to  the  intention  of  his  order,  headed  a 
band  of  conspirators,  determined,  if  possible,  to  prevent  him  from 
preaching  even  once  in  Meldorf,  lest  the  people,  influenced  like  those 
of  Bremen,  should  afterwards  unite  in  protecting  him  from  harm. 
Forty-eight  simple  laymen,  invested  with  the  government  of  that  little 
territory,  might  easily,  they  thought,  be  gained  ;  and  two  of  the  most 
influential  of  them,  known  as  enemies  of  the  Gospel,  were  engaged  to 
manage  their  colleagues.  They  hastily  convened  the  rude  council, 
and  represented  that  by  putting  the  heretical  Monk  to  death, 
as  required  both  by  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor,  the  town  of  Mel- 
dorf would  be  rewarded  with  the  special  favour  of  the  Bishop 
of  Bremen.  "  When  these  poor  and  unlearned  men  heard  these  words, 
they  decreed  that  this  Monk  should  be  put  to  death,  neither  heard, 
nor  seen,  much  less  convicted."  A  letter  from  the  forty-eight  com- 
manded the  parish  Priest  to  dismiss  the  Monk  from  his  house,  and 
not  suffer  him  to  preach  in  Meldorf.  But  the  good  Priest,  not  so 
simple  and  unlearned  as  the  corporation  whose  missive  was  put  into 
his  hands,  denied  that  they  had  any  authority  to  set  aside  an  ancient 
privilege  of  the  parishioners  to  choose  their  own  preacher,  but  handed 
the  paper  to  Henry.  Henry  had  not  slept  in  the  town,  the  evening 
was  far  advanced,  his  host  said  nothing ;  before  sunrise  he  might 
retrace  his  steps,  and  return  to  Bremen,  satisfied  that  the  door  had 
been  closed  against  him.  But  he  read  the  paper,  and,  perusing  his 
heart,  sought  an  answer  there.  Love  for  souls  forbade  him  to  retreat. 
Raising  his  eyes  from  the  letter,  and  calmly  looking  at  the  Priest, 
who  still  gave  no  advice,  he  said,  "  Sent  for  by  all  this  congregation, 
I  am  come  to  Meldorf  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  This  vocation 
I  must  satisfy.  I  see  that  my  preaching  will  be  acceptable  to  your 
congregation,  and  I  must  obey  the  word  of  God,  not  man.  If  it 
pleases  Him  that  I  lose  my  life  in  Dithmarsch,  this  is  as  near  a  way 
to  heaven  as  any  other ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  I  must  some  day 
suffer  for  the  Gospel's  sake."  He  soon  retired  to  his  chamber;  and 
next  morning,  confident  in  the  divine  commission,  went  up  into  the 
pulpit  and  pronounced  these  words  of  St.  Paul :  "  God  is  my  wit- 
ness, whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  that 
without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you  always  in  my  prayers  ;  making 
request,  if  by  any  means  now  at  length  I  might  have  a  prosperous 
journey  by  the  will  of  God  to  come  unto  you.  For  I  long  to  see  yen, 


HENRY    OF    ZUTPHF.N.  95 

that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be 
established."  (Rom.  i.  9 — 1 1 .)  The  Dominican  Prior,  also,  after  sermon, 
addressed  the  congregation  in  his  way,  and  read  the  letter  from  the 
forty-eight,  declaring  that  they  should  be  fined  a  thousand  guilders 
if  they  suffered  the  Monk  to  preach.  Tornborch  then  insisted  that 
they  should  send  representatives  to  answer  for  them  to  that  body. 
The  congregation,  however,  maintained,  that  every  parish  had  the  right 
to  appoint  its  own  preacher,  determined  to  keep  Henry  for  theirs,  and 
to  defend  him.  Tornborch  left  the  church  in  anger;  and  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day,  Henry  preached  again,  much  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  people,  and  of  the  parish  Priest,  who  sent  messengers 
to  the  Presidents,  offering  to  answer  for  the  preacher  whom  they  had 
chosen.  The  Presidents  withdrew  their  prohibition,  deferring  the 
question,  as  arising  out  of  the  disputes  about  doctrine,  until  a  General 
Council,  which  they  heard  was  soon  to  be  assembled,  should  instruct 
all  men  what  they  were  to  believe. 

The  messengers  returned  to  Meldorf,  imagining  that  the  Presidents 
would  interfere  no  further.  Henry  preached  with  great  effect.  But 
the  Prior  and  his  accomplices  gained  over  the  leaders  of  those  forty- 
eight  insignificant  rulers,  who  were  brought  to  concur  in  the  opinion 
that  the  heretical  Monk  should  be  put  to  death,  lest  the  honour 
of  "  our  Lady,"  the  saints,  and  the  monasteries,  should  utterly  come 
to  ruin.  After  some  consultation,  it  was  determined  not  to  hazard 
the  formalities  of  a  trial,  nor  even  to  enter  into  any  correspondence 
with  the  preacher,  lest  they  also  should  be  infected  by  the  contagion 
of  his  heresy,  and  overpowered  as  by  a  spell  that  unlearned  men  could 
not  resist.  It  was  therefore  resolved  to  take  him  by  night,  and  burn 
him  before  the  people  could  know  it.  A  secret  meeting  was  then  holden, 
consisting  of  such  persons  as  could  be  intrusted  with  participation  in  the 
plot ;  and  "  the  day  after  the  conception  of  our  Lady,"  they  assembled 
about  five  hundred  peasants  in  the  village  of  Henning,  half  a  mile  dis- 
tant from  Meldorf.  The  boors  met  together  after  night-fall,  and  heard 
from  the  lips  of  some  of  the  confederates,  that  the  end  of  that  gather- 
ing was  to  kill  a  heretic.  The  announcement  excited  some  opposi- 
tion at  first,  and  they  would  have  instantly  dispersed,  refusing  to  do 
so  horrible  a  deed.  But  the  Presidents  threatened,  and,  by  help  of 
three  barrels  of  Hamburgh  beer,  produced  so  great  a  change  of  feeling, 
that  the  rabble  was  ready  for  any  outrage.  They  were  then  marched  to 
Meldorf,  the  Monks  attending  with  torches,  that  their  victim  might  not 
escape  in  the  dark.  The  rabble  burst  into  the  house  of  the  Priest, 
where  Henry  lodged,  destroyed  the  furniture,  took  every  valuable,  and 
then  fell  on  the  Priest,  shouting,  "Kill  the  thief,  kill  the  thief." 
After  dragging  him  through  the  mire  and  beating  him  for  some  time, 
they  were  told  that  their  commission  was  not  to  take  him,  but  ano- 
ther. Henry  was  then  pulled  out  of  his  bed  :  they  bound  his  hands, 
and,  transferring  him  from  one  to  another,  as  each  ruffian  became 
weary  of  the  charge,  drove  him  bare-foot  to  another  neighbouring 
town.  There  they  paused,  to  question  him  as  to  the  reason  of  his 
coming  to  Dithmarsch ;  but  when  he  meekly  gave  the  reason,  they 
drowned  his  voice  by  vociferations  :  "  Away  with  him !  away  with 


96  CHAPTER    II. 

him !  If  we  hear  him  talk  any  longer,  lie  will  make  us  all  heretics." 
Their  way  lay  over  a  hard  frozen  road,  rough  with  hroken  ice  ;  his  feet 
were  bleeding,  and  he  entreated  to  be  allowed  a  horse  to  proceed  to 
Heyde,  the  town  where  those  Presidents  were  wont  to  hold  their  meet- 
ings. But  they  derided  the  proposal  to  "hire  a  horse  for  the  heretic;" 
and,  still  naked,  he  was  driven  on  to  Heyde.  Some  Priests  there  gladly 
took  him,  and  in  one  of  their  houses  he  was  shut  up  in  a  cupboard, 
and  mocked  during  the  night  by  the  drunken  fellows  who  were 
employed  to  torture  him.  Next  morning,  one  Gunter,  a  ringleader 
of  the  riot,  came  and  asked  whether  he  would  rather  be  sent  to  the 
Bishop  of  Bremen,  or  receive  his  punishment  in  Dithmarsch.  "  If  I 
have  preached,"  he  replied,  "  anything  contrary  to  God's  word,  or 
done  any  wicked  act,  it  is  for  them  to  punish  me."  ' '  You  hear, 
good  friends,"  cried  Gunter,  "  he  wishes  to  suffer  in  Dithmarsch." 

The  mob,  maddened  with  drink,  gathered  together  in  the  market- 
place, to  consult  what  they  should  do.  The  consultation  was  brief; 
and  the  sentence  followed  in  a  shout  :  "Burn  him!  burn  him  !  To 
the  fire  with  the  heretic !"  A  crier  summoned  all  who  had  been  pre- 
sent at  the  apprehension,  to  come  under  arms  to  the  burning.  The 
Franciscan  Friars  flocked  to  the  spot  to  superintend  the  execution. 
They  instructed  some  unskilful  ruffians  how  to  bind  him  for  the  stake, 
and  how  to  prepare  the  fire,  bidding  them  "go  the  right  way  to 
work."  Bound  hand  and  foot,  he  was  carried  to  the  fire.  As  they 
passed  by  with  him,  he  observed  a  woman  weep,  standing  at  her  door, 
and,  turning  towards  her,  said,  "  I  pray  you,  weep  not  for  me." 
They  laid  him  by  the  faggots,  for  he  could  no  longer  stand,  and  one 
of  the  Presidents,  being  bribed  for  the  occasion,  read  a  mock  sen- 
tence :  "  Forasmuch  as  this  thief  hath  wickedly  preached  against  the 
worship  of  our  blessed  Lady,  I,  by  the  commandment  and  sufferance 
of  our  reverend  father  in  Christ,  the  Bishop  of  Bremen,  and  my  Lord, 
condemn  him  here  to  be  burned  and  consumed  with  fire."  Raising  his 
eyes  towards  heaven,  the  martyr  exclaimed,  "  I  have  done  no  such 
thing.  0  Lord,  forgive  them !  for  they  offend  ignorantly,  not  knowing 
what  they  do.  0  Almighty  God,  thy  name  is  holy."  A  lady,  at 
that  moment,  made  her  way  through  the  crowd.  She  was  wife  of  one 
of  the  conspirators,  but  offered  to  pay  the  fine  imposed  on  the  people 
of  Meldorf,  and  to  suffer  stripes  in  the  stead  of  Henry,  if  they  would 
release  him.  She  was  brutally  knocked  down,  and  trampled  under 
foot,  while  some  stabbed  and  beat  Henry  as  he  lay  ;  and  Gunter 
bawled,  "  Go  to  boldly,  good  fellows  :  truly  God  is  present  with  us." 
Then,  calling  a  Franciscan,  he  bade  him  take  Henry's  confession,  who 
demanded,  "  Brother,  when  have  I  done  you  any  injury,  either  by 
word  or  deed  ;  or  when  did  I  ever  provoke  you  to  anger  ?"  "  Never," 
said  the  Friar.  "  Then  what  should  I  confess  to  you,  that  you  think 
you  might  forgive  me?"  Moved  at  these  words,  the  Friar  left  him. 
The  fire,  as  often  as  it  was  kindled,  would  not  burn  ;  and  meanwhile 
they  beat  and  cut  him  with  cudgels  and  knives.  The  flames  be°-in- 
ning  to  rise,  they  bound  him  to  a  ladder,  to  lay  him  on  the  pile.  As 
soon  as  bound  he  began  to  pray ;  but  some  one  struck  him  on  the 
face,  saying,  "  Thou  shalt  first  be  burnt,  and  afterwards  mayest  pray 


LUTHER    PUTS    OFF    THE    COWL.  97 

and  prate  as  much  as  thou  wilt."  Another,  treading  on  his  breast, 
bound  his  neck  to  a  step  of  the  ladder  until  the  blood  gushed  out 
at  his  mouth  and  nose.  The  ladder  was  then  erected,  and,  to  steady 
it,  a  man  planted  his  halbert  behind  ;  but  the  ladder  slipping,  the 
halbert  ran  through  him  and  ended  his  sufferings,  death  being 
accelerated  by  the  blow  of  a  mace.  His  body  was  roasted  on  the 
sluggish  fire*  (A.D.  1524). 

Luther  wrote  an  admirable  letter  to  Henry's  former  flock  in  Bre- 
men. "  Now,"  said  he,  "  the  true  features  of  Christian  life  return  to 
us  as  at  the  beginning.  This  religion,  unsightly  and  repulsive  to  the 
world,  amidst  afflictions  and  storms  of  persecution,  is  yet  precious 
and  of  great  honour  in  the  sight  of  God,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  the  Psalmist :  '  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death 
of  his  saints.'  And  again  :  '  Precious  shall  their  blood  be  in  his 
sight.'  Doubtless  your  Henry  of  Zutphen,  who  has  been  cruelly  put 
to  a  terrible  death  by  the  murderers  of  Dithmarsch  for  the  sake  of  the 
Gospel  of  God,  will  shine  eminently  among  them  ;  and  by  shedding 
his  blood  so  freely,  he  has  exhibited  a  most  certain  testimony  to  the 
doctrine  of  Christ.  Indeed,  John  and  Henry  of  Brussels  were  the 
first  whose  lives  were  taken  ;  and  those  two  became  shining  lights, 
slain  in  such  a  lovely  death,  wherein  they  were  offered  up  to  God  as 
a  fragrant  sacrifice.  And  in  the  same  catalogue  we  may  also  place 
Gaspar  Tauber,  burnt  alive  in  Vienna  ;  and  George  the  bookseller, 
who  has  lost  his  life  (at  Buda)  in  Hungary."  f  Persecution  raged  at 
Leipsic,  under  the  iron  hand  of  Duke  George.  All  who  were  known 
to  favour  the  reformed  doctrine  were  fined,  imprisoned,  or  banished, 
and  a  few  crowned  with  martyrdom.  John  Hergst,  a  bookseller,  and 
therefore  peculiarly  odious  to  the  Clergy,  was  beheaded  in  the  market- 
place ;  as  were  two  others  shortly  afterwards.  Some  were  imprisoned 
for  life  in  the  Bishop's  prisons  at  Mersburg.  Fugitives,  however, 
from  France  and  Germany  found  refuge  in  Strasburg,  and  constituted 
there  a  flourishing  church,  enlightened  by  the  learning  and  piety 
of  such  men  as  Capito,  Bucer,  and  Le  Fevre.J  Many  others,  in 
various  parts  of  Germany,  suffered  tumultuary  execution,  murdered 
by  mobs  at  the  instigation  of  Priests  ;  while  the  civil  authorities  were 
reluctant  to  obey  the  edict  of  Worms.  Their  bodies  were  sometimes 
thrown  into  the  Rhine  and  other  rivers.  At  Halle,  a  preacher  named 
George,  who  had  administered  the  eucharist  in  both  kinds,  was  way- 
laid and  killed  ;  and  at  Prague,  a  Monk,  whose  name  is  not  recorded, 
suffered  the  same  penalty  for  quitting  the  monastery,  and  taking  a 
wife,  instead  of  living  wickedly  like  his  cloistered  brethren. § 

The  weakness  of  persecution  appeared  in  these  outrages,  that 
hindered  not  the  spread  of  evangelical  doctrine ;  and  Luther,  anxious 
to  signify  his  utter  renunciation  of  monkery,  put  off  the  cowl,  and 
refused  the  appellation  of  Reverend  Father,  usually  given  to  Monks 
and  parish  Priests.  Ceasing  to  be  a  Monk,  and  having  no  parochial 

*  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  vii. 
t   Seckemlorf.,  Hist.  Luth.,  toin  i.,  p.  295. 
I  Gerdes,  Hist.  Evang.  Renov.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  127. 
§  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  vii. 
VOL.    III.  O 


98  CHAPTER    II. 

charge,  lie  assumed  the  dress  worn  by  Doctors,  and  called  himself  by 
his  academic  title,  Doctor  Martin  Luther.  The  Elector,  notwithstand- 
ing his  usually  extreme  caution,  did  not  discourage  the  change,  but 
sent  the  ex-Friar  a  present  of  cloth,  jocosely  telling  him  that  he  might 
have  it  cut  after  any  fashion  that  pleased  him  best.  And  not  long  after- 
wards, he  exemplified  his  long  avowed  abhorrence  of  monkish  celibacy 
by  marrying  Catherine  von  Boren,  a  lady  of  noble  birth,  once  a  Nun  in 
a  convent  at  Nimpschen,  but  who,  like  very  many  others,  had  broken 
from  the  reclusion  of  the  cloister.  Gladly  would  his  enemies  have 
prevented  that  event.  A  Jewish  Physician  from  Poland,  allured  by 
the  offer  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  was  watching  an  opportunity  to 
poison  him  ;  but  information  was  given  him  by  letter.  The  Jew, 
when  arrested,  denied  the  accusation,  and  would  have  been  put  to  the 
rack,  but  Luther  interceded  for  him  with  the  Elector,  and  he  was  dis- 
missed (January,  1525).*  It  is  remarkable  that  some  sons  of  the 
Church  had  already  attempted  the  removal  of  Zuinglius  by  a  similar 
contrivance  (April,  1522).  Poison  and  a  dagger  were  prepared  for  his 
destruction  too ;  but  the  secret  was  disclosed  in  time,  and  his  life 
providentially  preserved.^ 

It  pleased  God  to  remove  Frederic  the  Wise  from  the  scene  of 
approaching  warfare  (May  5th,  1525).  He  had  cautiously,  but  firmly 
and  most  sincerely,  supported  Luther,  and  nurtured  the  infant  Reform- 
ation, giving  constant  evidence  of  sincere  piety,  and  willingness  to 
encounter  any  inconvenience  rather  than  desert  the  cause  of  Christ. 
His  memory  will  always  be  honoured  by  those  who  can  appreciate  the 
protection  he,  when  almost  single  among  the  Princes  of  Germany, 
afforded  to  the  people  of  Saxony,  and,  by  consequence,  to  the  greatest 
part  of  Upper  Germany,  against  the  malignity  of  the  Court  of  Rome, 
and  the  weak  servility  of  Charles  V.,  who  would  have  allowed  any 
number  of  his  subjects  to  be  offered  up  as  victims  to  the  Tibrine 
demi-god,  if  such  a  sacrifice  could  have  promoted  his  political  schemes. 
All  Saxony  mourned  their  loss  ;  but  his  successor,  with  greater  boldness, 
not  greater  sincerity,  gave  the  entire  weight  of  civil  authority  in  that 
electorate  to  the  same  holy  cause.  Luther  had  foreseen,  immediately 
after  the  Diet  of  Worms,  that  Germany  would  adopt  his  controversy  with 
Rome,  and  that  the  united  tyranny  of  Priests  and  Princes  would  pro- 
voke the  rude  peasantry  to  a  sanguinary  revolt ;  that  civil  and  religious 
liberty  would  be  confounded  in  the  quarrel ;  that  Germany  would 
"swim  with  blood."  He  prayed  that  the  Elector,  a  second  Josiah, 
might  be  first  taken  to  the  Lord  in  peace.  Frederic  is  now  taken, 
and  the  strife  begins.  For  ages  the  condition  of  the  peasantry  had 
been  growing  worse  and  worse. \  Swabia  had  been  troubled,  more 
than  any  other  state,  with  insurrections,  or  threatenings  of  insurrection, 
which  the  nobles  and  cities  had  unitedly  suppressed.  Carlstadt,  sepa- 
rated from  Luther,  and  no  longer  a  Christian  Reformer,  but  a  mad 

*  Seckendorf.,  torn  ii.,  p.  35. 

t  D'Aubigne,  History  of  the  Reformation,  hook  viii.,  chap.  12. 

\  Seckendorff  demonstrates  that  discontent  and  insurrection  were  long  hefore  Luther, 
and  fully  describes  the  causes  and  events  of  this  peasant  war. — Hist.  Luth.,  torn,  ii., 
pp.  l_14. 


Trrtorirk  nf   Sfl.xnni) 

J 


END    OF    THE    PEASANT    WAR.  99 

revolutionist,  went  about  preaching  insurrection.  The  rustic  popula- 
tion of  Southern  Germany  rose  together  at  his  call.  Munzer  and  the 
Anabaptists  soon  added  to  the  confusion,  and  threw  into  the  insur- 
gent masses  a  deeper  tinge  of  fanaticism.  The  boors  could  not  suc- 
cessfully contend  against  armies.  They  were  mown  down  by  thou- 
sands. Luther,  instead  of  countenancing  the  revolt,  denounced  the 
guilt  and  madness  of  its  leaders,  with  characteristic  vehemence  of  lan- 
guage, but  with  an  energy  of  wisdom  that  proved  him  to  be  anything 
but  a  headlong  innovator.  The  deluded  peasants  had  mixed  up  a 
jargon  of  religion  with  complaints,  reasonable  enough  in  themselves, 
and  for  which  no  constitutional  remedy  was  provided,  and  had  also 
appealed  to  Luther  for  his  support.  That  support  was  refused  in 
such  terms  that  they  regarded  him  as  their  enemy,  although  he  was 
in  reality  striving  to  convince  the  Princes  that  there  were  many  and 
great  grievances  to  be  redressed.  The  fact  that  the  Reformation  had 
unsettled  the  whole  state  of  things  in  Germany,  also  gave  colour,  in  the 
sight  of  many,  to  a  notion  that  revolt  was  an  inevitable  consequence 
of  this  new  doctrine,  and  that  the  Bible  was  a  hand-book  of  sedition. 
"Thousands  of  the  peasantry  had  fallen,"  says  Menzel,  "  and  all  opposi- 
tion now  ceased.  The  city  of  Wurtzburg  threw  open  her  gates  to  the 
triumphant  Truchsess,*  who  held  a  fearful  court  of  judgment,  in  which 
the  prisoners  were  beheaded  by  his  jester,  Hans  :  nineteen  citizens 
and  thirty-six  ringleaders  were  among  the  number.  The  peasants 
knelt  in  a  row  before  the  Truchsess,  whilst  Hans  the  jester,  with  the 
sword  of  execution  in  his  hand,  marched  up  and  down  behind  them. 
The  Truchsess  demanded  '  which  of  them  had  been  implicated  in  the 
revolt?'  None  acknowledged  the  crime.  'Which  of  them  had 
read  the  Bible?'  Some  said  Yes,  some  No;  and  each  of  those  who 
replied  in  the  affirmative,  was  instantly  deprived  of  his  head  by  Hans, 
amidst  the  loud  laughter  of  the  squires.  The  same  fate  befell  those 
who  knew  how  to  read  or  write.  Similar  horrors  were  enacted 
throughout  the  country,  and  followed  by  a  systematic  persecution  on 
the  part  of  the  Bishop.  The  spiritual  Princes  surpassed  their  bre- 
thren in  atrocity. "f 

While  this  calamity  befell  Germany,  Switzerland,  also,  was  thrown 
into  confusion.  The  sword  of  Peter,  to  borrow  a  preposterous  figure 
of  Rome,  was  unsheathed ;  but  it  was  to  fight  against  Peter's  Lord.  J 

At  Constance,  memorable  for  its  Council,  and  for  the  Bohemian 
witnesses  whom  that  Council  put  to  death,  the  reformed  doctrine  was 
preached  by  John  Wanner,  from  the  pulpit  of  the  cathedral ,  while 
in  Zurich,  Lucerne,  Einsidlen,  and  many  other  places,  the  bread  of 
life  began  to  be  distributed  to  the  famishing  multitudes.  Zuinglius  and 
his  Swiss  disciples,  being  agreed  in  one  political  principle  as  Republi- 
cans, thought  it  right  to  bring  religious  questions  before  the  people, 
to  be  judged  of  and  settled  by  them.  The  Bishop  of  Constance,  as 

*  Butler.  Title  of  the  officer  of  state  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  imperial  forces. 

t   History  of  Germany,  chap,  cxciv. 

\  The  English  reader  will  find  ample  details  in  Sleidan's  History  of  the  Reformation, 
translated  by  Bohun,  book  iv. ;  arid  D'Aubigne,  Reformation,  book  viii.,  chap.  14,  and 
book  xi.  throughout. 

o  2 


100  CHAPTER    II. 

member  of  a  hierarchy  that  depends  on  an  ecclesiastical  Monarch, 
whose  decisions  are  absolute,  and  to  whom,  as  he  fancies,  no  man  has  a 
right  to  say,  "  What  doest  thou  ?"  *  while  he  thought  it  right  to  oppose 
their  innovation,  had  to  contend  with  politics  and  patriotism,  as  well 
as  with  religion.  His  first  appeals  were  to  the  Clergy.  To  the  Dean 
and  Chapter  of  Zurich,  chief  seat  of  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland, 
he  wrote  a  hortatory  letter,  (May  24th,  1522,)  charging  the  preach- 
ers, whom  he  did  not  name,  with  inculcating  a  doctrine  that  led  to 
tumults,  apostasy,  schism,  disorder,  and  neglect  of  discipline ;  adding 
that  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor  had  condemned  the  new  dogmas,  and 
denounced  them  as  contrary  to  church  order  and  evangelical  law  and 
unity.  Therefore  he  exhorted  the  Clergy,  by  every  consideration  of 
piety,  authority,  and  charity,  to  lay  aside  those  novelties,  and  not 
preach,  teach,  or  dispute  concerning  them,  either  in  public  or  in 
private,  nor  make  any  alteration  in  their  faith,  until  those  to  whom  it 
belonged  to  pronounce  a  sentence,  should  have  declared  their  plea- 
sure, f  Zuinglius,  to  whom  the  letter  chiefly  referred,  was  a  member 
of  the  Chapter,  and,  about  three  months  afterwards,  the  Bishop 
received  a  book  from  his  pen,  containing  a  compendium  of  the 
obnoxious  doctrine,  and  an  appeal  to  the  Clergy  on  its  behalf. 

From  the  Clergy,  who  were  divided,  the  Bishop  turned  to  the 
federal  Diet,  where  the  friends  of  Zuinglius  were  in  the  minority.  To 
show  their  willingness  to  uphold  Romanism,  they  proceeded  to  silence 
Weiss,  a  preacher  at  Feilispach,  near  Baden,  in  pursuance  of  an  into- 
lerant decree  of  their  own,  previously  issued.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
company  of  reformed  Priests  and  learned  men  met  at  Einsidlen,  in 
the  monastery  where  Zuinglius  had  resided  before  called  to  Zurich, 
and  drew  up  an  address  to  the  cantons,  entreating  them  to  cast  off 
human  authority,  and  take  the  Bible  only  to  be  their  standard  of 
belief.  This  aroused  Switzerland.  The  Magistrates  of  Friburg  impri- 

*  Let  not  the  charitable  reader  imagine  this  to  he  a  stroke  of  irony,  hut  receive,  from 
the  pen  of  a  Roman  Lawyer,  a  compendium  of  the  doctrine  of  Papal  supremacy  and  per- 
fection that  has  legal  force  in  that  court.  Petrus  Ridolphinus,  Jurisconsult  and  Apos- 
tolic Protonotary,  in  his  often-edited  and  ponderous  law-book,  "  Latent  Practice  of  the 
Roman  Court  in  Judicial  Proceedings,"  gives  the  following  account  of  Pontifical  autho- 
rity, among  the  axiomatic  sentences  preliminary  to  the  code  itself.  Each  hyphen,  be  it 
noted,  indicates  a  long  series  of  canonistical  citations,  that  would  be  unintelligible  to 
almost  every  reader,  if  copied  here.  Signore  Ridolfino  speaks  thus :  "  Therefore  the 
supreme  Roman  Pontiff,  who  is  also  called  Pope,  that  is  to  say,  Shepherd  of  Shepherds, 
or  Father  of  Fathers, — and  is  styled  universal  Prince  of  Pastors  by  the  Emperor  Con- 
Btantine,  of  holy  memory,  in  his  divine  mandate  (jussio)  to  the  Synod, — is  Ordinary  of 
Ordinaries, — and  successor  of  Peter, — and  is  called  by  the  admirative  title  of  Pope, 
which  is  as  much  as  to  say  Admirable, — because  he  is  Vicar  and  Vicegerent  of  God  on 

earth. —  He  is  God  on  earth,  as  says  ,  who  judges  all  men,  and  is  judged  ly  none 

—  whose  judgment  God  reserves,  without  question,  to  his  own  sanction,  (arbitrium.) — 
whose  most  ample  power  no  mortal  can  restrain, — in  whom  no  defect  of  power  is 
admitted, —  because  he  can  do  all  things, — and  of  whose  power  it  is  a  crime  and  sacri- 
\ege  to  doubt. — often  exercises  by  himself  (alone)  this  power  and  jurisdiction  delivered 
Unto  him  by  God. — Nor  does  the  Supreme  Pontiff  only  exercise  jurisdiction  by  himself, 
but  also  by  others,  and  concedes  the  same,  as  well  to  divers  Judges  in  the  city  (in 
urbe),  as  to  Legates  throughout  the  world  (in  orbe),  either  there  already,  by  virtue  of 
office,  or  ordinary,  or  special  (sive  missis,  sive  de  lateie), — and  also  to  Patriarchs,  Arch- 
bishops, Bishops,  and  all  Prelates  of  the  whole  world,— and  to  the  Legates  and  Governors 
of  the  States  of  the  Church, — and,  in  short,  to  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Rome,  con- 
cerning whom  see  — — ."  Here  are  arrogated  a  divine  omnipotence  and  omnipresence. 
t  Gerdesii  Hist.  Evang.  Renovat.,  torn,  i.,  p.  272. 


IMAGES    DESTROYED    IN    ZURICH.  101 

soned,  deposed,  and  banished  Hollard,  a  Canon  of  their  Church,  for 
holding  correspondence  with  the  innovators.  Oswald  Myconius, 
Master  of  the  public  school  of  Lucerne,  was  banished  from  that  city, 
together  with  two  Canons,  Xylotect  and  Kilchneyer,  one  of  whom  was 
married,  if  not  both.  The  Diet  assembled  at  Baden  renewed  its  per- 
secuting acts,  ordered  the  authorities  of  the  towns  to  have  appre- 
hended and  brought  before  them  all  who  should  speak  against  "  the 
faith,"  and  sent  Weiss,  whom  they  had  already  silenced,  to  the 
Bishop's  prison.  The  Zurich  Magistrates,  in  their  alarm,  banished 
two  persons  from  their  canton,  who  had  endangered  peace,  as  they 
thought,  by  excessive  zeal  against  image-worship.  These  were  Grebel 
and  Hottinger.  The  former,  driven  to  a  worse  extreme,  joined  the 
Anabaptists.  The  latter  was  soon  afterwards  seized,  taken  before  the 
Council  of  Lucerne,  and  sentenced  to  be  beheaded.  His  crime  was 
undermining  the  pedestal  of  a  huge  crucifix,  until  the  idol  fell.  On 
hearing  the  sentence,  he  calmly  gave  thanks  to  Jesus  Christ,  and, 
when  this  excited  ridicule,  prayed  God  to  forgive  his  Judges.  A 
Monk  presented  a  crucifix,  that  he  might  kiss  it ;  but  he  pushed  it 
away,  saying,  "  It  is  in  the  heart  that  we  ought  to  receive  Jesus 
Christ."  Passing  through  the  crowd,  he  observed  many  weeping. 
"  I  am  going  to  eternal  happiness,"  said  he,  aloud  ;  and,  having 
mounted  the  scaffold,  he  was  heard  to  say  again,  "  I  commit  my  soul 
into  thy  hands,  0  my  Redeemer!"  The  Council  of  Zurich  had  been 
called  on  by  Zuinglius  to  decide  what  the  citizens  should  receive  as 
true  doctrine,  and  at  once  gave  evidence  of  their  incompetence,  by 
expelling  a  devoted  Christian,  who,  being  an  unprotected  outcast,  was 
made  the  first  martyr  of  the  Reformation  in  those  cantons  (A.D. 
1524).  While  the  faithful  at  Zurich  were  filled  with  horror  on  hear- 
ing of  the  execution  of  their  banished  brother,  a  messenger  from  the 
Diet  came  into  the  city,  with  a  demand  that  they  should  all  abjure 
their  faith.  The  Council  was  provoked,  and,  by  way  of  answer  to 
that  demand,  they  decreed  a  burial  of  the  relics,  and  a  demolition  of 
the  images.  For  overturning  but  one  image,  the  persecutors  had 
slain  a  man  ;  now,  the  city  of  Zurich  sends  its  architect,  at  the  head 
of  a  numerous  company  of  blacksmiths,  locksmiths,  carpenters,  and 
masons,  to  enter  every  church,  destroy  every  image,  and  whitewash 
the  walls,  preparatory  to  an  entire  change  in  the  manner  of  public 
worship.  The  wooden  gods  were  decorously  committed  to  the  flames, 
and  several  neighbouring  towns  forthwith  followed  the  example  of 
Zurich.* 

There  can  be  no  more  half  measures.  While  this  revolution  is 
going  on  at  Zurich,  a  Papal  Brief  reaches  the  Diet  of  Switzerland, 
exhorting  them  to  employ  force  for  the  suppression  of  reform.  No 
time  is  to  be  lost ;  for  Nuns  are  quitting  their  convents,  Priests  are 
marrying,  images  are  falling,  and  every  day  new  deserters  are  added 
to  the  hosts  that  threaten  to  destroy  Babylon.  The  Diet  hastens  to 
obey  the  Pope,  and,  henceforth,  many  people  suppose  that  persecu- 
tion will  be  the  high  road  to  offices  and  honours.  A  country  Magis- 
trate at  Frauenfeld,  on  the  Rhine,  is  among  the  aspirants.  He  has 

•  Gerdes,  Hist.  Evang.  Renovat.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  301 — 303. 


102  CHAPTER    IT. 

often  listened  to  the  preaching  of  CExlin,  a  parish  Priest  at  Berg,  near 
Stein,  with  apparent  satisfaction,  and  therefore  can  testify  that  his 
doctrine  is  evangelical.  Hoping  to  be  rewarded  for  such  diligence, 
he  sends  soldiers  to  the  Priest's  house,  past  midnight,  just  when  the 
capture  may  be  made  with  less  fear  of  rescue  or  resistance.  The  good 
man  is  dragged  out  of  bed,  and  hurried  away  towards  the  river  Thur, 
•where  a  boat  is  ready  to  convey  him  to  the  other  side.  The  cries  of 
the  captive  awaken  the  inhabitants,  who  spring  from  their  beds,  and 
run  towards  the  ferry.  But  they  are  too  late.  The  soldiers  have 
taken  him  off,  and  there  is  no  means  of  crossing  the  river  to  overtake 
the  captive.  The  men  of  two  other  places,  Stein  and  Stammheim,  are 
on  the  road,  aroused  by  the  cries  of  the  Priest  in  passing,  or  by  those 
of  the  pursuers,  and  then  by  an  alarm-gun  that  was  fired.  The  whole 
neighbourhood  is  up,  and  a  crowd  of  armed  men  gathers  rapidly  on 
the  river-bank.  A  Magistrate  named  Wirth,  of  Stammheim,  with 
two  sons,  both  Priests,  but  all  friendly  to  the  cause  of  reformation,  is 
there.  He  proposes  to  send  a  message  of  remonstrance  to  the 
aggressor  at  Frauenfeld  ;  but  the  people  who  have  been  thus  roused 
out  of  their  beds,  are  not  disposed  to  go  home  content  with  making  a 
mere  verbal  remonstrance.  A  monastery  of  begging  Franciscans  stands 
near  at  hand.  To  it  they  go,  break  in,  crowd  the  refectory,  eat  and 
drink,  and,  hot  with  indignation,  but  soon  hotter  with  wine,  destroy 
the  furniture,  ransack  the  library,  drive  out  the  Monks,  and  burn 
the  building. 

This  outrage  was  certainly  provoked,  but  could  not  be  justified. 
The  authorities  of  Zurich  interfered  to  recall  those  of  their  own 
canton  who  were  found  among  the  rioters ;  but  order  could  not  be 
restored.  The  Diet  met  at  Zug,  and,  representing  the  entire  con- 
federation of  Switzerland,  resolved  to  punish  the  Wirths,  and  Ruti- 
man,  another  Magistrate,  who  had  been  drawn  to  the  scene  of  mis- 
chief by  the  alarm,  and  were  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  accomplices. 
The  Deputies  from  Zurich  expostulated,  but  in  vain.  It  was  deter- 
mined that  Zurich  should  give  up  those  four  Zuinglians,  or  be  com- 
pelled to  do  so  by  force  of  arras.  After  some  negotiation  the  Council 
of  that  canton  consented  to  give  them  up,  on  condition  that  they 
should  not  be  tried  for  heresy,  but  examined  as  to  the  part  they  were 
alleged  to  have  taken  in  burning  down  the  convent ;  believing  that, 
by  fair  evidence,  their  innocence  would  be  fully  proved.  Wirth 
had  been  urged  to  flight,  but  would  not  consent  to  save  himself  by 
what  seemed  a  dishonourable  confession  of  guilt  that  could  be  so 
easily  disproved,  and,  with  his  two  sons  and  his  neighbour  Rutiman, 
was  taken  to  the  prison  of  Zurich,  and  examined,  but  nothing  could 
be  found  against  any  of  them.  Then,  under  the  limitation  that 
seemed  to  shield  them  against  the  notorious  injustice  of  an  inquisi- 
torial tribunal,  they  were  transferred  to  Baden  (August,  1524).  It 
could  not  be  proved  that  they  had  any  participation  in  the  riot,  but 
it  was  easily  established  that  they  were  Zuinglians.  Wirth  had 
destroyed  an  image  of  "  St.  Anne,  grandmother  of  Christ."  His  son 
Adrian,  although  a  Priest,  was,  like  several  others  by  that  time,  mar- 
ried. John  had  administered  the  eucharist  to  a  sick  person  without 


MASS    ABOLISHED    AT    ZURICH.  103 

Popish  ceremonies.  To  extort  confessions,  they  were  all  three  put  to 
the  torture.  The  father  was  racked  from  morning  till  noon.  Then 
Adrian,  and  then  John.  They  could  not  suppress  tears  and  shrieks 
of  agony,  but  gave  no  forced  confession.  They  called  on  God  for 
pity ;  and  their  prayer  provoked  the  derision  of  the  tormentors,  and 
aggravation  of  their  sufferings. 

They  were  then  re-conducted  to  the  prison  of  Baden.  Wirth's 
wife,  mother  of  the  two  young  Priests,  attended  by  an  Advocate,  was 
in  Baden  at  the  time,  carrying  her  youngest  child  in  her  amis.  She 
implored  the  Judges  to  show  mercy :  she  appealed  to  men  in  office 
who  had  long  known  her  husband's  integrity,  and  reciprocated  his 
friendship.  But  all  were  inexorable ;  for  he  bad  destroyed  St. 
Anne !  After  an  absence  of  four  weeks,  the  Deputies  of  the  Popish 
cantons  returned  to  Baden,  and  pronounced  sentence  of  death  on 
Wirth  the  elder,  his  son  John,  whose  piety  and  zeal  were  most 
conspicuous,  and  Rutiruan.  Young  Adrian  was  released.  Adrian 
wept  when  the  decision  was  told  them.  His  father  exhorted  him 
not  to  avenge  their  death ;  his  brother,  patiently  to  sustain  the 
cross  of  Christ.  They  received  the  sentence  in  court,  and  were 
immediately  marched  back  to  prison.  John  walked  first :  the  two 
old  men  followed.  As  they  approached  the  castle,  a  Priest  required 
them  to  kneel  down  before  a  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Joseph.  John 
turned,  and  cried  out,  "  Father,  be  firm.  You  know  that  there  is  but 
one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus."  "  I 
will,  my  son,"  answered  the  father,  "  I  will,  by  the  help  and  grace 
of  God,  remain  faithful  to  the  end."  They  instantly  joined  in  recit- 
ing the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  so  passed  the  bridge  into  the  castle.  Soon 
were  they  taken  to  the  scaffold,  and  there  John  became  sublime  in 
faith.  "My  dearly  beloved  father,"  said  he,  "henceforth  you  are  no 
longer  my  father,  and  I  am  no  longer  your  son.  We  are  brethren  in 
Christ  our  Lord,  for  whose  name  I  am  to  suffer  death.  To-day, 
dearly  beloved  brother,  if  it  pleases  God,  we  shall  go  to  Him  who  is 
the  Father  of  us  all.  Fear  nothing."  "  Amen,"  responded  the  aged 
martyr,  "  may  God  Almighty  bless  you,  my  beloved  son,  and  my 
brother  in  Christ!"  Rutiman  prayed  in  silence.  The  spectators, 
too,  were  silent,  except  when  sobs  became  audible.  The  men  of  God 
knelt  down,  and  their  heads  were  severed.  People  crowded  in  to 
examine  the  bodies,  and,  when  they  saw  them,  lacerated  with  torture, 
wept  aloud.  The  widow,  the  mother,  was  next  called  on  for  a  fee 
accustomed,  and  she  paid  down  twelve  gold  florins  to  the  executioner 
(September  28th,  1524).* 

An  irreparable  breach  with  Rome  is  the  consequence  of  this  per- 
fidy. Innocent  of  civil  offence,  three  members  of  the  canton  of 
Zurich  have  been  beheaded  for  heresy,  notwithstanding  the  condition 
under  which  they  were  surrendered  to  the  Diet.  Every  motive 
to  utter  separation  from  the  Pope  is  now  strengthened,  and  all  classes 
of  persons  enter  into  the  study  of  disputed  points.  At  a  session 
of  the  Council  of  Two  Hundred,  (April  llth,  1525,)  Zuinglius,  Leo 
Judse,  and  Engelhardt,  with  two  laymen,  Megander  and  Myconius, 

*  D'Aubigne,  book  xi.,  chap.  5. 


104  CHAPTER    II. 

demand  that  the  mass,  with  the  adoration  of  bread  and  wine,  and  all 
such  ceremonies,  shall  he  abolished.  The  majority  determine  that  it 
shall  be  so,  and,  after  an  animated  and  keen  discussion,  they  issue  the 
following  decree  : — "  God  being  willing,  ye  shall  henceforth  use  the 
eucharist  according  to  the  institution  of  Christ,  and  the  rite  of  the 
Apostles.  For  the  weak,  and  those  who  are  as  yet  untaught  in  the 
faith,  it  shall  be  lawful,  for  this  time  only,  to  follow  the  old  method. 
Thus  let  the  mass  be  utterly  abolished,  antiquated,  and  laid  aside, 
that  it  be  not  repeated,  not  even  for  another  day."  For  that  time 
only,  that  is,  for  Holy  Thursday,  a  few  weaker  ones  might  have  had 
mass  ;  but  the  majority  of  Priests  and  people  rejoiced  in  the  abolition, 
and  the  churches  were  filled  with  multitudes,  who,  with  devotion 
never  before  known,  saw  the  bread  handed  round  in  wooden  platters, 
and  the  wine  given  to  every  communicant.  One  member  of  the 
Council  had  zealously,  and  with  great  apparent  sincerity  and  acute- 
ness,  resisted  the  change.  Zuinglius,  although  he  had  satisfied  the 
Council,  and  was  himself  confirmed  in  the  persuasion  that  the  doc- 
trine of  transubstantiation  was  utterly  ridiculous,  felt  that  he  had  not 
given  the  sophisms  of  Joachim  Grut  the  triumphant  refutation  that 
his  own  cause  demanded.  Full  of  the  controversy,  he  lay  wakeful 
that  night,  until  towards  morning,  when,  in  a  remarkable  dream,  an 
additional  evidence  was  suggested.  He  dreamt  that,  disputing  with 
Grut,  he  was  exceedingly  embarrassed  ;  but  some  one  appeared, 
"whether  black  or  white  he  knew  not,"*  to  be  sitting  with  them, 
and,  when  he  was  unable  to  utter  a  word,  to  say,  "  Why  do  you  not 
answer  him  from  the  Book  of  Exodus,  'It  is  the  Lord's  passover?'" 
He  awoke  instantly,  leapt  out  of  bed,  referred  to  the  Septuagint  ver- 
sion, and  found  the  words,  I7a<rp^a  IOTI  Kvpicu.  Next  day  Zuinglius 
went  to  the  Council,  renewed  the  argument,  and,  insisting  on  the 
word  !<TT»,  "is,"  as  equivalent  with  the  same  word  in  the  sen- 
tence, "  This  is  my  body,"  reasoned  with  so  much  force,  that  no  fur- 
ther opposition  could  be  made.  Berne  and  Basil  followed  the  example 
of  Zurich  ;  and  thus  was  the  Reformation  soon  accomplished  in  several 
of  the  Swiss  cantons.-)-  But  this  territorial  reformation,  consummated 
in  a  day  by  civil  authority,  was  very  different  from  the  work  that  God 
had  wrought  of  old  by  Apostles  and  apostolic  men.  The  dominant 
Clergy  had  for  many  ages  made  Magistrates  the  executioners  of  their 
vengeance,  and  the  guardians  of  their  power.  Luther,  although  pro- 
tected by  Princes,  often  returned  them  but  cool  acknowledgments, 
and  repeatedly  exhorted  them  to  refrain  from  meddling  with  the  work 
of  God,  much  less  to  fight  for  it.  Zuinglius,  on  the  contrary,  appealed 
to  the  civil  power  for  the  ratification  of  his  proposals.  "  The  King," 
some  had  said,  "  the  Lord's  anointed,  is  bounden  to  defend  the  faith, 
and  extirpate  heresy."  "The  people,"  said  Zuinglius,  "are  the 
source  of  power,  they  are  sovereign,  and  to  them  we  must  appeal." 

*  A  proverbial  expression,  ignorantly  misinterpreted  by  his  enemies,  as  if  by  black  he 
meant  diabolical.  "  Albus  an  attr  sis  ntscio.  Solet  dici  de  hornine  vehementer  ignoto." 
Thus  Erasmus  explains  the  adage,  and  cites  Cicero,  Qumtilian,  Catullus,  Apuleius,  St. 
Jerome,  and  Horace,  in  proof. — Krasnii  Opera,  torn,  ii.,  p.  227,  edit.  Froben. 

t  Gerdes,  Hist.  Evang.  Renovat.,  ton),  i.,  p.  318,  et  seq. 


THE     REFORMATION    NOT    OF    LTJTHER.  105 

He  would  not  venture,  however,  to  the  street.  Still  he  went  to  the 
Council  of  Two  Hundred,  a  democratic  body,  and  thereby  rendered 
homage  to  democracy,  as  the  Legate  at  Worms  had  rendered  homage  to 
monarchy,  by  inducing  Charles  V.  to  issue  his  famous  edict.  Others, 
however,  as  well  as  Zuinglius,  appealed  to  the  people.  Grebel,  whom 
the  "  Two  Hundred  "  had  unwisely  banished,  found  harbour  in  Basil, 
and  there  led  Anabaptism.  Mantz,  another  fanatic,  did  the  same  at 
Zurich.  Tben  came  an  ex-Friar,  bearing  the  familiar  name  of  Blue- 
coat  (BlaurocK),  and  with  these  a  host  of  people  gathered  from  the 
lowest,  and  set  about  carrying  fully  out  the  democratic  principle  that 
Zuinglius  acknowledged,  yet  practically  restricted  by  asking,  not  the 
people,  but  these  two  hundred  representatives,  to  authorize  a  religious 
revolution.  They  would  appropriate  baptism  to  themselves,  as  a  con- 
venient sign  of  proselytism ;  and,  giving  the  name  of  that  sacrament 
to  a  miserable  ceremony  of  their  own,  plunged  their  half-political  and 
half-religious  followers  into  the  nearest  streams,  and,  when  sufficiently 
numerous,  the  deluded  rout  revolted  against  all  existing  authority, 
calling  themselves  a  divinely-sanctioned  church  and  state,  possessing 
the  attributes  of  both,  and  therefore  superior  to  every  law  but  their 
own.  One  of  the  Anabaptist  leaders  killed  his  brother,  and  was  him- 
self justly  beheaded.  Bluecoat  was  banished,  and  afterwards  killed 
by  the  Papists,  as  a  matter  of  course.  Mantz  was  drowned  by  a  judi- 
cial sentence.  The  Swiss  Reformation  became  turbulent.  It  was 
made  the  subject  of  dispute  between  state  and  state.  The  Reformers 
themselves  were  soon  among  the  first  victims  of  that  folly  which  pre- 
sumes to  fight  for  Him  whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world ;  but 
their  history  is  full  of  instruction,  teaching  that  when  republicanism — 
and  royalism,  in  such  a  case,  is  quite  as  bad — controls  discipline,  or 
influences  doctrine,  ruinous  work  must  follow. 

Although  the  Reformation  began  many  ages  before  Luther,  and 
therefore  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  him  ;  and  although  he  could  not 
even  be  regarded  as  the  leader  of  that  great  movement,  except  in 
Germany  ;  he  was  undeniably  the  most  eminent  and  influential  of  all  the 
Reformers.  In  the  present  chapter,  therefore,  we  return  to  him  after 
every  excursion  into  Switzerland  or  the  north,  and  take  his  affairs  to 
determine  the  chronological  order  of  this  part  of  our  history.  No 
longer  a  Monk,  monastic  vows  ceased  to  bind  him.  He  had  renounced 
the  whole  system,  put  off  the  garb,  and,  not  even  acknowledging  his 
Popish  ordination  to  the  priesthood,  retained  only  the  academic  title  and 
office  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  was  excommunicated  by  the  Pope,  and 
would,  no  doubt,  have  been  ceremonially  degraded  from  the  priesthood, 
and  immediately  burnt,  had  not  a  good  Providence  placed  him  beyond 
the  grasp  of  persecution.  He  had  no  clerical  appointment  in  the  Church 
of  Rome.  He  was  a  Minister  of  God,  but  without  any  other  human 
ordination  than  the  commission  received  from  the  University  of  Wit- 
temberg  to  teach  theology.  To  the  Augustine  superiors,  and  to  the 
Romish  hierarchy,  he  no  longer  owed  obedience  ;  and  as  for  the  vow 
of  celibacy,  he  had  long  cast  it  off  as  unlawful.  He  therefore  married, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  (June,  1525,)  agreeably  to  the  spirit,  if  not 
also  fulfilling  the  letter,  of  the  word  of  God. 

VOL.     III.  P 


106  CHAPTER    II. 

At  that  time  the  peasant  war  was  raging.  This  has  heen  briefly 
noticed  on  a  preceding  page.  No  doubt,  many  good  men  were  accused 
of  participation  in  that  vast  insurrection  who  had  taken  no  part  in 
it ;  and  many  were  ill  treated  and  even  killed  by  the  boors  them- 
selves. A  few  instances  of  such  suffering  are  on  record  ;  *  and  if  the 
servants  of  God  had  not  been  signally  protected,  the  reformed  Minis- 
ters must  have  perished  in  the  strife.  Even  amidst  the  confusion 
of  civil  war,  the  cause  of  Christ  advanced.  His  enemies  had  little 
power,  but  that  little  they  employed.  The  Bohemian  Brethren  began 
to  hold  friendly  correspondence  with  Luther  ;  and  some  of  the  more 
enlightened  Calixtines  desired  ordination  at  Wittemberg.  Such  a 
union  was  never  effected  ;  and  a  Hussite  Priest,  Paul  Speratus,  who, 
with  others,  presented  articles  of  reformation  to  the  states  of  Bohemia 
and  Moravia,  at  Prague,  was  afterwards  burnt  at  Olmutz,  by  command 
of  the  Bishop.  This  notwithstanding,  the  court  of  Rome  feared  the 
spread  of  Lutheranism  into  Bohemia,  and  took  measures  accordingly. 
Gallus  Zahera,  Curate  of  the  Tein  church  in  Prague,  and  administra- 
tor of  the  Calixtine  Consistory,  had  visited  Luther  some  years  before, 
brought  some  of  his  writings  to  Prague,  and  obtained  the  reputation 
of  being  a  liberal  man.  But,  however  liberal,  he  did  not  live  under 
the  power  of  the  truth.  The  King  favoured  Popery  ;  and  therefore 
Zahera  and  some  other  Priests  found  it  expedient  to  do  the  same. 
Clement  VII.,  rejoiced  at  this  partial  declension  of  the  old  Hussite  zeal 
in  Bohemia,  sent  thither  an  Italian  courtier  in  the  quality  of  Legate, 
who,  on  his  arrival  at  Prague,  wrote  to  the  Consistory,  to  Zahera, 
and  to  other  influential  persons,  gently  expressing  a  desire  for  the 
reunion  of  the  two  Churches.  To  promote  the  Popish  reaction,  a  man 
of  similar  views  was  by  this  time  raised  to  the  chief  magistracy  at 
Prague,  and  the  Calixtine  Clergy  were  generally  awed  into  obedience, 
Zahera,  in  the  name  of  the  Consistory,  replied  to  the  Legate,  profess- 
ing a  cordial  desire  to  be  "  constantly  found  in  unity  of  faith,  and 
obedience  to  the  Apostolic  Chair,"  and  entreating  his  reverend  paternity 
to  promote  the  restoration  without  delay.  New  articles,  resembling 
the  compactates,  or  terms  of  agreement  that  had  been  accepted  by 
both  parties  some  years  before,  but  found  impracticable,  were  admitted 
by  the  servile  Consistory,  and  whoever  refused  to  subscribe  them  was 
driven  from  the  city.  Six  Clergymen  were  banished,  together  with 
sixty-five  principal  citizens. 

Banishment  did  not  satisfy  the  united  Papists  and  Calixtines.  A 
false  report  was  made,  that  the  evangelical  Hussites  had  conspired 
against  the  leaders  of  the  movement,  and  three  persons  were  put  to 
the  rack ;  but  there  was  no  conspiracy,  nor  could  the  torture  force 
them  to  confession.  The  masters  of  Prague  were  induced  to  enter 
into  an  agreement,  that  no  Picards,  as  their  pious  brethren  were 
called,  nor  any  Lutherans,  should  be  employed  in  workshops,  nor 
allowed  the  rights  of  citizenship.  Dishonest  debtors  accused  their 
creditors  of  Picardism,  and,  without  examination,  had  them  banished. 
A  cutler,  in  whose  possession  was  found  a  book  containing  evangelical 
doctrine,  was  scourged  in  the  market-place,  and  then  banished. 

*  By  CEcolampadius,  and  given  by  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  vii. 


BOHEMIAN    MARTYRS.  107 

Another  was  punished  in  the  same  manner,  and  also  branded  in  the 
forehead.  A  Diet  *  was  held  soon  after  the  meeting  of  the  Consis- 
tory ;  and  there,  by  the  influence  of  Zahera  and  his  party,  it  was  deter- 
mined, that  those  who  communicated  in  one  kind  or  in  both,  should 
be  considered  as  one  body,  and  that  the  late  edict  against  the  Picards 
should  be  enforced.  The  churches  wherein  this  decision  was  not 
received  were  closed,  and  divine  service  prohibited.  One  venerable 
man  who,  for  many  years,  had  preached  repentance  in  the  streets  and 
market-places  of  Prague,  known  as  "  the  hermit  Matthias,"  and 
followed  by  multitudes,  was  summoned  to  a  conference  with  Zahera, 
whom  he  told  that  men  were  not  to  be  brought  to  the  faith  of  Christ 
by  imprisonment,  scourging,  or  torture,  but  by  the  holy  Scriptures. 
Zahera  handed  him  over,  as  incorrigible,  to  the  Sheriff,  who  impri- 
soned him  for  a  considerable  time,  and  then  banished  him. 

Death,  as  usual,  followed,  when  lesser  penalties  availed  not  to  sup- 
press the  Gospel.  Nicholas  Wrzetenarz,  an  aged  and  learned  man, 
was  accused  of  Picardism,  and  brought  before  the  Senate.  Zahera 
questioned  him  respecting  "  the  sacrament  of  the  altar."  "  I  believe," 
he  affirmed,  "  that  which  the  Evangelists  and  St.  Paul  teach  me  to 
believe."  "  But  do  you  believe  that  Christ  is  really  present  in  his 
flesh  and  blood?"  "  I  believe  that  when  a  faithful  Minister  of  the 
divine  word  announces  to  a  believing  congregation  the  benefits  gained 
through  the  death  of  Christ,  then  the  bread  and  wine  become  the 
supper  of  the  Lord,  in  which  the  people  partake  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  and  the  blessings  wrought  out  by  his  death."  A  few 
more  such  answers  established  his  right  to  the  reproach  of  Christ,  and 
the  Senate  condemned  him  to  the  flames.  An  old  widow,  his  house- 
keeper, confessed  the  same  faith,  was  included  in  the  same  sentence, 
and  led  away,  with  him,  to  the  place  of  burning.  The  emblems 
of  cup  and  sword  might  be  a  sufficient  badge  for  mere  Calixtines, 
but  these  martyrs  went  to  the  stake  for  nothing  less  than  Christ. 
They  refused  to  pray  towards  the  east  before  a  crucifix,  because  the 
law  forbids  such  kind  of  worship,  and  said,  in  the  hearing  of  the 
bystanders  :  "  We  will  only  worship  the  living  God,  the  Lord  of  hea- 
ven and  earth,  who  is  alike  in  the  south,  west,  north,  and  east." 
Kneeling  with  their  backs  towards  the  crucifix,  they  raised  their 
eyes,  and  lifted  up  their  hands  towards  heaven,  and,  like  Stephen, 
invocated  the  Lord  Jesus.  Nicholas  then  took  leave  of  his  children, 
and  cheerfully  ascended  the  pile,  pronouncing  the  articles  of  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  Looking  steadfastly  upwards,  he  cried  aloud,  "  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  the  living  God,  born  of  a  pure  virgin,  who  hast 
vouchsafed  to  die  upon  the  cross  even  for  me,  a  vile  sinner,  thee  alone 
I  adore,  to  thee  I  commend  my  soul.  Have  mercy  upon  me,  and 
pardon  my  sins."  After  this  prayer  he  recited  the  Psalm,  "  In  thee, 
O  Lord,  do  I  put  my  trust :  let  me  never  be  put  to  confusion."  The 
executioner  brought  Clara,  his  old  servant,  tied  them  both  down  to 
a  stake,  laid  on  them  the  books  found  in  their  house,  and  set  fire  to 
the  pile. 

The  subject  of  the  next  recorded  execution  exhibits  heroism,  at 
*  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Lutheran.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  35. 

p  2 


108  CHAPTER    II. 

least,  if  not  piety.  A  woman,  named  Martha  Porzicz,  underwent 
examination  as  to  her  faith,  both  before  the  University  and  the  magis- 
tracy of  Prague.  Her  confession  of  faith  was  bold ;  and  she  fear- 
lessly charged  the  flatterers  of  the  Pope  with  folly.  Zahera,  first 
flatterer,  stung  by  the  reproaches  of  the  woman,  and  probably  retort- 
ing some  expression  of  hers,  bade  her  prepare  herself  for  a  robe 
of  fire.  "  My  cloak  and  my  veil,"  said  she,  "  are  ready  :  let  me  be 
led  thither  as  soon  as  you  please."  The  crier  published  her  alleged 
offence, — reviling  the  sacraments.  Her  voice  rose  higher  :  "  No  ;  I 
am  condemned  because  I  will  not  confess,  as  the  Priests  wish,  that 
Christ  is  present  in  the  sacraments,  in  his  bones,  hair,  sinews,  and 
nerves."  She  harangued  the  people  with  some  vehemence  on  the 
wickedness  of  Priests,  turned  her  back  on  the  crucifix,  looking  towards 
heaven,  and  exclaimed,  "  Thither,  where  our  God  is,  must  I  look," 
and  then  mounted  the  faggots  and  died  with  fortitude.  With  equal 
fortitude,  and  with  superior  piety,  two  German  mechanics,  accused 
of  Lutheranism,  and  condemned  to  be  burnt,  meekly  submitted  to  the 
sentence.  "  During  the  last  procession  they  conversed  out  of  the 
Scriptures  with  such  devout  feeling,  that  some  were  affected  to  tears. 
Being  bound  to  the  stake,  they  exceedingly  encouraged  each  other. 
'  Since  Jesus,'  said  one,  '  has  suffered  so  much  for  us,  we  will  endure 
this  death  ;  yea,  and  even  rejoice,  that  grace  has  been  given  us  to  suf- 
fer for  the  law  of  God.'  '  On  my  wedding-day,'  replied  the  other,  '  I 
did  not  feel  so  happy  as  I  do  now.'  When  fire  was  put  to  the  pile, 
they  prayed  with  a  loud  voice  :  '  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  thine  agony 
thou  didst  pray  for  thine  enemies.  Thus  we  pray  :  forgive  the  King, 
the  people  of  Prague,  and  the  Clergy ;  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do.  Their  hands  are  full  of  blood.'  Then,  turning  to  the  people, 
they  said,  '  O  dear  friends,  pray  for  your  King,  that  God  may  grant 
him  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  for  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  mis- 
lead him.'  At  the  conclusion  of  this  exhortation  they  peacefully 
expired." 

We  presume  not  to  attribute  to  the  judgment  of  God  everything, 
humiliating  or  painful,  that  befalls  a  persecutor;  and  therefore  many 
such  circumstances  are  omitted  in  the  composition  of  these  pages. 
Yet  it  is  impossible  to  shut  one's  eyes  against  an  accumulation 
of  extraordinary  facts,  that  every  believer  in  divine  providence  must 
think  to  be  retributive.  Such  facts  constrained  Lactantius,  in  his 
day,  to  affirm,  that  "  they  were  fallen  who  had  fought  against  God ; 
they  who  had  overthrown  his  holy  temple  were  crushed  with  greater 
ruin  ;  they  who  had  treated  righteous  men  with  scorn,  gave  up  their 
noxious  lives  under  heavenly  plagues,  and  deserved  torments."  *  And 
of  Zahera,  more  guilty  than  Nero,  it  may  be  affirmed,  in  the  language 
of  the  Christian  Cicero  :  Nee  tamen  abiit  impune,  "  He  did  not  escape 
unpunished."  Under  pretence  of  conducting  an  inquisitorial  perse- 
cution of  Picards,  he  had  been  exciting  political  disturbances,  and 
when  detected,  was  banished  by  a  royal  mandate  (August  9th,  1529). 
He  sought  refuge  in  Misnia,  but,  as  an  infamous  disturber  of  public 
peace,  was  banished  thence  again,  and  died  miserably  in  Franconia. 

*  "  De  Mortibus  Persecutorum." 


REFORMATION    OPPOSED    IN    POLAND.  109 

His  chief  assistant  in  shedding  innocent  blood,  the  very  Burgomaster 
Passek,  who  had  been  placed  over  the  magistracy  of  Prague  for  the 
sake  of  crushing  all  opposition  of  the  laity  to  Rome,  was  sent  into 
perpetual  exile,  and  spurned  from  the  feet  of  the  King,  whom,  as  well 
as  his  predecessor,  he  had  obeyed  in  despite  of  humanity  and  con- 
science. A  servile  underling,  one  Duchoslaw,  who  had  pandered  to 
Zahera,  raging  perpetually  against  the  Brethren,  and  saying,  that  he 
earnestly  desired  to  hang,  behead,  or  burn  all  the  Picards  with  his 
own  hands,  became  involved  in  debt,  and  hanged  himself  in  his  own 
house.  His  relatives  removed  the  body  secretly,  and  buried  it  in  a 
remote  part  of  the  country.  The  peasants  of  a  neighbouring  village 
found  the  grave,  and  dug  up  the  carcass,  which  was  then  judicially 
delivered  to  the  executioner,  and  burnt.  For  a  season,  the  people 
of  God  had  peace  ;  and  the  Reformation  of  Europe  came  to  unite  with 
and  strengthen  the  work  of  Huss,  and  the  yet  superior  work  of  the 
Bohemian  Brethren.  The  King,  Ferdinand  I.,  who  banished  Zahera 
and  Passek,  recalled  some  of  those  who  had  been  exiled  for  the  sake 
of  Christ  ;  not,  indeed,  under  the  influence  of  right  principle,  but  to 
try  an  experiment  of  milder  policy,  which  did  not  last.*  Partaking 
in  the  general  idea  that  the  Reformation  was  dangerous  to  govern- 
ments, he  had  issued  a  most  severe  edict  (August  20th,  1527)  from 
Buda,  against  Lutherans  and  Lutheran  books,  but  including  also 
every  shade  of  nonconformity.  It  was  framed  after  the  edict 
of  Worms,  and  contained  citations  of  the  worst  laws  that  persecutors 
had  ever  made  ;  f  and,  finding  no  other  means  of  suppressing  the 
Gospel,  he  tried  severity  again. 

Religious  innovation,  rather  than  evangelical  doctrine,  ran  high  at 
this  time  in  Poland.  The  affair  was  treated  politically.  Innovators 
were  put  down  in  Dantzic,  first  by  craft,  and  then  by  armed  force.  The 
King,  philosophically  liberal,  and  willing  to  encourage  attacks  on 
Romanism  elsewhere,  would  not  allow  a  schism  in  his  own  domi- 
nions ;  and  his  fear  that  schism  would  be  followed  by  revolution,  may 
not  have  been  unfounded.  J 

The  court  of  Rome,  unable  to  fight  its  own  battles  fairly,  besought 
every  friendly  or  subservient  power  to  use  the  sword  in  its  defence. 
Clement  exhorted  Charles  V.  to  unite  with  the  Kings  of  England  and 
France  for  the  destruction  of  the  new  heresy  ;  but  the  Emperor, 
after  entering  into  a  treaty  with  him,  of  which  one  article  was  an 
engagement  to  take  up  arms  "  against  all  disturbers  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  wrong-doers  towards  the  Pontiff,"  §  (A.D.  1526,)  turned 
these  very  arms  against  the  Pontiff  himself.  Clement  had  acted  with 
unpardonable  duplicity,  by  entering  into  a  secret  treaty  at  the  same  time 
with  Francis  ;  and,  to  his  terror,  the  Germans  entered  and  sacked  Rome, 
and  made  him  prisoner  (A.D.  1527).  During  fourteen  days  the  soldiery 
pillaged  the  city,  spoiled  the  churches  of  their  precious  ornaments 
and  treasures,  dressed  themselves  in  priestly  vestments,  in  derision 

*  The  Reformation  and  An ti- Reformation  in  Bohemia,  chap.  ii. 

1  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Lutheran.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  83. 

1   Krasinski,  Reformation  in  Poland,  part  ii.,  chap.  i. 

§   I'allavicini,  Hist.  Cone.  Trident.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  sdii.,  sect.  3. 


110  CHAPTER    II. 

of  the  Clergy  ;  in  mockery  proclaimed  Luther  Pope,  and  committed 
every  imaginable  excess.  Babylon  was  thus  visited  with  vengeance  :  but 
"  the  wicked,  who  are  God's  sword,"  in  their  turn,  soon  suffered  retri- 
bution ;  for  the  stench  of  unburied  bodies  caused  a  plague  that  carried 
off  the  greater  part  of  them.  Charles  barely  dissimulated  his  joy  on  find- 
ing the  Pope  his  prisoner,  and  bade  prayers  be  offered  in  the  churches 
for  his  liberation,  yet  kept  him  captive  in  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo 
for  seven  months.     It  seemed  that  he   might  have  made  Rome  the 
imperial  city,  dispersed  the  court,  annihilated  the  Papal  government, 
and  reformed  the  Church.     But  the  world  cannot  reform  the  Church ; 
and  an  imperial  headship  would  have  been  as  anti-Christian  as  the 
Papal.   God  had  determined  to  "  consume  that  Wicked  with  the  spirit 
of  his  mouth,  and  to  destroy  him  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming," 
in  an  advent  of  spiritual  truth  and  power.     Caesar  was  not  to  be  the 
saviour   of  Christendom.     So  the  Emperor,  actuated  by   a  crooked 
policy  that  neither  friend  nor  foe  could  understand,  surrendered  the 
grand  advantages  that  he  might  have  enjoyed  without  a  second  effort, 
took  sureties  and  hostages  of  the  Pope  for  the  fulfilment  of  certain  con- 
ditions of  liberty,  promised  to  allow  him  to  quit  St.  Angelo,  and  sent  his 
commands  to  the  eternal  city.     They  were  presented  by  his  Envoy, 
Pedro  Veira,  a  Spaniard,  in  a  letter  to  the   Roman  people,  before  a 
solemn  assemblage,  consisting  of  the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  the  Viceroy 
of  Naples,  and  other  personages.     The  contents  were  to  the  following 
effect.*     Charles  professed  regret  that  the  Pope  and  city  had  suffered 
hostile  aggression,  and  so  many  vexations  that  had  befallen  him,  the 
Cardinals  and  Prelates.     The  army,  he  affirmed,  (who  were  not  sent 
into  Italy  to  fight  against  the  Pope,)  had  perpetrated  those  enormities 
under  the  impulse  of  their  own  cupidity,  lawlessly,  and  without  his 
knowledge  or  consent ;  who  had  always  desired  to  show  the  Pontiff 
reverence  as  a  father,  and  veneration  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ.     His  first 
care,  therefore,  on  receiving  the  sad  intelligence,  had  been  to  command 
that  the  licentiousness  of  the  soldiery  should  be  repressed,  as  far  as 
possible,  and  its  pristine  dignity  restored  to  the  Apostolic  See,  both  in 
things  sacred  and  profane.     But,  as  he  desired  nothing  more  ardently 
than  peace  among  Christians,  an  expedition  against  the  Turks,  and  the 
solace  and  concord  of  the  Church,  to  which  nothing  appeared  likely 
to  be  so  conducive  as  a  General  Council,  it  should  be  first  of  all  deter- 
mined that  the  Pope  and  sacred  college  should  with  good  faith  and 
diligence  endeavour  to  establish  peace  with  Christians  ;  and,  especially, 
that  the  Church  might  again  flourish,  a  Council  should  be  convened 
in  due  and  lawful  manner,  in    a    suitable    place,    with    every    le»al 
observance,    and   as   soon    as    possible,  for    the   extirpation  of    the 
Lutheran  heresy.     Or,  at  least,  that  the  Pope  and  Cardinals  should 
use  every  effort  to  induce  Princes  to  be  at  peace,  in  order  that  such  a 
Council  might  be  congregated.  The  Pope,  with  his  Cardinals,  formally 
accepted  this  demand,  and  was  once  more  a  free  man,  except  that  he 
lay  under  the  necessity  of  convoking  a  Council,  yet  might  be  flattered 
in  the  hope  that  a  Council  would  subdue  the  heretics.     It  is  worthy 
of  remark,  that  he  had  so  little  confidence  in  Charles,  that  after  hav- 
*  Pallavicini,  Hist.  Cone.  Trident.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xiv.,  soct.  13,  14. 


GEORGE    WINKLER    AND    OTHERS    MURDERED.  Ill 

ing  ratified  the  compact,  he  would  not  trust  himself  to  the  imperial 
soldiers  to  be  conducted  from  the  castle  ;  but,  disguised  as  a  mer- 
chant, slunk  out  at  the  gate,  and  so  made  his  way  to  Civita  Vecchia.* 
Meanwhile,  there  was  little  extreme  persecution  in  Germany,  for  the 
friends  of  reformation  were  too  numerous  and  too  powerful  to  be 
assailed  openly.  Yet  its  enemies  failed  not  to  catch  at  any  pretext 
for  vexing  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  The  Senate  of  Lubeck,  an 
imperial  city,  imprisoned  John  of  Osnabruck,  for  no  other  offence  than 
that  of  preaching  to  the  citizens  at  their  earnest  request.  The  Elector 
of  Saxony  wrote  to  the  Senate  in  his  behalf ;  but  his  interference 
only  made  them  think  too  much  of  their  own  importance  :  they  jus- 
tified themselves  by  the  edict  of  Worms  ;  and  Luther  advised  the 
Elector  to  say  no  more,  lest  the  prisoner  should  fare  worse.  The 
Duke  of  Pomerania  imprisoned  another  preacher  whom  they  accused 
of  sedition  ;  but  the  accusation  was  disproved ;  and  again  the  Elector 
employed  his  good  offices,  but  with  what  success  the  narrator  does 
not  state.  In  the  village  of  Poniz,  a  good  man  was  seized  by  a  party 
of  soldiers  under  orders  of  the  chief  Magistrate,  for  having  presumed 
to  preach,  being  a  layman.  He  was  an  Architect,  named  George 
Drosdorff;  and  in  punishment  of  his  offence  in  proclaiming  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation,  they  took  him  to  the  neighbouring  town  of  Glau- 
chau,  tied  him  to  a  post,  cut  off  his  ears,  and  part  of  his  beard,  and 
banished  him  from  the  province  of  Duke  George. f  Duke  George 
figures  high  among  the  most  zealous  Papists  of  his  day.  Albert,  Arch- 
bishop of  Mentz,  would  gladly  have  put  down  the  Reformation  in  his 
province  ;  but  it  became  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  His  Canons,  however, 
ventured  on  a  deed,  (unless  universal  suspicion  was  unfounded,)  that 
we  must  believe  he  never  would  have  sanctioned.  Assembled  in  chapter 
at  Aschaffenburg,  they  summoned  George  Winkler,  a  Priest  of  emi- 
nence,J  to  answer  for  having  administered  the  eucharist  in  both  kinds 
at  Halle,  where  also  he  had  preached  evangelical  doctrine.  For  the 
former  offence  they  might  certainly  have  inflicted  censure,  at  least ; 
but  they  professed  to  accept  his  reasons,  dismissed  him  with  kind 
words,  and  gave  him  an  escort  on  leaving  the  place.  But  their  escort 
took  him  from  the  high  road,  and  murdered  him  in  a  wood  about  two 
miles  distant,  §  (A.D.  1527,)  without  ever  being  called  to  account. 
Partly  by  force  of  authority,  and  partly  by  appeal  to  popular  super- 
stition, a  similar  crime  was  perpetrated  in  Cologne.  Two  learned  men, 
Peter  Flisted  and  Adolphus  Clarenbach,  had  lain  in  prison  during 
more  than  eighteen  months,  for  having  dissented  from  the  Papists  as 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  mass,  and  some  other  points.  The  Senate  put 
them  into  prison  ;  and  it  remained  for  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne, 
using  a  prerogative  allowed  him  in  that  city,  to  give  or  take  away 
their  life.  The  Archbishop  might  think  it  hazardous,  in  such  times, 
to  kill  two  respectable  men  for  the  sake  of  religion,  and  therefore 
waited  to  do  by  craft  what  could  not  be  ventured  on  by  a  bare  effort 

*  Seckendorfii  Hist.   Lutheran.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  79  ;  Continuation  de  1'Histoire   de   M. 
L'Abbe  Fleury,  livre  cxxxi.,  1 — 36. 

t  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Lutheran.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  51. 

J  "  Bischoffriwerda  Misnicus." 

§  Gerdes.,  Hist.  Evaug.  Renovat.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  190. 


i!2  CHAPTER  ir. 

of  authority.  The  sweating  sickness  had  broken  out  in  Germany, 
and,  as  the  reader  will  remember,  spread  with  fearful  rapidity  over 
the  land,  suddenly  carrying  off  myriads ;  while  a  scarcity  of  corn  and 
wine  aggravated  the  calamity.  The  preachers  who  declaimed  against 
heresy,  affirmed,  that  pestilence,  famine,  and  the  sword,  had  fallen  on 
Germany  for  the  execution  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  could  only  be 
appeased  by  an  execution  of  the  wicked.  The  populace  of  Cologne 
were  persuaded,  that  the  death  of  those  two  prisoners  would  be 
acceptable  to  God ;  and  as  they  clamoured  for  the  sacrifice,  the  Arch- 
bishop seemed  only  to  second  the  popular  desire  by  having  them 
brought  forth  to  martyrdom.  As  they  walked  from  prison  to  the 
fatal  spot,  they  made  profession,  and  gave  the  reasons  of  their  faith 
in  a  loud  voice,  so  that  the  multitude  could  hear  ;  and  Adolphus, 
especially,  a  man  of  noble  bearing,  head-master  of  a  school,  learned 
and  eloquent,  drew  general  attention.  They  expired  peacefully,  and 
left  the  people  of  Cologne  half  suspecting  that  the  Priests  had  led 
them  to  cry  for  innocent  blood*  (A.D.  1529). 

Just  sixteen  days  after  this  martyrdom,  Charles  V.  issued  another 
proclamation,  (October  4th,  1529,)  addressed  to  all  his  faithful  sub- 
jects in  Brussels,  commanding  them  to  give  up  all  books  containing 
Lutheran  novelties,  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  liberty  or  life.  But 
that  all  might  know  that  he  had  no  desire  to  take  away  the  life  or 
property  of  others,  but  was  only  moved  by  mercy,  he  offered,  in  spe- 
cial grace,  the  space  of  one  wreek  for  consideration,  to  those  who  in 
private  or  public  had  thought  or  spoken  heretically  ;  by  which  time 
they  were  to  make  public  abjuration,  and  be  ceremonially  reconciled 
to  the  Church  within  another  fortnight. f 

During  the  interval  between  the  peasant  war  and  the  Diet  of 
Augsburg,  persecution  was  nowhere  more  severe  on  the  Continent, 
than  in  the  Netherlands.  In  the  Hague  a  Monk,  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  weary  of  dishonest  celibacy,  took  a  wife.  His  desertion 
from  monasticism  was  to  avoid  licentiousness,  not  restraint,  and  he 
avowed  and  preached  scriptural  doctrine.  They  threw  him  into  pri- 
son, and  there  employed  the  usual  arts  to  induce  him  to  recant,  but 
without  success.  The  President  at  his  trial  was  Joost  Lovering,  an 
ignorant  and  most  vulgar  man,  invested  with  the  twofold  dignity  of 
Inquisitor  and  Civil  Magistrate.  The  latter  office  he  degraded  by 
language  that  filled  the  hearers  with  disgust  and  horror  ;  but,  being 
armed  with  full  authority,  condemned  Backer  to  be  tied  to  a  stake, 
strangled,  and  then  burnt.  His  aged  father,  a  sexton,  lately  dis- 
charged from  his  place  for  being  the  father  of  a  Lutheran,  and  hor- 
rified at  the  ribaldry  of  the  Judge,  turning  to  his  son,  bade  him 
be  strong  and  persevere,  declaring  that  he  was  contented,  like  Abra- 
ham, to  offer  up  to  God  his  dearest  child,  who  never  had  offended 
him.  Next  day,  (September  15th,  1525,)  he  was  taken  to  a  scaffold, 
degraded,  and  dressed  up  ridiculously,  as  a  signal  to  the  multitude  that 

*  Sleidan,  History  of  the  Reformation,  book  vi. 

t  Gerdes.,  Hist.  Evang.  Renovat.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  65,  gives  the  original  edict,  from  an 
apparently  authentic  source.  Brandt,  vol.  i.,  book  2,  gives  one  ;  but  the  two  have  little 
resemblance  to  each  other. 


GNAPH^US.  113 

they  should  show  the  usual  signs  of  popular  derision.     But  he  was  no 
further  insulted.      Stopping  before  the  prison  where  he  had  so  con- 
stantly confessed  Christ,  and  where  several  others  were  imprisoned  on 
the  same  account,  he  raised  his  voice  to  its  highest  pitch,  and  thus 
addressed  them  :   "  Behold,  my  dear  brethren,  I  have  set  my  foot  on 
the  threshold  of  martyrdom.      Have  courage,  like  brave  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and,   stirred  up  by  my  example,  defend  the  truths  of 
God  against  all  unrighteousness."     The  imprisoned  brethren  listened 
to  the  familiar  voice,  and,  when  he  had  finished,  shouted  and  clapped 
their  hands.     Backer  proceeded,  and  they  were  heard  singing  eccle- 
siastical hymns,  such  as  the  Te  Deum,  and  others  in  honour  of  mar- 
tyrs ;  nor  did  they  cease  until  the  sound  of  the  returning  crowd  told 
them  that  he  had  given  up  the  ghost.     When  bound  to  the  stake,  he 
uttered  a  few  ejaculations  :   "  0  Death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?     0  Grave, 
where  is   thy  victory  ? — Death  is   swallowed  up  in  the  victory  of 
Christ ! — Lord  Jesus,  forgive  them,  they  know  not  what  they  do  ! — 
0  Son  of  God,  remember  me,  have  mercy  on  me!"     The  executioner 
then  stopped  his  breath.      Some  of  the  prisoners  were  released  after 
long  suffering,  and  others  were  put  to  death  ;  *  but  each  execution  only 
weakened  the  power  of  the  Inquisition,  and,  in  spite  of  edicts,  threat- 
eniugs,  and  violence,  field-preaching  and  meetings  for  prayer  increased 
more  and  more,  and  men  of  eminence  secretly  or  openly  promoted 
the  cause  of  truth.     One  who  suffered  imprisonment  with   Backer, 
afterwards  attained   deserved  eminence  by  his  writings.     This  was 
Gnaphseus.     After  two  months'  durance,  he  was  allowed  egress  from 
the  prison,  under  condition  of  not  leaving  the  Hague  for  two  years. 
He  made  no  effort  to  escape,  but  waited  upon  God  in  secret,  and 
appears  to  have  used  his  pen  for  the  defence  of  the  Gospel.     At  the 
expiration  of  the  term,  he  left  the  town,  being  discharged  under  a  promise 
to  appear  on  the  first  summons.     Ere  long,  some  one  found  that  he 
had  written  a  letter  of  consolation  to  a  poor  widow,  containing  evan- 
gelical sentences.     To  atone  for  that  misdemeanour,  they  summoned 
him.   He  appeared,  and  was  shut  up  in  a  monastery  for  three  months, 
to  do  penance  on  bread  and  beer.     Not  long  after  this  incident,  some 
one  printed  a  work  he  had  written,  on  occasion  of  the  persecutions  in 
the  Netherlands,  and  the  discontent  of  the  German  peasantry.     The 
book  produced  a  deep  impression,  much  aided  the  Reformation,  and 
provoked  the  Priests.      It  went  through  several  editions,  and  one  of 
its  printers  was  burnt  alive.      Gnaphreus  wisely  retreated  from   Hol- 
land ;  and  when  the  agents  of  the  Inquisition  entered  his  house,  to 
take  him,  he  could  not  be  found.   But  they  did  find  something.  They 
found  a  sausage  in  a  pot  of  pease  in  his  kitchen.      It  was  the  time  of 
Lent.  Could  there  be  a  clearer  proof  of  heresy  ?  The  servant,  probably, 
explained  that  it  was  there  for  the  sake  of  a  longing  woman  ;  and  the 
desires  of  such  persons,  even  though  exorbitant,  were  usually  treated 
with    liberal    consideration.      The   court    of  justice    was    convened. 
The  chief  Magistrates  of  the  Hague  were  thrown  into  perplexity,  and 
again   summoned  physicians   to    say  whether  it   were   possible   that, 

*  Bernhavd,  for  example,  was  burnt  at  Mechlin. — Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Lutli.,  torn,  ii., 
p.  35. 

VOL.    III.  Q, 


114  CHAPTER    II. 

during  Lent,  a  pregnant  woman  could  long  for  animal  food.  Two 
days  were  spent  in  disquisition,  the  Physicians  were  no  wiser  than  the 
Magistrates,  and  the  doubt  lay  still  unsolved ;  but  as  for  Gnaphrc-is, 
they  determined  that  he  should  be  taken,  alive  or  dead,  wherever 
he  could  be  met  with.  He  could  not  be  met  with,  but  some 
officers  of  justice  made  his  house  their  own,  as  long  as  anything 
to  eat  remained  in  it ;  and  the  Magistrates,  that  it  might  not 
be  said  they  had  effected  nothing,  took  his  mother,  an  ancient, 
feeble  woman,  and  threw  her  into  irons ;  and  his  only  sister  they 
imprisoned. 

The  woman-haters  of  the  Hague  consummated  their  infamy  by  the 
murder  of  a  widow  lady,  Wendelmoet  Klaas,  or  Klaasen,  of  Monickedam, 
(usually  called  Wendelmutha,)  known  and  beloved  for  every  Christian 
excellence.  Her  they  caused  to  be  imprisoned  in  a  castle  in  her 
neighbourhood,  and  then  brought  before  themselves.  Their  interro- 
gations drew  forth  an  undaunted  confession.  The  host,  she  told  them, 
was  but  a  piece  of  dough.  Saints  could  not  mediate  for  her,  but  only 
Jesus  Christ.  Threatened  with  torture,  she  calmly  answered,  "  If  this 
power  be  given  you  from  above,  I  am  prepared  to  suffer."  "  You  do 
not  fear  death,"  said  one,  "because  you  have  not  tasted  it."  Her 
Master  gave  her  the  ready  answer :  "  That  is  true,  neither  shall  I 
taste  it ;  for  Christ  has  said,  '  If  a  man  keep  my  sayings,  he  shall 
never  see  death.'  "  From  the  Magistrates  she  was  remanded  to  prison  ; 
and  ladies  with  whom  she  had  formerly  been  intimate,  were  sent  to  sub- 
due her  constancy,  if  possible.  A  noble  lady,  who  had  long  been  one 
of  her  most  valued  friends,  entreated  her  to  be  silent.  Silence,  not 
apostasy,  would  save  her  life,  and  she  could  still  cherish  the  love 
of  Christ  in  her  heart,  and  at  the  same  time  enjoy  life,  and  hidden 
communion  with  God.  "  Ah  !  my  sister,"  said  she,  "  you  know  not 
what  you  say.  '  With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness ; 
with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation?"  From  the  dun- 
geon she  was  taken  before  the  Senate,  a  yet  superior  court,  and 
heard  an  exhortation  to  be  converted,  and  retract  her  error.  Her 
reply  was  unsurpassed  in  dignity :  "I  cleave  to  the  Lord  my  God, 
whom  I  never  will  forsake  for  the  hope  of  life,  or  fear  of  death." 
Pluming  themselves  on  long-suffering,  in  protracting  her  conflict  for 
so  long  a  time,  they  gave  sentence  of  death,  with  confiscation  of  goods, 
and  the  favour  of  a  bag  of  gunpowder  to  put  her  quickly  out  of 
pain.  During  her  last  moments  she  was  rudely  assailed  by  a  Monk, 
who  would  have  laid  a  crucifix  on  her  lips,  that  she  might  kiss  it. 
Turning  away  from  the  idol,  she  said,  "  I  do  not  know  this  wooden 
Saviour,  but  Him  who  is  in  heaven,  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father  Almighty."  Would  she  confess?  he  asked.  Again  she 
refused.  "  I  have  confessed  all  my  sins  to  Christ  my  Lord,  who 
takes  all  sins  away.  If  I  have  offended  any  of  my  neighbours,  I 
humbly  ask  them  forgiveness."  With  a  cheerful  countenance  she 
placed  herself  against  the  stake  ;  and,  while  the  executioner  bound  her 
to  it,  bade  him  see  that  it  was  firmly  set.  Then,  clasping  the  bag 
of  powder  to  her  bosom,  she  closed  her  eyes,  and  meekly  drooped  h(-r 
head,  as  if  to  shun  the  vulgar  gaze,  and  fall  asleep.  The  flames  arose, 


"CONFERENCE  AGAINST  ZUINGLIVS."  115 

and  death  was  instantaneous*   (November  20th,  1527).     Edicts  for 
the    suppression    of   Lutheranism,    and   for  the  reformation    of   the 
Clergy,  succeeded  to  this  triumph  of  faith  over  a  dastard  bigotry,  and 
again  the  terror  of  a  burning  was  tried  to  save  tottering  priestcraft. 
Henry,  once  an  Augustine  Monk,  lay  in  prison  at  Tournay,  for  hav- 
ing, like  many  other  enlightened  brethren,  changed  Monkery  for  mar- 
riage, and  preached  the  Gospel.     Him  they  would  gladly  have  spared, 
could  they  have  persuaded  him  to  say,  that  the  woman  was  his  con- 
cubine.    For  a  Monk  to  live  in  concubinage,  was  rather  creditable 
than  otherwise,  in  the  estimation  of  many;f  and  for  Henry  to  have 
renounced  his  marriage  as  invalid,  would  have  been  more  than  enough 
to  placate  their  anger  at  his  Lutheranism.     But  he  refused  life  on 
such  dishonourable  terms,  and  was  burnt  alive  (A.D.  1528).    William 
Zwoll,  formerly  trumpeter  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  maintained  the 
cause  of  scriptural  truth,  in  argument  with  Ecclesiastics  in  Mechlin, 
who  closed  their  controversy  by  sending  him  to  the  stake  (A.D.  1529). 
Reform  in  Switzerland  became  yet  more  visibly  an  occasion  of  civil 
war.     As  a  Diet  was  held  at  Zurich,  or  at  Baden,  the  great  majority 
of  members  present  were  Zuinglian  or  Popish.     The  adverse  parties 
agreed  to  a  proposal   of  Eck,  already  known  as  an   antagonist   of 
Luther,  that  there  should  be  a  conference  of  theologians  on  disputed 
points ;  and,  in  pursuance  of  this  agreement,  and  by  the  management 
of  the  Papists,  the  place  of  conference  was  to  be  Baden,  where  their 
own  influence  was  paramount.    As  Eck  had  refused  to  go  to  Zurich,  so 
Zuinglius,  yielding  to  the  care  of  his  friends,  refused  to  trust  himself 
at  Baden,  where  fires  had  been  already  lighted ;  and,  instead  of  him, 
CEcolampadius  and  Haller  appeared  on  the  side  of  evangelical  doctrine. 
The  issue  of  the  conference  did  not  depend  on  the  skill  of  the  dis- 
putants.   Eck  moved  in  gorgeous  pomp,  and,  richly  robed,  ascended  a 
magnificent  pulpit,  where  he  held  forth  with  stentorian  vehemence, 
and  undisguised  arrogance,   surrounded  by  a  throng  of  Priests  and 
Monks,  who  each  morning  went  round  the  city  in  procession,  chant- 
ing a  litany,  to  implore  victory  for  him  over  the  innovators ;  while  the 
two  Zurichers  sat  on  a  wretched  platform,  with  no  array,  save  that 
of  humility  and  poverty,  scowled  on,  and  often  interrupted  by  the  audi- 
tory.    The  members  of  the  conference,  as  it  was  called,  acted  under 
the  authority  of  a  Diet  of  their  own  kind,  and  therefore  issued  a 
decree  affirmatory  of  Popish  articles  on  the  mass,  the  Virgin,  image- 
worship,  purgatory,  and   baptism  ;   forbidding  innovation  as  to  the 
sacraments  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  requiring  all  persons  to 
await  the  decisions  of  a  General  Council,  and  ordaining  that  persons 
should  be  appointed  in  every  canton  to  watch  for  innovators,  and 
report  them  to  the  Magistrates,  who  were  required  to  inflict  the  usual 
penalties  £   (May,  1526). 

*  Brandt,  Low  Countries,  book  ii. ;  Gerdes.,  Hist.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  62 ;  Foxe,  book  vii. 

t  Speaking  of  Switzerland,  Sleidan  says,  "  Nonmillis  in  ipsorum  pagis  hunc  ease 
raorem,  quum  novum  quempiam  Ecclesiae  ministrum  recipinnt,  ut  jubeant  eum  Labere 
concubinam,  ne  pudicitiam  alienam  tentet."  Similar  facts,  in  justification  of  the  state- 
ment in  the  text,  could  be  easily  adduced,  not  only  from  history  but  from  observation. 

t  Favre,  Continuation  tie  1'Histoire  de  Fleury,  cxxx.,  46,  "  Conference  it  Bade  coatre 
Zuiugle,"  et  47  j  D'Aubigne.  book  xi.  chap.  13  ;  Sleidan,  book  vi. 

Q   2 


116  CHAPTER    II. 

Well  might  the  French  annalist  call  this  "  a  conference  against 
Zuinglius."  But  one  week  before  it  assembled,  and  just  after  the  Papists 
had  asked  for  a  discussion,  that,  if  intended  to  answer  the  name, 
might  possibly  have  ended  in  agreement  on  some  points,  a  consistory, 
acting  under  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Constance,  condemned 
John  Huglein,  a  Priest  of  Lindau,  to  be  burnt  at  Mersburg.  Their 
language  was  perfect,  as  characterizing  the  spirit  of  the  sentence : 
"  We  condemn,  cast  out,  and  trample  under  foot,  this  man  that  is  a 
heretic."  Cast  out,  condemned,  and  all  but  trodden  under  foot,  he 
walked,  without  trembling,  to  the  fire,  singing  the  Te  Deum  as  he  went. 
Peter  Spengler  was  drowned  at  Friburg,  by  order  of  this  same  Bishop 
of  Constance.  But  a  few  months  before,  the  zealous  Prelate  had  sig- 
nalized his  power  of  invention,  by  hanging  another  Priest,  and  behead- 
ing a  peasant,*  thus  teaching  his  flock,  that  sword,  fire,  and  flood, 
were  his  chosen  weapons  wherewith  to  fight  against  God. 

The  imperial  edict  was  executed  in  Bavaria,  too.  One  George  Car- 
penter was  imprisoned  in  that  country  as  a  heretic,  and  appeared 
before  the  Council  to  receive  their  sentence.  According  to  the  articles 
brought  against  him,  he  had  denied  priestly  absolution,  trausubstan- 
tiation,  and  sacramental  grace  ;  nor  would  he  recant  anything.  Per- 
sons were  employed,  after  the  sentence  was  pronounced,  to  entreat 
him,  as  friends,  to  save  his  life  by  recantation.  Conrad  Scheter, 
Vicar  of  the  cathedral,  and  a  Schoolmaster,  were  so  employed.  After 
some  conversation,  Scheter  began  to  recite  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  a 
singular  extemporaneous  responsory  was  conducted  by  them  before 
the  Council. 

Scheter. — "  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven." 

Carpenter. — "  Truly  thou  art  our  Father,  and  no  other :  this  day 
I  hope  to  be  with  thee." 

S. — "  Hallowed  be  thy  name." 

C. — "0  my  God!  how  little  is  thy  name  hallowed  in  this 
world!" 

S. — "  Thy  kingdom  come." 

C. — "  Let  thy  kingdom  come  this  day  unto  me,  that  I,  also,  may 
come  unto  thy  kingdom." 

S. — "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven." 

C. — "For  this  cause,  0  Father!  am  I  now  here,  that  thy  will 
might  be  fulfilled,  not  mine." 

s- — "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  (They  interpret  this  to 
be  the  host.) 

C. — "  The  only  living  bread,  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  my  food." 

& — "  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  them  that  tres- 
pass against  us." 

V' — "  With  a  willing  mind  do  I  forgive  all  men,  both  my  friends 
and  adversaries." 

S' — "  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil." 
C* —  "  0  my  Lord !  without  doubt  thou  shalt  deliver  me ;  for  upon 
thee  only  have  I  laid  all  my  hope." 

Then  the  Vicar  proceeded  to  say  the  Creed. 

*  Gerdes.,  Hist.  Evang.  Renovat.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  308 


GEORGE    CARPENTER. LEONARD    KEYSER.  117 

S. — "  I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty." 

C. — "  0  God  !  in  thee  alone  do  T  trust,  in  thee  only  is  all  my  con- 
fidence, and  upon  no  other  creature,  albeit  they  have  gone  about  to 
force  me  otherwise."  (And  thus  they  continued  to  the  end.) 

Then  a  Schoolmaster,  who  had  already  talked  with  him,  resumed 
his  part. 

Schoolmaster. — "  Dost  thou  believe  so  truly  and  constantly  in  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  thy  heart,  as  thou  dost  cheerfully  seem  to  confess 
him  with  thy  mouth?" 

Carpenter. — "  It  were  a  very  hard  matter  for  me,  if  I,  who  am 
ready  here  to  suffer  death,  should  not  believe  that  with  my  heart, 
which  I  openly  profess  with  my  mouth ;  for  I  knew  before  that  I 
must  suffer  persecution,  if  I  would  cleave  unto  Christ,  who  saith, 
'  Where  thy  heart  is,  there  is  also  thy  treasure  ; '  and  whatsoever  thing 
a  man  doth  fix  in  his  heart,  to  love  above  God,  that  he  maketh  his 
idol." 

Scheter. — "  George,  dost  thou  think  it  necessary,  after  thy  death, 
that  any  man  should  pray  for  thee,  or  say  mass  for  thee?" 

Carpenter. — "  So  long  as  the  soul  is  joined  to  the  body,  pray  God 
for  me,  that  he  may  give  me  grace  and  patience,  with  all  humility,  to 
suffer  the  pains  of  death  with  a  true  Christian  faith  ;  but  when  the 
soul  is  separate  from  the  body,  then  have  I  no  more  need  of  your 
prayers." 

Who  does  not  admire  the  calm,  collected  spirit  of  this  man,  casting 
himself  on  the  Redeemer,  without  the  slightest  perturbation,  when  in 
the  jaws  of  a  cruel  death  ?  Execution  was  summary.  Out  of  his  own 
mouth  they  had  gathered  abundant  evidence,  that  his  faith  totally  dif- 
fered from  their  own.  A  hangman  bound  him  to  a  ladder,  where  he 
preached  to  the  people ;  and,  when  enwrapped  in  flames,  gave  a  sign, 
as  some  brethren  had  asked  him  to  do.  The  sign  was,  "  Jesus,  Jesus, 
Jesus  !"  Then  the  hangman  turned  his  half-consumed  body,  and  again 
he  breathed  forth  the  ever-blessed  name,  "Jesus!"*  (February  8th, 
1527.)  With  this  overflowing  charity  towards  the  barbarians  who 
condemned  him,  in  George  Carpenter,  we  may  now  contrast,  also,  the 
diabolical  conduct  exercised,  in  the  same  country,  and  within  the 
same  year,  towards  Leonard  Keyser.  There  was  a  Priest-ridden 
family,  in  a  village  near  Passau,  consisting  of  a  woman  and  her  sons. 
The  father  seems  to  have  had  no  part  in  the  treachery  that  the  Bishop 
incited  them  to  perpetrate.  Leonard  was  away  in  Wittemberg,  and 
had  embraced  the  Gospel :  the  mother  and  brothers  informed  against 
him,  and  were  instructed  by  the  Prelate  how  to  decoy  him  to  their 
clutches.  They  sent  to  say  that  his  father  was  near  death,  and  that  if 
he  wished  to  see  him  alive,  he  should  hasten  home.  He  was  sitting  in 
his  study  when  the  message  came,  and  instantly  obeyed  the  summons, 
setting  out  from  Saxony  to  Bavaria,  from  the  protection  of  the  pious 
Elector  to  the  territory  of  the  sanguinary  Duke  William.  Scarcely 
had  he  seated  himself  under  his  paternal  roof,  and  interchanged  the 
usual  salutations,  when  that  woman,  with  the  brothers,  seized  on 
Leonard  with  their  own  hands,  and  delivered  him  to  the  Bishop.  The 
*  Foxe,  Acts  and  Mouumenta,  book  vii. 


118  CHAPTER    II. 

tribunal  that  condemned  him.  consisted  of  the  Bishop  of  Passau,  the 
Suffragans  of  Passau  *  and  Ratisbon,  and  Eck,  who  came  attended  by 
a  strong  military  guard.  Some  relatives,  for  he  was  of  noble  family, 
endeavoured  to  get  the  trial  deferred,  in  hope  of  gaining  time.  John 
Frederic  of  Saxony,  and  other  Princes,  wrote  the  Bishop  on  his 
behalf,  while  he  lay  in  prison,  but  utterly  in  vain.  The  Duke  of 
Bavaria  commanded  the  civil  Judge  to  burn  him  forthwith,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  edict  of  Worms.  It  was  done.  With  prayer,  indicat- 
ing profound  humility,  and  reliance  on  the  Saviour,  he  cried,  "0 
Jesus,  I  am  thine,  save  me!"  and  gave  up  his  wounded  spirit. f  The 
atrocity  of  his  priestly  and  domestic  murderers  was  emulated  by  the 
brutal  executioner,  who  amused  himself  in  mangling  the  body,  that  it 
might  be  consumed  more  quickly  J  (August  16th,  1527).  » 

Meanwhile,  the  marks  of  divine  indignation  rested  on  the  Papacy 
itself,  as  a  single  paragraph  from  Fra  Paolo  (who  follows  Spondanus, 
and  has  the  attestation  of  the  Roman  Bullarium)  will  sufficiently 
prove.  "  In  Italy,  itself,  many  persons  favoured  the  new  reform. 
For,  having  been  two  years  without  Pope,  and  without  Roman  court, 
the  evils  they  had  suffered  were  regarded  as  the  execution  of  a  sen- 
tence of  divine  justice  against  that  government ;  and  sermons  were 
delivered  against  the  Roman  Church  in  private  houses  in  many  towns, 
and  especially  at  Faenza,  a  town  within  the  Papal  domain  ;  so  that 
every  day  the  number  of  Lutherans,  who  had  taken  the  name  of 
Evangelicals,  was  seen  to  increase  "§  (A.D.  1530). 

How  to  put  down  those  Evangelicals  was  the  problem.  The  Pope, 
above  all  others,  longed  for  their  destruction.  The  superior  Clergy 
dreaded  and  opposed  the  innovation.  Despotic  rulers  saw  that  political 
change  would  become  inevitable,  as  soon  as  ever  men  should  be  allowed 
freedom  of  conscience.  The  Reformation,  therefore,  might  have  been 
suppressed  by  their  united  hostility,  but  for  the  troubled  state  of  Europe, 
preventing  such  a  combination  of  forces  as  might  suffice  to  raise  a 
crusade,  or  rather  an  army,  which  they  would  think  strong  enough  to 
eradicate  the  evil  out  of  almost  every  European  state.  To  say  nothing 
of  other  disagreements,  the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  King  of  France 
were  at  war,  and  bitterly  hated  each  other.  The  Pope  could  not  unite 
the  "  Catholic  Princes,"  as  they  were  called,  to  fight  against  their 
own  subjects  for  "the  Church;"  and  all  Christendom  was  kept  in 
terror  by  the  Turks,  who  infested  the  east,  and  threatened  the  south, 
of  Europe.  At  the  first  Diet  of  Spire,  therefore,  (A.D.  1526,)  it  was  found 
expedient  to  yield  some  liberty  to  the  reformed,  who  were  allowed  to 
continue  their  new  mode  of  worship  until  a  General  Council  should 
be  assembled  ;  but,  after  the  humiliation  of  the  Pope  by  the  imperial 
army,  Charles  was  disposed  to  soothe  him  by  attacking  them ;  and  a 

*  The  Bishop  of  Passau  was,  in  reality,  an  Archbishop,  but  without  the  title,  which 
had  been  given  up  to  satisfy  the  jealousy  of  the  Archbishops  of  Salzburgh,  and  there- 
fore had  his  Suffragans. — Moreri. 

t  Luther,  we  must  observe,  sent  him  at  least  one  consolatory  letter,  and  was  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  circumstances  of  his  martyrdom.  "O  Lord  God,"  wrote  he,  "  would 
that  I  were  worthy,  or  might  yet  be  made  worthy,  of  such  a  confession,  and  of  such  a 
death!" — Seckendorf. ,  Hist.  Lutheran.,  pars  ii.,  p.  85. 

I  Foxe,  Acts  "and  Monuments,  book  vii. 

§   Hist,  du  Coucile  de  Trente,  traduite  par  le  Couruyer. 


THE    PROTEST    AT    SPIRE.  119 

succession  of  victories  had  given  him  so  much  power,  that  he  seriously 
thought  of  turning  his  strength  against  the  followers  of  Luther  and 
Zuinglius,  in  order  to  check  any  further  movement  that  might  encroach 
oa  the  imperial  power. 

A  second  Diet  assembled  at  Spire,  (March,  1529,)  presided  over 
by  his  brother  Ferdinand,  Archduke  of  Austria.  Ferdinand  used  his 
utmost  influence  to  intimidate  the  dissentient  States,  and  to  divide 
them  from  the  others.  The  assemblage  was  numerous,  and  the  mat- 
ter of  religion  first  occupied  attention.  But  one  of  the  first  acts 
of  the  Council  of  the  empire,  which  sat  before  the  Diet,  was  to 
exclude  the  Deputy  of  Strasburg  from  their  sessions,  because  that  city 
had  recently  set  aside  the  mass.  This  alarmed  the  other  cities,  who 
perceived  that  if  that  precedent  were  submitted  to,  any  of  the  free 
cities  might  be  degraded  in  a  day ;  but  Ferdinand  treated  their 
expostulation  with  contempt.  The  Diet  proceeded  in  the  same  spirit, 
and  the  majority  agreed  to  a  decree  to  the  following  effect : — That  as 
many  had  abused  the  edict  of  the  preceding  Diet  of  Spire  by  the 
introduction  of  new  and  horrid  doctrines,  it  was  enacted  and  decreed, 
that  those  who  had  hitherto  observed  the  edict  of  Worms  should 
continue  to  do  so,  and  enforce  its  observance  until  the  meeting  of  a 
Council.  Those  who  had  changed  their  religion,  and  could  not  now 
retract  without  danger  of  sedition,  should  abstain  from  any  further 
innovations  until  the  meeting  of  the  Council.  In  places  where  the 
new  doctrine  was  taught,  the  mass  should  not  be  abolished,  nor  peo- 
ple hindered  from  going  to  it.  The  Anabaptists  should  be  killed. 
Preachers  should  deliver  their  sermons  according  to  the  interpretation 
of  Scripture  approved  by  the  Church,  and  on  all  controverted  points 
be  silent,  until  the  Council  should  have  decreed.  All  the  States 
should  live  in  peace.  No  State  should  protect  refugees  from  another, 
under  penalty  of  being  put  under  the  ban  of  the  empire. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony,  Marquis  of  Brandenburg,  two  Dukes  of 
Luneburg,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  the  Count  of  Anhalt,  came 
together  into  the  Diet,  (April  19th,  1529,)  and  read  a  long  protest. 
They  considered  the  decree  of  the  former  Diet  as  still  binding.  They 
would  obey  the  Emperor  in  anything,  only  saving  conscience  ;  but  as 
their  eternal  salvation  was  concerned  in  this  matter,  they  must  be 
permitted  to  dissent.  They  conceived  that  every  State  had  the  right 
of  managing  its  internal  affairs,  without  the  interference  of  others. 
Truly,  there  were-  great  dissensions  concerning  religion  ;  but  it  had 
been  already  proved,  at  the  Diet  of  Nuremberg,  who  they  were 
that  caused  those  dissensions,  and  the  Pope  had  himself  confessed 
whence  dissension  sprang  ;  but  the  grievances  complained  of  by  that 
Diet  had  never  been  redressed.  They  could  not  submit  to  acknow- 
ledge their  perseverance  in  true  doctrine  to  be  the  consequence 
of  a  fear  of  sedition,  nor  yet  bind  themselves  to  make  no  further 
innovation ;  but  would  render  obedience,  first  of  all,  to  the  word 
of  God.  As  to  the  Popish  mass,  it  was  well  known  that  their  Minis- 
ters had  proved  it  to  be  absurd  and  idolatrous  ;  and  therefore,  it  being 
already  abolished  in  their  dominions,  they  could  not  allow  it  to  be 
restored.  They  could  not  submit  to  any  interference  with  their 


120  CHAPTER    IT. 

internal  jurisdiction,  contrary  to  the  constitution  of  the  empire;  ami 
as  to  doctrine  approved  by  the  Church,  it  was  not  yet  agreed  which 
was  the  true  Church.  They  would  therefore  abide  by  the  infallible 
decisions  of  holy  Scripture,  and  reject  the  traditions  of  men.  They 
pointed  out  that  the  execution  of  the  edict  of  Worms  would  be  vexa- 
tious, unjust,  and  ruinous  to  all  Germany.  Finally,  they  refused  to 
obey  the  decree ;  but  promised  to  act  legally  in  every  respect,  and,  in 
due  time,  to  give  their  reasons  to  the  Emperor.  They  awaited  a 
General  Council,  or  a  Provincial  Council  in  Germany. 

Several  free  cities  *  immediately  added  their  subscriptions  to  this 
protest ;  and  from  the  protesting  States  and  cities  of  Germany,  the 
professors  of  evangelical  religion  were,  at  least  in  that  country,  called 
PROTESTANTS. f 

Deputies  were  then  sent  to  the  Emperor  with  a  copy  of  the  pro- 
test, a  copy  of  the  "  hundred  grievances,"  and  other  documents,  with 
instructions  to  lay  the  whole  case  before  him,  and  appeal.  They 
found  him  in  Italy,  at  Piacenza,  and  obtained  an  audience,  (Septem- 
ber 12th,  1529,)  but  under  an  injunction  to  speak  briefly.  Charles 
received  them  with  extreme  haughtiness  and  contempt,  dismissed 
them  without  any  hope  of  success  ;  and  they,  after  waiting  a  month, 
obtained  his  answer,  severely  condemnatory  of  the  protest,  command- 
ing the  States  Protestant  to  obey  the  last  decree  of  Spire  until  the 
assemblage  of  a  Council,  and  threatening  to  compel  them,  if  contuma- 
cious ;  but  saying  that,  if  the  edict  of  Worms  were  observed, — that 
is,  if  evangelical  religion  were  annihilated, — there  would  be  no  need 
for  a  General  Council!  Against  this  imperious  reply  ihe  Deputies 
appealed ;  but  Charles  put  them  under  arrest,  and  forbade  them  to 
send  any  communication  to  the  States. J  However,  they  fulfilled 
their  duty  by  sending  a  letter  secretly,  which  aroused  the  States 
to  concert  some  measure  of  mutual  defence.  The  Deputies  were  at 
last  released  from  their  confinement,  and  allowed  to  return,  one 
excepted,  who  was  compelled  to  go  in  the  train  of  the  Emperor  to 
Bologna,  where  he  held  a  long  conference  with  Clement  VII.  as  to 
the  best  means  of  making  peace  with  France,  driving  the  Turks  out 
of  Europe,  and  quelling  the  force  of  Protestantism.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  Protestants  were  now  united  in  a  preparatory  conference  at 
Smalcald,  to  resist  the  execution  of  the  edicts  of  Worms  and  Spire ; 
and,  on  the  other,  the  Emperor  regarded  their  combination  as  a 
revolt,  and  determined  to  put  it  down  by  force  of  arms.  Providen- 
tially, the  sacramentarian  controversy  between  Lutherans  and  Zuing- 
lians  retarded  their  union,  and  prevented  the  advocates  of  religious  and 
ecclesiastical  reform  from  placing  it  altogether  on  a  political  basis  by 
one  unbroken  combination.  They  were  afterwards  compelled,  how- 

*  There  were  fourteen  cities,  most  of  them  of  little  political  power,  not  being  of  the 
first  order,  that  honourably  ventured  to  protest :  Strasburg,  Nuremburg,  Ulm,  Con- 
stance, Reutlingen,  Windsheim,  Memmingen,  Liudau,  Kempten,  Hailbrun,  Isny,  Weis- 
semburg,  Nordlingen,  St.  Gal. 

t  Sleidan,  History  of  the  Reformation,  book  vi. ;  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Luth  torn,  ii., 
pp.  127— 131. 

t  Perhaps  the  conduct  of  the  Emperor  may  be  capable  of  palliation.  It  had  been 
thought  well  to  send  persons  of  no  rauk,  who  might  travel  less  conspicuously,  and  with 
less  danger.  The  men  were  nut  respectable,  and  couduiteJ  themselves  foolishly. 


CONFESSION    OF    AUGSBURG.  121 

ever,  to  resist  a  manifest  oppression,  yet,  when  placed  in  such  a  position, 
were  in  the  utmost  danger  of  losing  religion  in  politics,  and  grieving  the 
Spirit  of  God.  Luther  foresaw  this,  and  dreaded  and  advised  against 
the  league,  although  it  was  lawful,  constitutional,  justified  by  many 
precedents,  and  to  the  aggrieved  Electors  and  Princes  appeared  to  be 
necessary,  not  only  to  resist  religious  intolerance,  but  also  to  pre- 
vent an  utter  subversion  of  the  liberties  of  Germany.*  Luther 
objected,  too,  to  any  union  with  the  Zuinglians,  whom  he  believed  to 
be  in  error  in  their  doctrine  of  the  eucharist,  which  was  indeed  far 
superior  to  his  own ;  and  although  induced  by  the  mediation  of  the 
Landgrave  of  Hesse  to  meet  Zuinglius  at  Marburg,  the  controversy 
could  not  be  settled.  The  most  important  event  now  to  be  noticed, 
is  the  presentation  of  a  Protestant  Confession  of  Faith  at  Augsburg. 

The  Emperor  convoked  a  Diet  of  the  empire  to  be  assembled  at 
Augsburg  in  Bavaria,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1530,  to  settle  the  religious 
disputes,  and  to  unite  for  the  conquest  of  the  Turks.  After  sum- 
moning the  Diet,  he  received  the  imperial  crown  from  the  hands 
of  Clement  at  Bologna,  having  knelt  at  the  altar  in  the  habit  of  a 
Deacon,  and  sworn  to  defend  the  Church  of  Rome  with  all  his  might. 
Influenced,  however,  by  the  wiser  counsels  of  Gattinara,  his  Chancellor, 
or  under  an  impulse  of  artful  policy,  he  promised  in  the  letter 
of  indiction,  and  afterwards  repeated  the  assurance  when  the  day 
of  meeting  was  deferred,  that  the  cause  of  religion  should  be  treated 
with  charity,  gentleness,  and  meekness,  in  order  that  whatever  had  been 
hastily  done  by  either  party  might  be  abolished,  and  that,  as  all  were 
fighting  under  one  Christ,  unity  of  the  Church  and  of  religion  might 
be  established.  But  his  vow  to  the  Pope,  and  promise  to  the  Ger- 
mans, could  not  by  any  possibility  agree.  At  last  he  appeared  at  the 
gates  of  Augsburg,  (June  15th,  1530,)  and  found  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  first  of  all  the  German  Princes,  ready  to  receive  him  with 
accustomed  honours.  But  there  were  now  two  established  forms 
of  worship, — that  of  Popery,  and  another  of  the  Reformation.  The 
Protestant  Princes  had  their  Chaplains  and  preachers,  and  cautiously 
abstained  from  countenancing  the  old  superstition ;  while  Charles 
required  them,  and  especially  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  to  attend  him  in 
processions  and  at  masses.  This  at  last  they  consented  to  do  ;  but  with- 
held every  gesture  of  assent  to  the  worship  of  the  image  or  the  host. 
He  also  managed  to  silence  their  preachers,  by  suppressing  sermons 
altogether.  The  Priests  tampered  with  the  gentleness  of  Melancthon, 
who  had  been  employed  to  draw  up  and  present  a  Protestant  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  and  sought  every  artifice  that  could  be  covered  under 
smiles,  or  insinuated  in  threatening  whispers,  to  decoy  the  Protestant 
Princes  into  a  compromise,  elude  the  public  reading  of  the  Confessien, 
quash  discussion  as  to  religion,  and  carry  every  measure  by  an  array 
of  secular  authority.  If  Melancthon  had  stood  alone,  he  might  have 
failed.  Luther  was  at  Coburg,  not  always  in  possession  of  the  latest 
or  most  complete  intelligence,  and  his  presence  at  Augsburg  might 

*  Basnage  (Hist,  de  la  Rel.  des  Eglises  Reformees,  torn,  ii.,  chap.  17)  demonstrates 
that  the  league  of  Smalcald  was  perfectly  legal,  the  Electors  and  Princes  being  inde- 
pendent, although  confederated,  Sovereigns. 
\OL.    III.  R 


122  CHAPTER    IT. 

have  been  misinterpreted  as  a  defiance.  But  John  of  Saxony  and 
Philip  of  Hesse  led  the  federated  Protestants,  and  would  not  consent 
that,  having  come  thither  for  deliberation  on  the  state  of  religion  in 
Germany,  the  force  of  their  Confession  should  be  eluded  by  its  exclu- 
sion from  the  open  Diet,  to  be  buried  in  some  private  committee. 
Neither  would  the  Princes  in  general  agree  to  a  proposal,  that  war 
with  the  Turks  should  be  discussed  first,  leaving  religion  to  follow  as 
a  secondary  matter. 

The  Confession  was  drawn  up  with  exceeding  caution.  Every 
expression  that  might  irritate  was  avoided ;  but  it  contained  all  the 
essential  articles  of  Christian  faith.  Occupying  two  hours  in  the 
reading,  it  is  too  long  to  be  compendiated  here ;  but  although  long, 
it  commanded  fixed  attention,  as  one  of  the  Elector's  Chancellors  read 
it  in  German ;  so  that  all,  except  the  Emperor,  (a  Spaniard,)  could 
understand,  and  the  united  sovereignty  of  Germany  thus  heard  the 
faith  that  had  been  represented  as  a  scheme  of  sedition  and  impiety  ; 
and  many  of  them  could  not  but  acknowledge  their  amazement,  that 
so  pure  and  lovely  a  doctrine  should  have  been  so  grossly  misrepre- 
sented. A  copy  in  Latin  was  handed  to  the  Emperor,  and  another 
in  German  to  his  Secretary.  The  document  still  remains  a  symbolical 
book  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  To  counteract  the  favourable  impres- 
sion produced  on  the  Diet  by  its  reading,  the  Legate,  who  had 
absented  himself,  lest  his  presence  should  give  legality  to  the  novel  act 
of  men  answering  for  themselves,  procured  an  attempted  refutation. 
This  was  read,  more  than  half  despised,  and  a  copy  of  it  refused  to 
the  Protestants.  During  five  or  six  weeks  that  were  spent  in  prepar- 
ing the  so-called  refutation,  the  Protestants  were  kept  in  continual 
suspense,  and  subjected  to  a  wearisome  alternation  of  threatenings 
and  smiles,  the  means  advised  by  the  Legate  for  overpowering  their 
firmness.  But  as  they  stood  unmoved,  the  Popish  majority,  in  sub- 
servience to  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  finally  agreed  to  the  following 
decision,  which  was  read  to  the  Protestants  (September  22d,  1530) 
in  public  session: — The  Emperor  granted  them  time  until  the  15th 
of  April  following,  to  declare  whether  they  would  consent  to  all 
the  articles  of  Catholic  doctrine,  in  common  with  the  Princes  and 
other  members  of  the  empire,  who,  after  a  diligent  reading  and  exa- 
mination, had  unanimously  rejected  their  Confession,  and  approved 
the  refutation  ;  and  whether  they  would  renounce  the  articles  in 
which  they  differed,  and  surrender  other  points  of  novelty  that  had 
come  out  in  recent  conferences.  Meanwhile,  they  were  forbidden  to 
commit  any  further  innovations,  or  allow  anything  to  be  printed 
within  their  territories  contrary  to  the  faith  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Neither  were  they  to  make  any  converts  to  their  sect,  nor 
to  hinder  any  Catholics  from  returning  to  their  old  worship,  nor  to 
prevent  Priests  and  Monks  from  saying  mass  again.  They  were  to 
unite  with  all  the  other  Princes,  with  all  their  powers,  to  exterminate 
Anabaptists  and  Sacramentarians  (Zuinglians)  from  the  empire. 
After  all  this,  the  Diet  promised  that  the  Pope  should  be  requested  to 
convoke  a  Council  within  eighteen  months.*  The  Protestants  declined 
*  Maimbourg  apud  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Luth.,  pats  ii.,  p.  199. 


ENGLAND.  123 

accepting  time  for  further  consideration,  attempted,  in  reply,  to  rebut 
the  implied  charge  of  complicity  with  sectarians  and  rebels,  and  once 
more  offered  to  defend  their  cause.  They  also  presented  to  the  Empe- 
ror a  written  apology  for  their  Confession,  which  he  would  not  so 
much  as  look  at,  but  gave  it  back  to  the  speaker,  and  told  them  he 
would  change  nothing,  but,  if  they  were  not  content  with  that,  would 
give  them  something  stronger  still;  and  threatened  the  Elector  of  Saxony 
to  withhold  the  imperial  investiture  of  that  State,  and  thus  have  him 
expelled  from  the  dukedom  as  devoid  of  right  to  govern.  He  even  com- 
manded them  to  return  the  landed  property,  now  occupied  by  them, 
to  the  Church,  arid  restore  everything  to  its  original  condition.  Well 
might  Luther  exclaim,  on  hearing  of  this,  "  Then  let  them  restore 
Leonard  Keyser  to  his  original  condition  ! "  Notwithstanding  this 
unreasonable  treatment,  the  Emperor  required  them  to  make  full  con- 
tribution towards  a  war  with  the  Turks.  This  they  declined  to  do, 
and,  having  presented  themselves  with  the  usual  courtesies  to  the 
Emperor,  withdrew  from  Augsburg.  The  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  appre- 
hensive of  some  plot,  had  left  privately  a  few  days  before.  There 
will  be  no  further  colloquies.  The  German  Protestants  are  now 
driven  to  God,  their  only  refuge.* 


CHAPTER  III. 

ENGLAND  and  SCOTLAND — Latter  Part  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  VII. — First  Acts  of 
Henry  VIII. — Suppression  of  Monasteries — Marriage  Affair — Persecution  in 
England  and  Scotland — Breach  with  Rome — Confiscation  of  Church  Property — 
Advances  of  Evangelical  Reformation — Death  of  Henry  VIII. 

WHILE  German  states  and  Swiss  cantons  were  framing  new  sys- 
tems of  discipline  and  forms  of  worship  ;  while  Electors,  Landgraves, 
and  Councils  of  state  were  casting  their  weight  into  the  scale  against 
the  court  of  Rome  and  its  Clergy  ;  the  United  Brethren  of  Bohemia 
and  Moravia,  in  some  provinces  of  continental  Europe,  and  the  Lol- 
lards of  England,  were  laying  a  surer  foundation  for  the  superstructure 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  they  did  by  persevering  in  the  doc- 
trine of  holy  Scripture,  under  the  healthful  discipline  of  persecution. 
In  traversing  the  dark  ages,  it  was  convenient,  according  to  a  more 
usual  division  of  time,  to  mark  our  survey  by  centuries.  With  the 
events  related  in  the  last  chapter,  we  have  begun  to  prefer  the  distinct 
phases  of  history  itself,  and  have  attended  the  progress  of  Reforma- 
tion, from  the  rise  of  Luther  to  the  presentation  of  the  Protestant 
Confession  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg.  Returning  to  England,  we  now 
find  the  witnesses  of  evangelical  truth  persevering,  amidst  severe  per- 
secution, at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VII.,  and  making  way  for  the  great  change  that  was  to  be  accelerated 
by  his  successor.  The  last  nine  or  ten  years  of  Henry  VII.,  and  the 
entire  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  will  next  pass  under  review ;  and  this 
chapter  will  be  entirely  devoted  to  the  affairs  of  our  own  country. 

*  Sleidan,  History  of  the  Reformation,  book  vii. ;  Seckendorf.,  Hist.  Lutheran.,  torn, 
ii.,  pp.  152—208. 

R    2 


124  CHAPTER    III. 

"Observable,"  says  Fuller,  "was  the  carriage  of  King  Henry 
(VII.)  towards  the  Pope,  the  Clergy,  and  the  poor  Lollards.  Sub- 
missive, yet  not  servile,  to  the  Pope ;  to  the  better  sort  of  Clergy, 
respectful  and  liberal;  to  the  dissolute  Priests,  severe;  to  the 
Lollards,  more  cruel  than  his  predecessors."  This  is  perfectly  true. 
Abjurations  had  become  very  frequent,  although  the  forced  penitents 
often  relapsed ;  and  the  sight  of  persons  carrying  faggots  in  proces- 
sions, or  standing  with  them  in  the  congregation  at  St.  Paul's,  especi- 
ally during  Lent,  was  no  longer  strange.  Thirteen  Lollards  were 
once  marched  through  London  in  this  manner ;  and  often  were  such 
penitents  compelled  to  bring  their  books  and  throw  them  into  fires  at 
Paul's  Cross  and  other  public  places.  The  King  of  England,  like  the 
"  Catholic"  Kings  of  Spain,  was  ambitious  to  minister  at  the  fiery  altars 
of  Romanism.  Being  at  Canterbury,  (May,  1498,)  when  "all  the 
Clerks  and  Doctors  then  there  being"  were  hot  in  controversy  with  a 
Priest,  whom  they  could  not  move  from  his  faith,  Henry  VII.  conde- 
scended to  add  his  royal  influence  to  their  arguments.  The  Priest 
was  brought  into  his  presence,  heard  his  persuasions,  or  arguments, 
or  threatenings,  and,  in  honour  to  the  sovereign  advocate,  was  said  to 
have  revoked  his  confession  of  the  Gospel.  But  this  is  not  likely ; 
for  the  King  sent  him  forthwith  to  the  flames.  The  name  of  this  Priest 
is  not  known  ;  nor  is  that  of  an  old  man  burnt  in  Smithfield.  A  man, 
named  Babram,  was  also  martyred  somewhere  in  Norfolk  (A.D.  1500).* 
We  read,  incidentally,  of  Richard  Smart,  a  devoted  teacher  and  circu- 
lator of  good  books  at  Salisbury,  who  was  burnt  in  that  city,  (A.D. 
1503,)  and  cannot  but  suppose  that  many,  in  those  times,  gave  up 
their  life  for  Christ,  whose  names  are  irrecoverably  lost.  But  such 
deeds  of  cruelty  alienated  the  laity  of  England  from  the  Clergy  more 
and  more  ;  and  contempt  of  image-worship  and  the  host,  with  a  desire 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  word  of  God,  was  inwrought  into  the 
public  mind.  In  country,  as  in  town,  persons  met  together  to  read, 
converse,  and  pray ;  and  when  it  was  known  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible  had  gained  acceptance  in  any  neighbourhood,  the  more  zealous 
took  new  courage,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  the  traditional  idola- 
try, and  exhort  its  adherents  to  cast  it  off.  Sometimes  their  zeal 
would  lead  to  aggression  on  the  old  system,  sometimes  to  holier 
efforts  for  the  spread  of  Gospel  truth  ;  and,  as  love  of  Christ  or 
desire  of  innovation  predominated  in  those  who  became  exposed  to 
persecution,  impatience  and  cowardice,  or  a  firm  and  saintly  meekness, 
would  be  displayed  by  them  when  suffering. 

William  Smith,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  found  that  a  great  part  of  his 
flock  were  disaffected  to  Popery,  and  applied  himself  to  the  expurga- 
tion of  his  fold.  His  residence  was  at  Woburn,  in  Buckingham- 
shire; and,  of  all  places  in  England,  perhaps  Amersham,  in  that 
county,  had  most  freely  welcomed  the  word  of  God.  The  sacred 
volume,  copied  by  industrious  hands, — for  it  had  not  yet  been  pub- 
lished from  the  English  press, — was  concealed  in  many  houses,  and 
read  in  nocturnal  meetings,  by  numerous  companies ;  or,  when  the 
door  was  shut,  by  individual  inquirers,  who  sought  clearer  light  in 

*  Fuller,  Ecclesiastical  History,  book  iv.,  cent.  15  ;  Foxe,  book  vi. 


THE    MARTYRS    OF    AMERSHAM.  125 

prayer  to  God,  who  seeth  in  secret.  At  last,  the  multitude  of  such 
persons  rendered  secrecy  impossible ;  and  Smith  proceeded  according 
to  the  laws,  and  had  one  William  Tylesworth  convicted  of  heresy. 
The  good  man  was  led  out  of  the  town  into  a  place  called  Stanley- 
Close,  and  bound  to  a  stake.  About  sixty  Lollards,  men  and  women, 
who  had  also  been  convicted  and  forced  to  abjure,  were  conducted  to 
the  same  spot,  each  carrying  a  faggot,  and  ranged  around  him. 
Among  them  were  his  daughter,  Joan,  and  John  Clerk,  her  husband, 
brought  thither  to  witness  the  martyrdom  of  their  father,  and  be 
rebuked  by  his  superior  constancy.  To  refine  this  cruelty  yet  higher, 
the  young  woman  was  compelled  to  take  a  brand,  light  the  faggots, 
and  stand  by  while  her  father  was  consumed  by  the  fire  her  own 
hand  had  kindled.  The  suttee  being  ended,  Joan  Clerk  and  her 
husband,  with  twenty-four  others,  were  made  to  travel  over  the 
country,  and  at  Aylesbury,  Buckingham,  and  other  towns,  and  some 
of  them  even  at  Lincoln,  be  exhibited  in  the  sordid  garb  of  penance, 
with  faggots  on  their  necks,  by  way  of  warning  to  concealed  heretics. 
Having  performed  this  humiliating  pilgrimage,  they  were  brought 
back  to  Amersham,  tied  to  posts,  towels  bound  round  their  necks, 
their  hands  held,  and  their  cheeks  branded  with  red-hot  irons, — 
branding  *  being  probably  introduced  into  England  now,  for  the  first 
time,  as  an  ecclesiastical  penalty, — and  made  to  wear  a  piece  of  red 
cloth,  like  a  faggot,  on  their  sleeves.  One  of  the  number,  Robert 
Bartlett,  being  proprietor  of  some  land,  was  sent  to  the  monastery 
of  Ashridge,  and  kept  in  durance  for  seven  years ;  while  his  perse- 
cutors enjoyed  the  revenue  of  his  estate.  On  the  same  day  as  the 
"act  of  faith"  at  Amersham,  or  the  day  after,  father  Eoberts,  a  miller 
of  Missenden,  was  burnt  at  Buckingham.  About  twenty  faggot- 
bearers  were  brought  to  add  effect  to  the  execution.  But  the  unsated 
vengeance  of  the  Bishop  was  indulged  in  the  secret,  and  unhappily  not 
unexampled,  murder  of  one  of  the  Amersham  penitents.  Thomas  Chase, 
wearing  the  badge  of  a  faggot,  was  brought  to  the  Episcopal  palace  at 
Woburn,  and  thrust  into  one  of  the  vaults  or  dungeons  usually  built 
under  those  edifices.  To  stand  upright  was  impossible,  and  he  sate  on 
the  damp  ground,  heavily  laden  with  chains,  manacles,  and  fetters, 
and  tormented  with  hunger,  thirst,  and  cold.  Frequently  the  Bishop's 
Chaplains  amused  themselves  by  looking  into  the  place,  and  assailing 
him  with  scoffs  and  taunts ;  but,  seeing  that  no  torture  could  over- 
come his  faithfulness  to  Christ,  they,  or  some  other  ruffians,  beat  him 
to  death  in  the  night.  His  body  was  buried  out  of  sight :  women 
who  had  heard  his  cries  divulged  the  murder ;  but  no  judicial  inves- 
tigation anticipated  the  severer  vengeance  that  Smith  and  his  creatures 
might  expect  at  the  bar  of  God  (A.D.  1506). 

Two  or  three  years  after  this  persecution,  Amersham  was  again 
visited.  Thomas  Barnard,  a  husbandman,  and  James  Morden,  a 
labourer,  were  burnt  in  the  same  fire  ;  and  two  old  men,  Rogers  and 
Reive,  were  branded,  with  thirty  others.  Reive  ended  his  earthly 
career  at  the  stake.  Rogers  was  taken  to  Woburn  palace,  for  the 


*  The 

ami  be  b 


import  of  this  punishment  was  fully  expressed  in  a  vulgar  adage  :  "  Put  it  off 
umed;  keep  it  on  and  be  starved.'' — Fuller,  7  Henry  VIII. 


126  CHAPTER    III. 

gratification  of  the  Bishop ;  and,  after  being  bowed  in  irons,  in,  pro- 
bably, the  same  dungeon  as  Thomas  Chase, — called  "little  ease," 
because  no  one  could  stand  upright  in  it, — for  fourteen  weeks,  his 
sufferings  being  cruelly  aggravated  with  cold  and  hunger,  he  was 
discharged,  but  could  never  after  walk  erect. 

The  Bishop  of  Norwich,  emulating  the  zeal  of  his  brother  of  Lin- 
coln, burnt  a  Lollard,  named  Thomas  Norris,  at  Norwich,  on  the  last 
day  of  March,  1507.  Wherever  there  was  even  one  person  burnt, 
there  were,  usually,  many  forced  to  abjure;  and  it  may  therefore  be 
taken  for  granted,  that  there  would  be  many  such  in  Norfolk,  in  the 
year  marked  as  that  of  the  great  abjuration.  There  were  a  few  in 
London,  where  the  offence  generally  consisted  in  ridiculing  images 
and  pilgrimage  to  the  shrines  of  saints.* 

The  western  counties  witnessed  the  same  contest  as  the  eastern. 
In  Salisbury  there  was  a  little  flock,  of  whom  Lawrence  Ghest  was 
one  of  the  most  eminent,  if  not  the  chief.  He  was  a  man  of  some 
consideration  in  the  city,  of  tall  and  comely  figure,  and  great  firmness. 
After  Wycliffe,  and  in  common  with  the  spiritual  descendants  of 
Wycliffe  in  Bohemia,  Ghest  denied  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation, 
and  suffered  imprisonment  for  two  years  on  that  account.  The 
Bishop  and  Clergy  would  fain  have  gloried  in  a  recantation,  and 
avoided  the  peril  of  burning  a  man  of  his  rank  and  influence  ;  but, 
every  effort  to  pervert  him  having  been  spent  in  vain,  at  last  they 
bound  him  tQ  the  stake.  The  fire  was  not  kindled,  a  crowd  of  specta- 
tors were  waiting  to  witness  a  sacrifice  not  yet  quite  familiar  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Wiltshire  ;  and  in  that  interval  of  suspense,  while  every  eye  was 
turned  towards  the  victim,  his  wife  and  seven  children  came  upon  the 
ground.  The  husband — the  father — the  man — struggled  hard  under 
that  sudden  onset.  Pardon  was  waiting  for  him  if  he  would  pro- 
nounce the  single  sentence,  "  I  recant."  His  heart-broken  wife 
prayed  him  to  accept  release.  The  children  would  have  unbound 
him.  Brothers  and  kinsfolk  added  their  entreaties.  But  he  bade  his 
wife  be  content,  and  not  hinder  him  from  attaining  to  the  heavenly 
recompence ;  "  for  he  was  in  a  good  course,  running  towards  the 
mark  of  his  salvation."  Lest  more  converts  should  be  made  by  such 
discourse,  the  wood  was  lighted,  its  heat  drove  out  the  weeping  circle, 
and,  as  they  were  turning  away  with  horror  from  the  half-burnt  mar- 
tyr, one  of  the  Bishop's  men  wantonly  threw  a  smoking  brand  at  his 
face.  A  brother  saw  the  man,  and,  drawing  his  dagger,  would  have 
killed  him  on  the  spot,  had  not  some  one  caught  his  arm,  and  the 
wretch  escaped.  The  incident  became  a  legend  in  Salisbury  ;  and  for 
many  years  the  branded  faces  of  Lollards  kept  up  the  memory  of  that 
scattered  congregation.  About  the  same  time,  (A.D.  1508,)  the  little 
town  of  Chipping-Sudbury  was  the  scene  of  an  extraordinary  display 
of  cruelty,  and  also  of  retribution.  A  Christian  woman,  whose  name 
is  not  preserved,  was  brought  out  to  the  stake.  The  only  fact 
recorded,  in  relation  to  her  suffering,  is,  that  the  Bishop's  Chancellor, 
one  Dr.  Whittington,  stood  by  to  superintend  the  execution.  The 

*  Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Church  of  England,  part  i.,  book  i.; 
Foxe,  book  vi. 


HENRY    VIII.  127 

remainder  shall  be  told  in  the  words  of  John  Foxe.  "  The  sacrifice 
being  ended,  the  people  began  to  return  homeward,  coming  from  the 
burning  of  this  blessed  martyr.  It  happened,  in  the  mean  time,  that 
as  the  Catholic  executioners  were  busy  in  slaying  this  silly  latnb  at 
the  town's  side,  a  certain  butcher  was  as  busy  within  the  town,  slay- 
ing a  bull  ;  which  bull  he  had  fast  bound  in  ropes,  ready  to  knock 
him  on  the  head.  But  the  butcher,  (belike  not  so  skilful  in  his  art 
of  killing  beasts,  as  the  Papists  be  in  murdering  Christians,)  as  he 
was  lifting  his  axe  to  strike  the  bull,  failed  in  his  stroke,  and  smote  a 
little  too  low,  or  else,  how  he  smote,  I  know  not :  this  is  certain, 
that  the  bull,  although  somewhat  grieved  at  the  stroke,  yet  not 
stricken  down,  put  his  strength  to  the  ropes,  and  brake  loose  from 
the  butcher  into  the  street,  the  very  same  time  as  the  people  were 
coming  in  great  press  from  the  burning  ;  who,  seeing  the  bull  coming 
towards  them,  and  supposing  him  to  be  wild,  (as  it  was  no  other 
like,)  gave  way  for  the  beast,  every  man  shifting  for  himself,  as  well 
he  might.  Thus,  the  people  giving  back,  and  making  a  lane  for  the 
bull,  he  passed  through  the  throng  of  them,  touching  neither  man 
nor  child,  till  he  came  where  the  Chancellor  was  :  against  whom  the 
bull,  as  pricked  with  a  sudden  vehemency,  ran  full  butt  with  his 
horns,  and  so  killed  him  immediately ;  carrying  his  guts,  and  trailing 
them  with  his  horns,  all  the  street  over,  to  the  great  admiration  and 
wonder  of  all  them  that  saw  it." 

Henry  VIII.,  a  youth  of  eighteen,  succeeded  to  his  father,  with 
every  advantage  of  popularity.  Perhaps  the  usages  of  those  barbaric 
times  may  serve  to  palliate  his  conduct  in  sending  his  father's  Minis- 
ters, Dudley  and  Empson,  to  the  Tower,  on  the  morrow,  if  not  on 
the  very  day,  of  their  master's  death.  They  could  not  have  been 
more  subservient  to  the  pleasure  of  their  Sovereign,  than  his  own 
servants  were  required  to  be  to  him  ;  but  they  found  no  sympathy  in 
the  people  of  England,  who  rejoiced  at  their  fall,  because  they  had 
diligently  extracted  wealth  from  the  nation,  to  gratify  Henry  VII. ; 
and  an  Englishman  in  1850  must  not  be  in  haste  to  pass  judgment 
on  the  conduct  of  a  King  in  1509.  Even  under  this  extenuation,  the 
character  of  Henry  VIII.  will  not  bear  examination,  by  even  the  low- 
est standard  of  morality ;  and  we  need  not  be  anxious  to  justify  any 
of  his  acts.  He  was  not  the  father  of  the  English  Reformation  ; — for 
that  title  must  be  allowed  to  Wycliffe,  if  to  any  man  ; — but  has  been 
more  justly  styled  the  postilion  of  the  external  or  political  reforma- 
tion, that  merely  consisted  in  casting  off  the  Bishop  of  Rome.* 

#  No  one,  after  studying  the  history  of  the  period  on  which  we  now  enter,  will  hesi- 
tate to  approve  the  following  passage  of  M.  Basnage  : — "  The  schism  of  Henry  VIII. 
has  scarcely  any  relation  to  the  reformed  religion.  We  abandon  him  as  a  vicious 
Prince,  who  could  not  do  it  any  honour,  and  as  a  despotic  King,  under  whom  the 
Clergy  howed  down,  and  whose  licentiousness  the  Pope  himself  authorized.  Why 
should  the  crimes  of  Henry  VIII.  he  charged  on  us  ?  He  lived  before  the  Reformation 
[formal  and  ecclesiastical].  It  is  true  that  he  separated  himself  from  the  Pope  ;  but  he 
failed  not  to  persecute  those  who  made  an  open  profession  of  the  truth,  and,  shortly 
before  his  death,  was  within  a  very  little  of  putting  his  own  Queen  to  death  for  heresy. 
Indeed,  he  had  already  signed  the  order  for  her  condemnation  [or  imprisonment].  The 
first  Christians  thought  themselves  honoured  by  the  proposal  that  Tiberius  had  made  to 
the  Senate,  to  place  Jesus  Christ  in  the  number  of  the  gods  ;  but  they  never  were 


128  CHAPTER    III. 

Abjurations  went  on,  as  usual,  after  his  accession  to  the  throne ;  and 
the  Clergy  admired  him  not  less  than  the  Commons.  Within  less 
than  a  year  after  his  coronation,  Pope  Julius  II.  expressed  his  favour 
towards  him  by  a  special  act,  which  is  recorded  in  a  letter  to  Warham, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Julius,  desiring  to  bestow  some  signal 
apostolic  gift  on  his  dearest  Son  in  Christ,  Henry,  most  illustrious 
King  of  England,  whom  he  embraced  with  a  peculiar  charity,  in  order  to 
do  him  honour  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  sent  him  a  golden  rose, 
anointed  with  sacred  chrism,  sprinkled  with  odoriferous  musk,  and 
blessed  with  his  own  hands,  after  the  manner  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs, 
to  be  given  to  His  Majesty  at  mass,  with  ceremonies  prescribed,  and 
an  apostolic  blessing.* 

After  an  interval  of  about  three  years,  persecution  broke  out  again 
in  the  bishopric  of  Canterbury.  A  numerous  congregation  of  praying 
people  in  Tenterden,  Kent,  was  to  be  dispersed.  Archbishop  Warham 
had  several  small  companies  of  them  brought  before  him  at  his  resi- 
dence in  Knoll,  where  they  were  examined,  convicted  of  heresy,  and 
required  to  abjure.  The  court  then  adjourned  to  Lambeth,  and  con- 
tinued to  examine,  convict,  exact  abjuration,  impose  penance,  and 
make  the  penitents  swear  that  they  would  discover  all  whom  they 
knew  to  hold  prohibited  opinions.  Either  from  a  prevalent  notion 
that  compulsory  oaths  and  abjurations  were  not  binding,  or  from  ter- 
ror prevailing  over  conscience,  many  submitted,  and  a  few  betrayed 
their  brethren ;  but  three  failed  to  satisfy  the  Priests.  William  Carter 
would  not  deny  that  it  was  enough  to  pray  to  God  alone,  and  there- 
fore needless  to  address  prayer  to  saints ;  and  some  who  had  been 
united  with  him  in  the  meetings  at  Tenterden  swore  that  he  had 
taught  them  other  obnoxious  truths.  He  was  pronounced  an  obsti- 
nate heretic,  and  given  up  to  the  secular  power.  Agnes  Grevill  was 
indicted  on  the  same  articles.  She  pleaded,  "Not  guilty;"  but  her 
husband  and  two  sons  were  brought  as  witnesses.  Her  husband  swore 
that,  for  twenty-eight  years,  she  had  persisted  in  holding  forbidden 
opinions ;  and  her  sons  deposed,  that  she  had  always  endeavoured  to 
imbue  them  with  her  sentiments.  Robert  Harrison  also  pleaded,  "  Not 
guilty ; "  but  witnesses  were  found  to  prove  the  contrary ;  and  the 
Archbishop,  on  the  same  day,  signed  the  writs  for  certifying  the  sen- 
tences to  the  Chancery,  concluding  in  these  words :  "  Our  holy 
mother,  the  Church,  having  nothing  further  that  she  can  do  in  this 
matter,  we  leave  the  forementioned  heretics,  and  every  one  of  them, 
to  your  Royal  Highness,  and  to  your  secular  Council."  John  Brown 

loaded  with  the  shame  that  covered  Tiberius,  because  of  his  cruelty  and  other  crimes. 
France  has  gone  yet  further.  France  has  canonized  Clovis,  and  regards  him  as  the 
founder  of  the  Christian  religion  in  this  kingdom  ;  and  perhaps  even  my  Lord  of  Meaux 
has  often  invoked  him  in  his  prayers,  and  taught  Monsieur  the  Dauphin  to  trust  in  the 
fnerits  of  that  Prince,  as  in  those  of  St.  Louis.  Yet  this  father  of  the  Christian  religion 
disgraced  his  life  by  enormous  and  innumerable  crimes.*  *  *  *  But,  how  can  it  be  said 
that  Henry  introduced  new  and  unheard-of  dogmas  when  he  combated  the  tyranny  of  the 
Pope,  image-worship,  and  some  other  abuses,  of  which  the  reform  had  been  a  thousand 
times  demanded ;  and  seeing  the  Lollards  and  Vaudois  professed  in  England  the  same 
religion,  of  which  Henry  VIII.  began  to  form  the  establishment?" — Histoire  de  la 
Religion  des  Eglises  Reformees,  partie  lime.,  chap.  9me. 
*  Burnet,  book  i.,  Collection  of  Records,  ii. 


WILLIAM    SWEETING    AND    JAMES    BREWSTER.  129 

and  Edward  Walker  were  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner.  A  plea  of 
"Not  guilty"  availed  them  not.  If  they  thought  that  by  any  casu- 
istry the  peril  of  confessing  Christ  might  be  eluded,  they  were 
deceived.  The  circumstances  of  their  execution  are  not  related ;  but 
of  the  fact  there  can  be  no  doubt  *  (A.D.  1511). 

Disobedience  to  the  inquisitorial  discipline  of  the  Church  was  as 
grave  an  offence  as  heresy,  and  to  be  punished  with  equal  rigour,  as 
is  exemplified  in  the  execution  of  William  Sweeting  and  James 
Brewster.  The  former  of  these  had  served  the  Prior  of  St.  Osithe's 
for  sixteen  years,  and  so  effectually  taught  him  scriptural  truths,  that 
he  became  suspected  of  heresy,  and  was  compelled  to  abjure.  The 
faithful  servant  was  committed  to  the  Lollards'  Tower  at  St.  Paul's, 
then  abjured  in  the  Cathedral,  was  made  to  carry  a  faggot  at  the  Cross, 
and  to  do  the  same  at  Colchester,  his  native  town,  with  the  perpetual 
penance  of  wearing  a  faggot  on  his  left  sleeve.  For  two  years  he  carried 
the  badge,  until  the  Parson  of  Colchester  employed  him  in  the  service 
of  the  church,  and,  as  it  would  be  unseemly  for  a  holy- water  Clerk  to 
carry  a  mark  of  heresy,  caused  him  to  put  it  off.  From  Colchester  he 
removed  to  a  place  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
where  he  was  holy-water  Clerk  for  another  year ;  thence  to  Chelsea, 
where  he  obtained  employment  as  neatherd,  and  kept  the  cattle  for 
the  town.  One  morning,  as  he  was  driving  the  kine  to  pasture,  he 
was  apprehended  and  taken  before  the  Bishop,  and  his  chamber 
searched  for  books.  The  charges  were,  that  he  had  conversed  with 
heretics,  dissuaded  his  wife  from  going  on  pilgrimage,  and  burning 
candles  before  images,  and  said  something  contrary  to  the  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation.  These  offences  were  irremissible,  because  he 
had  thrown  aside  the  faggot.  James  Brewster,  another  Colchester 
man,  was  also  apprehended,  and  convicted  of  having  taken  off  his 
faggot,  at  the  command  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford, 
who  employed  him  on  one  of  his  Lordship's  estates,  and  would  not 
allow  a  servant  under  his  direction  to  wear  a  badge  of  priestly 
tyranny.  He  was  also  charged  with  having  been  "five  times"  in  the 
fields  with  his  townsman,  Sweeting,  together  with  some  few  others 
who  were  named,  hearing  him  read  out  of  a  prohibited  book.  He 
had  worked  at  the  same  bench  with  a  heretical  carpenter.  He  pos- 
sessed a  little  book  of  Scripture  in  English,  of  an  old  writing,  almost 
illegible  for  age.  He  had  heard  one  Master  Bardfield,  of  Colchester, 
say,  "  He  that  will  not  worship  Maozim  f  in  heart  and  thought  shall 
die  in  sight;"  but,  being  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  that  the  word 
means  "mass-god,"  or  "host,"  gave  Master  Bardfield  sore  offence. 
And  he  had  expressed  himself  heretically  in  some  private  conversa- 
tions. The  two  friends  made  no  defence,  but  meekly  submitted 
themselves  to  the  mercy  of  their  Judges,  who  gave  judgment  that 
they  should  be  released  from  excommunication ;  but  the  Bishop 
of  London  sentenced  them,  notwithstanding,  as  relapsed  heretics, 

*  Burnet,  part  i.,  book  i. 

t  DM1?73  "  strongholds."  The  title  of  a  Syrian  idol,  (Dan.  xi.  38,)  sagely  applied 
to  their  "massing  god"  by  some  Romish  triflers.  Amused  with  a  similar  alliteration, 
they  translate  HD73  "  a  sufficiency,"  by  missa,  "  the  mass  !" 

VOL.    III.  S 


130  CHAPTER    III. 

delivered  them  to  the  secular  arm ;  and  they  were  burnt  in  Smithfield 
at  one  fire*   (Oct.  18th,  1511). 

So  did  the  church  of  God  yield  her  victims  to  Antichrist  at  inter- 
vals of  every  few  years.  A  persecution  in  some  part  of  the  kingdom 
would  disperse  or  burn  the  most  devoted  members  of  the  humble 
brotherhood,  and  impose  the  brand  or  the  faggot  on  some  other  more 
conspicuous  confessors.  A  calm  succeeded,  but  to  be  followed  by  a 
like  tempest  in  some  other  quarter,  ending  again  in  fire  and  faggot. 
This  state  of  things  continued  for,  at  least,  thirty-five  years  after  the 
burning  of  Sweeting  and  Brewster  ;  but  a  new  train  of  events,  having 
no  relation  whatever  to  spiritual  religion,  began  to  open  the  way  for 
Christian  liberty  in  England.  The  exemption  of  the  Clergy  from  criminal 
jurisdiction  had  long  been  found  subversive  of  public  order  and  morality; 
and  in  the  preceding  reign f  an  Act  of  Parliament  prescribed,  that  Clerks 
convicted  should  be  burnt  in  the  hand,  unless  they  could  produce  their 
letters  of  orders,  or  a  certificate  from  their  Ordinary,  within  a  day.  But 
criminous  Clerks  were  not  to  be  restrained  by  so  slight  a  terror.  The 
layman  who  should  dare  to  read  his  New  Testament  exhibited  openly 
a  seared  cheek  ;  while  the  incorrigible  mass-Priest  only  carried  a  scar 
on  the  palm,  quite  out  of  sight.  This  expedient  was  too  feeble  to 
avail :  robberies,  assaults,  and  murders  were  still  perpetrated  Math 
impunity  under  the  shield  of  ecclesiastical  privilege.  The  House 
of  Commons,  therefore,  enacted,  that  all  murderers  and  robbers 
should  be  denied  the  benefit  of  their  Clergy  ;  but  the  Lords  would  not 
consent  to  so  heavy  a  blow  on  the  power  of  the  Church,  and  limited 
the  Act  to  persons  in  lesser  orders,  still  exempting  the  Bishop, 
Priest,  and  Deacon  (January  26th,  1513).  J  The  Clergy  ought  to 
have  submitted  to  this  compromise  ;  but,  seeing  that  the  whole  body 
of  unordained  Monks,  all  Nuns,  and  swarms  of  holy-water  Clerks, 
and  menials  in  the  service  of  the  churches,  were  thus  made  amenable 
to  the  same  tribunal  as  other  men,  and  that  the  charm  of  personal 
inviolability  would  be  broken,  clamoured  against  the  Act.  The  Abbot 
of  Winchelcombe  denounced  it  in  a  sermon  at  Paul's  Cross,  as  con- 
trary to  the  law  of  God  and  the  liberties  of  holy  Church ;  and 
declared,  that  all  who  assented  to  it,  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal  per- 
sons, incurred  the  censures  of  the  Church.  The  temporal  Lords  and 
the  Commons  took  fire  at  this  demonstration  of  monkish  lawlessness, 
and  called  on  the  King  to  repress  the  insolence  of  the  Clergy.  The 
King  summoned  his  Council,  and  all  the  Judges,  to  hear  and  to  debate 
the  question.  Dr.  Standish,  chief  of  the  King's  spiritual  Council, 
argued  for  the  new  law ;  and,  on  the  other  side,  the  Abbot  of  Win- 
chelcombe represented  the  Church.  Worsted  in  dispute,  he  was  desired 
by  the  Council  and  Judges  to  go  to  St.  Paul's  Cross  and  recant  his  offen- 
sive sermon ;  but  he  refused,  and  all  the  Bishops  sustained  him  in  the 
refusal.  Both  parties  were  immovable,  yet  each  dreaded  the  consequences 

*  Foxe,  book  vii. 

t  An.  4  et  5,  Hen.  VII.,  c.  12.  No  credential  had  been  previously  required  from 
those  who  claimed  the  benefit  of  Clergy.  If  a  criminal  could  but  read,  he  enjoyed 
immunity  as  a  Clerk. 

I  An.  4,  Hen.  VIII.,  c.-2.  "  Such  as  ben  within  holy  orders  only  exempt."  The 
lawyers  did  not  acknowledge  the  lesser  orders  to  be  included  in  the  term  "holy." 


HENRY    VIII.    IN    FRANCE.  131 

of  a  rupture  between  the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers.  The  quarrel 
was  suspended,  not  settled,  and  an  incident  soon  occurred  to  raise  the 
question  again.* 

Meanwhile  a  new  personage  appeared  on  the  field  of  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  politics,  but  fell,  unconsciously  to  himself,  into  the  grasp 
of  the  Sovereign  Providence  that  made  him,  almost  from  that  time, 
a  chief  instrument  in  breaking  off  the  Papal  yoke  from  England. 

Thomas  Wolsey,  Chaplain  and  Almoner  to  the  King,  son  of  a 
butcher  at  Ipswich,  but  afterwards  eminent  for  learning  in  Oxford, 
now  about  forty  years  of  age,  and,  by  promotion  from  the  Uni- 
versity to  the  court,  stimulated  to  insatiable  ambition,  already 
exerted  great  influence  over  Henry,  a  well  educated,  but  impetuous, 
young  man  of  one-and-twenty.  Wolsey  found  him  strongly  addicted 
to  the  study  of  scholasticism  and  canon  law,  proud  of  his  fancied 
attainments  as  a  theologian,  fervently  attached  to  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  anxious  to  shine  in  the  eyes  of  Christendom  as  a  brave, 
magnificent,  and  religious  Prince, — religious,  as  the  word  was  under- 
stood, however  godless.  Wolsey  conceived  the  design  of  making 
himself  so  useful,  acceptable,  and  necessary  to  the  King  and  to  the 
court  of  Rome,  as  to  render  both  subservient  to  his  own  advance- 
ment. Occasion  offered.  Maximilian  I.  and  Louis  XII.  were  at 
war  with  each  other  ;  and  as  Maximilian  was  then  leagued  with  the 
Pope,  and  Louis,  on  the  other  hand,  was  prosecuting  by  force  of  arms 
some  dynastic  claims  in  Italy,  the  latter  was  regarded  as  an  enemy 
of  the  Church.  Wolsey  persuaded,  or,  if  he  did  not  persuade,  assidu- 
ously encouraged,  Henry  to  make  war  on  Louis,  and  invade  France,  in 
compliance  with  an  exhortation  from  Pope  Julius.  The  King  professed 
to  undertake  the  war  according  to  his  duty  to  God  and  to  his  Church, 
for  the  defence  of  the  Church,  and  for  the  extinction  of  a  detestable 
schism,  aiding  such  of  his  confederates  and  allies  as  should  join  him 
"  in  that  God's  quarrel."  "  Faile  ye  not  to  accomplish  the  premises," 
wrote  he  to  Sir  David  Owen,  with  a  command  to  bring  a  hundred 
men  for  the  expedition,  "as  ye  tender  the  honour  and  suretie  of  us, 
and  of  this  our  realme,  and  the  advauncement  and  furtheraunce  of  this 
meritorious  voyage."  -f  The  royal  Chaplain  displayed  his  zeal  by 
going  over  to  Calais  with  the  King,  and  discharging  the  unclerical 
office  of  victualling  the  army,  deeming  this  diligence  so  far  merito- 
rious as  to  entitle  him  to  future  compensation  from  Rome  and  from 
the  Emperor.  The  Church  rewarded  him  speedily,  the  Emperor 
courted  him,  and  his  successor  gave  him  a  promise  of  assistance  for 
election  to  the  Papal  throne  on  the  first  vacancy.  This  promise  was 
not  kept ;  Wolsey  became  disappointed  and  disgusted  ;  and,  while 
revenging  himself  on  Charles  V.,  unwittingly  promoted  a  schism  in 
the  Church.  His  very  zeal  for  Popery  thus  led  to  our  deliverance  from 
its  oppression  ;  when,  after  a  long  career  of  power,  his  haughty  spirit 
had  suddenly  brought  him  to  a  fall. 

Henry  had  not  long  returned  from  France  when  the  dispute  con- 
cerning clerical  privilege  was  renewed.  Richard  Hun,  a  merchant- 

*   Burnet,  part  i.,  book  i. 

t  Strype,  Memorials  Ecclesiastical,  vol.  i.,  part  ii.,  Appendix,  No.  1. 

S    2 


132  CHAPTER    III. 

tailor  in  the  city  of  London,  a  man  of  unblemished  reputation,  reputed 
to  be  "  a  good  Catholic,"  and  possessing  considerable  property,  sent  a 
child  to  nurse  in  a  neighbouring  parish.*  The  infant  died  at  the 
age  of  five  weeks  :  the  Parson,  Thomas  Dryfield,  claimed  a  bearing- 
sheet  as  his  perquisite;  but  Hun  considered  the  demand  unreason- 
able, and  refused  to  pay.  Dryfield  sued  him  in  the  spiritual  court ; 
Hun  found  himself  obliged  to  take  legal  advice  in  his  defence,  and, 
at  the  instance  of  his  Counsel,  sued  the  Priest  in  a  prcemunire  f  for 
having  brought  a  subject  of  the  King  before  a  foreign  court,  that  court 
sitting  under  the  authority  of  the  Pope's  Legate.  The  Priests,  and 
especially  Fitz-James,  Bishop  of  London,  were  exceedingly  provoked 
at  a  proceeding  that  tended  to  lower  their  temporal  power  in  Eng- 
land ;  and,  to  perplex  the  case  and  baffle  the  civil  court,  they  charged 
Han  with  heresy,  and  shut  him  up  in  the  Lollards'  Tower,  (the  tower 
of  St.  Gregory's  church,  which  was  contiguous  with  the  cathedral,  and 
so  called  because  used  as  a  prison  for  heretics,)  where  none  of  his 
friends  were  allowed  to  visit  him.  Dr.  Horsey,  the  Bishop's  Chan- 
cellor, undertook  to  manage  the  affair,  and  being,  ex  officio,  Warder 
of  the  Tower,  he  also  acted  as  prosecutor  of  the  prisoner,  and  brought 
him  before  Fitz-James,  in  his  new  palace  at  Fulham,  on  Friday, 
December  2d,  1514.  The  Bishop,  seated  in  his  chapel,  proceeded  to 
take  evidence  of  the  Lollardism  of  this  persecuted  citizen.  Horsey 
and  some  other  Priests  were  the  only  persons  professing  to  be  wit- 
nesses :  their  affirmation  passed  as  proof  sufficient :  and  they  had  no 
difficulty  in  making  out  six  articles  to  the  effect,  that  Hun  had  dis- 
puted against  tithes  ;  compared  Priests  and  Bishops  to  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  who  crucified  Christ ;  spoken  freely  of  the  immorality  and 
covetousness  of  the  Clergy ;  sympathised  with  Joan  Baker,  a  woman 
recently  abjured ;  and  "  that  the  said  Richard  Hun  hath,  in  his  keep- 
ing, divers  English  books  prohibited  and  damned  by  the  law  :  as  the 
Apocalypse  in  English,  Epistles  and  Gospels  in  English,  Wycliffe's 
damnable  works,  and  other  books  containing  infinite  errors,  in  which 
he  hath  been  a  long  time  accustomed  to  read,  teach,  and  study  daily." 
In  all  this  there  was  nothing  unlikely ;  for  thousands  gave  expression 
to  such  views,  and  possessed  and  read  such  books.  The  episcopal 
register  contained  no  answer  to  these  charges  ;  but,  in  another  hand, 
the  following  words  were  found  written :  "As  touching  these  articles, 
I  have  not  spoken  them  as  they  be  here  laid  ;  howbeit,  unadvisedly  I 
have  spoken  words  somewhat  sounding  to  the  same,  for  which  I  am 
sorry,  and  ask  God  mercy,  and  submit  me  to  my  Lord's  charitable 
and  favourable  correction"  There  was  no  signature,  nor  any  evi- 
dence that  the  writing  was  of  his  hand.  Now  it  is  remarkable,  that 
while  Horsey  and  his  victim  were  away  at  Fulham,  Horsey's  cook  and 
other  servants,  gossiping  in  their  kitchen  in  London,  were  predicting 
that  he  would  suffer  a  grievous  penance.  Some,  indeed,  went  beyond 
the  notion  of  penance  ;  and,  probably  interpreting  words  they  had 

*  St.  Mary  Matfilon. — Foxe. 

t  Pro: munire  (for  pramoneri)  facias  A.  B.  "  Yoa  shall  summon  A.  B.  to  appear,"  &c., 
are  the  first  words  6f  the  writ  issued  in  prosecution  of  one  who  has  resorted  to  a  foreign 
judicature,  or  obeyed  a  foreign  authority,  as,  for  example,  of  the  Pope.  The  ofience 
itself,  also,  is  hence  called  a  pro: munire. 


HUN   IN  THE  LOLLARDS'  TOWER.  133 

heard  from  their  master,  who  wished  the  rumour  of  a  grievous  penance 
to  be  circulated,  in  order  to  lull  suspicion,  said,  that  before  that  day 
seven  night,  or  before  Christmas,  he  should  have  a  mischievous  death. 
Hun  was  reconducted  to  the  Lollards'  Tower,  made  fast  in  the  stocks,  the 
doors  locked,  and  the  keys  kept  by  Horsey  and  one  Charles  Joseph,  his 
Sumner,*  as  usual.  How  to  impose  this  grievous  penance,  of  which  "all 
who  should  hear  would  marvel,"  had  to  be  arranged  without  delay.  The 
idea  of  penance  was  to  be  impressed  on  Hun  :  his  fears  were  to  be 
excited :  a  servant  in  my  Lord  of  London's  kitchen  was  made  to 
report,  that  when  the  keepers  put  his  feet  into  the  stocks,  he  asked 
for  a  knife  to  kill  himself;  saying,  that  such  cruel  treatment  was 
more  than  he  could  bear.  On  the  other  hand,  a  witness  deposed  that 
a  knife  had  actually  been  left  by  the  keepers,  but  lay  unnoticed  by  him, 
while  he  was  calmly  praying  over  his  beads.f  On  the  Saturday,  Horsey 
further  carried  on  the  feint  of  penance.  He  mounted  to  the  cell, 
knelt  down  before  Hun,  as  if  he  were  to  be  the  reluctant  executioner 
of  a  superior  sentence,  given  after  his  examination  of  the  day  preced- 
ing, and,  lifting  up  his  hands,  "prayed  of  him  forgiveness  of  all  that 
he  had  done  to  him,  and  must  do  to  him."  While  Hun  might  be 
supposed  to  be  pondering  on  the  hangman-like  supplication  of  the 
Chancellor,  a  present  of  salmon  was  brought  in,  and  set  before 
him.  The  Sumner,  Charles  Joseph,  was  the  messenger,  with  one  or 
two  others ;  and,  after  pleasant  conversation,  and  seeing  him  take 
a  hearty  meal,  they  turned  the  keys  on  him,  and  left.  Horsey, 
waiting  in  the  church  below,  gave  leave  of  absence  to  his  Sumner, — 
who  suddenly  pretended  to  be  in  danger  of  arrest,  on  account 
of  some  misdemeanour, — gave  the  keys  to  the  bell-ringer,  John  Spald- 
ing,  "  a  poor  innocent  man,"  a  simpleton,  with  strict  orders  to  let 
no  one  enter  the  cell.  Spa! ding  took  charge,  and  was  officious  in 
attention  to  the  prisoner.  On  the  Sunday,  Horsey  kept  a  strict  eye 
on  the  progress  of  his  plot.  Spalding  was  duly  sent  up  at  nine 
o'clock,  to  ask  him  what  he  would  choose  for  dinner.  In  the  fore- 
noon Horsey  called  his  Penitentiary,  J  and  desired  him  to  take  holy 
bread  §  and  holy  water  to  Hun.  This  recognition  of  his  Christianity 
was  probably  intended  to  relieve  him  from  any  apprehension  of  death 
for  heresy,  and  prepare  him  from  the  "  grievous  penance "  that  the 
Chancellor  was  going  to  do  to  him.  Spalding  next  took  him  an  abun- 
dant dinner,  giving  him  the  Sumner's  boy,  as  company,  for  two  hours. 
At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  bell-ringer  took  him  a  quart  of  ale 
to  be  drunk  with  supper,  for  draughts  to  encourage  sleep.  And  after 
a  day  with  so  little  like  the  dreariness  and  pain  of  a  Lollards'  prison, 
released,  moreover,  from  the  confinement  of  the  stocks,  the  poor  man 
unsuspectingly  laid  him  on  his  bed,  and  fell  into  a  sweet  sleep. 

*  Summoner. 

t  Proving  two  things  :  that  he  did  not  intend  to  kill  himself,  or  he  would  have 
attempted  to  do  so  with  the  knife  ;  and  that  he  was  not  a  Lollard,  or  he  would  not  have 
used  a  rosary. 

t  Or  Confessor. 

§  According  to  a  Papal  constitution,  holy  or  hlessed  bread,  that  is  to  say,  bread 
taken  from  the  oblations  of  the  people,  should  be  blessed  by  a  Priest,  on  Sundays,  and 
sent  to  those  who  could  not  be  present  to  communicate,  in  token  of  communion. 


134  CHAPTER    III. 

Charles  Joseph,  the  Sumner,  had  been  carousing  all  that  holy 
day  with  a  relative  in  the  country,  and,  towards  bed-time,  left  his 
companions,  mounted  his  horse,  rode  hard,  and  on  reaching  his  house 
near  St.  Paul's,  sent  his  boy  with  it  to  the  Bell  at  Shoreditch,  with 
direction,  that  it  should  be  kept  saddled  all  night,  as  it  was  uncertain 
at  what  hour  he  might  want  it  again.  Then  he  hurried  to  St. 
Gregory's  church.  Horsey  was  there  ready  ;  so  was  John  Spalding, 
the  half-witted  bell-ringer.  Horsey  took  a  wax-candle  from  an  altar, 
lit  it,  put  it  into  Spalding's  hand,  and  bade  him  go  first.  They 
slowly  mounted  the  tower-stairs,  Spalding  softly  opened  the  prison- 
door,  and,  as  the  light  gleamed  in,  they  saw  Hun  in  a  deep  sleep,  for 
it  was  not  yet  midnight.  "  Lay  hands  on  the  thief,"  said  the  Chan- 
cellor. He  laid  his  own  hands  on  him  first,  and  dragged  him  off  the 
bed  ;  the  Sumuer,  too,  held  him  down.  Spalding  stuck  the  candle 
on  the  stocks,  and  came  to  the  bed-side  to  take  part  in  the  infliction 
of  that  "grievous  penance."  It  was  soon  done.  With  one  hand 
Horsey  grasped  his  wrist,  and  with  the  other  held  down  his  head. 
Spalding  did  the  same.  The  Sumner  knelt  on  Hun,  and,  introducing 
a  sharp-pointed  wire  into  one  of  his  nostrils,  pierced  the  brain.  The 
blood  gushed,  and  a  pool  of  it  was  found  afterwards  in  that  corner 
of  the  prison-house  ;  while,  rudely  handled  in  the  convulsive  struggle, 
his  neck  was  dislocated.  Life  being  extinct,  the  murderers  hung  him 
up  at  a  beam  by  his  own  silken  girdle,  then  put  his  cap  on  his  head, 
folded  his  clothes  so  as  to  conceal  the  blood,  put  the  cell  in  order, 
and  went  down  into  the  church  again.  Horsey  was  satisfied  that  be 
had  done  his  sect  a  service  ;  but  his  accomplices  were  trembling,  and 
almost  ready  to  divulge  the  crime.  And  it  was  divulged.  Their  con- 
fession furnishes  our  narrative  ;  together  with  the  reported  inquest 
of  a  jury,  convened,  next  day,  by  the  Coroner  of  London,  who  sus- 
pected that  his  fellow-citizen  had  been  murdered,  when  he  heard  that 
Horsey  and  a  party  of  Priests  had  told  the  people  that  they  had  just 
seen  Hun  hanging,  killed  by  his  own  act.  The  Sumner  had  ridden 
off  again,  before  day  ;  but  on  the  Wednesday  night  following,  as 
if  unable  to  rest  anywhere,  he  secretly  came  back  to  London,  and  con- 
fessed the  whole,  unquestioned,  but  requiring  her  under  an  oath  to  keep 
the  secret,  to  his  own  servant-woman.  Spalding  confessed  also  ;  and 
the  Coroner's  jury  gave  their  verdict  accordingly.  "And  so  the  said 
jury" — these  words  are  still  on  record — "  have  sworn  upon  the  holy 
Evangelists,  that  the  said  William  Horsey,  Clerk,  Charles  Joseph,  and 
John  Spalding,  of  their  set  malice,  then  and  there  feloniously  killed 
and  murdered  the  said  Richard  Hun,  in  manner  and  form  aforesaid, 
against  the  peace  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  his  crown  and 
dignity."  (Signed)  "Thomas  Barnwell,  Coroner  of  the  city  of 
London." 

Horsey  found  refuge  in  the  Archbishop's  house,  Charles  Joseph 
betook  himself  to  a  sanctuary-town  in  Essex,  and  Spalding  seems  also 
to  have  tried  to  conceal  himself  ;  but  while  the  Chancellor  was  allowed 
to  remain  at  Lambeth,  the  two  servants  were  examined,  with  several 
other  persons,  and  on  their  concurrent  confession  and  evidence  the 
jury  gave  their  verdict.  The  Priests  could  only  hope  to  rescue 


HUN'S    MURDERERS    ESCAPE.  135 

Horsey  by  disputing  the  integrity  of  the  jurymen,  as  persons  hereti- 
cally  inclined  ;  by  declaring,  that  the  criminals  themselves  had  yielded 
to  terror,  and  borne  false  witness  against  their  own  lives,  and  by  again 
charging  Hun  with  heresy.  One  of  Wycliffe's  Testaments  was  found 
iu  his  house  after  his  murder ;  and  from  the  preface  they  extracted 
propositions  which,  from  the  single  fact  of  having  owned  the  book, 
he  was  supposed  to  have  entertained.  The  Bishop  associated  two 
other  Prelates  with  himself,  and  several  inferior  Priests,  so  as  to  make 
the  sentence  appear  to  be  that  of  the  Clergy,  and  on  that  flimsy  show 
of  heresy  caused  the  body  of  Hun  to  be  taken  from  its  grave,  and 
burnt  in  Smithfield  (December  20th).  The  citizens  of  London  were 
indignant.  The  verdict  of  the  Coroner  was  sent  up  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  who  immediately  passed  a  Bill  for  the  restoration 
of  Hun's  property  to  his  children ;  even  the  Lords  accepted  and  also 
passed  it ;  and  the  King  not  only  gave  his  royal  sanction,  but  issued 
a  writ  to  the  murderers,  commanding  them  to  restore  the  property  to 
his  family,  which  they,  under  pretext  of  his  alleged  heresy,  had  con- 
sidered to  be  forfeited.  Had  not  Horsey  and  his  accomplices  been 
under  the  protection  of  the  Church,  they  would  certainly  have  been 
hanged  ;  but,  while  the  Parliament  met,  the  Convention  held  their 
sessions  also,  and  contended  for  clerical  immunity.  Fitz-James,  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  besought  the  members  to  look  upon  the  matter, 
for  the  love  of  God,  and  to  protect  him  and  his  brethren  from  the 
heretics,  who  so  abounded,  that  if  their  Lordships  did  not,  he  should 
soon  not  be  able  to  keep  his  house  for  them.  The  jury  he  denounced 
as  perjured  caitiffs.  He  also  wrote  to  Wolsey,  and  implored  him  to 
stand  good-Lord  to  Horsey ;  to  intercede  with  the  King's  grace,  that 
the  case  might  be  tried  over  again  by  other  Judges  ;  and  that  after 
the  Chancellor's  innocency  should  be  declared,  the  King  would  instruct 
the  Attorney-General  to  confess  the  indictment  for  murder  to  be 
untrue.  Sure  he  was,  that  no  twelve  laymen  could  be  found  in  Lon- 
don— so  maliciously  set  were  they  all  with  heretical  pravity — who 
would  not  find  any  Clerk  guilty,  though  he  were  as  innocent  as 
Abel.  "  Wherefore,  if  thou  canst,  blessed  father,  help  our  infirm- 
ities." Wolsey,  helping  their  infirmities,  conniving  at  their  crimes, 
represented  to  the  King  the  peril  of  contending  with  the  Clergy,  and 
incurring  the  censures  of  holy  Church  ;  and  Henry,  seeing  the  two 
Parliaments,  temporal  and  spiritual,  arrayed  against  each  other,  and 
fearing  consequences,  left  with  the  Clergy  the  persons  of  the  mur- 
derers, but  required  them  to  give  up  the  property  of  the  murdered. 

But  the  matter  did  not  end  here.  The  Convocation  resumed  the 
question  of  clerical  privilege,  and  called  Standish  to  their  bar  to 
answer  for  advice  he  had  given  to  the  King.  On  the  other  side,  the 
Judges  delivered  their  opinion,  "  that  all  those  of  the  Convocation 
who  did  award  the  citation  against  Standish,  were  in  the  case  of  a 
pramunire  facias."  This  judgment  alarmed  the  Clergy,  who  began 
to  feel  a  diminution  of  power,  and  heard  themselves  execrated  from 
one  end  of  England  to  the  other  as  murderous  persecutors.  A  special 
assembly  of  all  the  Lords,  spiritual  and  temporal,  the  Judges,  and 
some  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  was  convened  before  His 


136  CHAPTER  in. 

Majesty  in  Baynard'a  Castle;  and  there  Wolsey,  although  Legate, 
knelt  before  him,  and,  on  the  part  of  the  Clergy,  said,  "  That  none 
of  them  intended  to  do  anything  that  might  derogate  from  his  prero- 
gative ;  and,  least  of  all,  himself,  who  owed  his  advancement  to  the 
King's  favour.  But  this  matter  of  convening  of  Clerks  (by  the 
civil  Magistrate)  did  seem  to  them  all  to  be  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  God,  and  the  liberties  of  the  Church,  which  they  were  bound,  by 
their  oaths,  to  maintain  according  to  their  power."  Therefore,  in 
their  name,  he  humbly  begged  "  that  the  King,  to  avoid  the  censures 
of  the  Church,  would  refer  the  matter  to  the  decision  of  the  Pope  and 
his  Council,  at  the  court  of  Rome."  After  some  disputation  between 
the  two  parties,  the  King  said  these  memorable  words  : — "  By  the 
permission  and  ordinance  of  God  we  are  King  of  England ;  and  the 
Kings  of  England,  in  times  past,  had  never  any  superior  but  God 
only.  Therefore  know  you  well  that  we  will  maintain  the  right  of  our 
crown,  and  of  our  temporal  jurisdiction,  as  well  in  this  as  in  all  other 
points,  in  as  ample  a  manner  as  any  of  our  progenitors  have  done 
before  our  time.  And  as  for  your  decrees,  we  are  well  assured  that 
you  of  the  spiritualty  go  expressly  against  the  words  of  divers  of  them, 
as  hath  been  showed  you  by  some  of  our  Council ;  and  you  interpret 
your  decrees  at  your  pleasure  ;  but  we  will  not  agree  to  them  more 
than  our  progenitors  have  done  in  former  times."  Yet  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  persisted  in  entreating  the  King  to  refer  the 
case  of  Horsey  to  the  court  of  Rome.  At  that  moment  Henry  said  no 
more.  He  received  the  insolent  request  in  silence  ;  but  afterwards, 
yielding  to  the  counsel  of  his  more  trustworthy  advisers,  he  instructed 
his  Attorney  to  withdraw  the  criminal  prosecution.* 

Horsey  then  walked  out  of  the  Archbishop's  palace,  where  he  had 
taken  refuge,  and  retired  to  Exeter.  The  Church  seemed  to  have 
gained  a  trifling  advantage,  but  the  dispute  between  the  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  jurisdictions  was  still  open  ;  and  Henry  VIII.  had  pro- 
nounced a  sentence  soon  to  be  executed  in  the  emancipation  of  these 
realms.  Thus  did  God  send  ample  retribution  on  the  Popish  Clergy 
for  the  murder  of  Hun. 

Retribution  might  seem  to  linger,  for  nearly  twenty  years  elapsed 
before  it  was  completed ;  and  for  nearly  so  long  did  Henry  himself 
persecute  the  followers  of  Christ.  Indeed,  he  never  ceased  to  be  a 
persecutor. 

Not  even  the  Pope  ventured  to  remonstrate  with  his  son,  the  King 
of  England,  for  daring  to  assert  civil  supremacy  over  every  Eng- 
lishman. The  Priests  were  daunted  for  a  time.  The  reproach  of 
Hun  haunted  them,  and  they  could  only  wait  for  opportunity  to  renew 
the  work  of  death.  Such  an  opportunity  occurred  with  a  suddenness 
that  must  have  gratified  my  Lord  of  London.  A  barge  was  conveying 
passengers  down  the  Thames  from  London  to  Gravesend,  a  Priest 
being  in  the  mixed  company  on  deck.  In  a  moment  of  ill  humour  he 
chose  to  remind  his  fellow-passengers  of  his  priestly  dignity,  and 
claim  reverence,  which,  perhaps,  they  had  forgotten  to  render  amidst 
the  qualms  of  nausea.  Beside  him  sat  John  Browne,  one  of  a  noted 

*  Foxe,  book  vii.  ;   Burnet,  part  i.,  book  i. 


JOHN    BROWNE.  137 

family  of  Lollards,  who  had  himself  carried  a  faggot  seven  years  before, 
and  probably  bore  the  patch  on  his  sleeve  at  that  moment.  The 
Priest  gathered  himself  up,  found  that  Browne  was  sitting  on  his 
cloak,  and  thus  opened  an  angry  conversation. 

Priest. — "  Dost  thou  know  who  I  am  ?  Thou  sittest  too  near  me, 
thou  sittest  on  my  clothes." 

Browne. — "  No,  Sir,  I  know  not  what  you  are." 

P. — "  I  tell  thee  I  am  a  Priest." 

B. — "What,  Sir !  Are  you  a  Parson,  or  Vicar,  or  a  lady's  Chaplain  ?  " 

P. — "  No  ;  I  am  a  soul  Priest.     I  sing  for  a  soul." 

B. — "  Do  you  so,  Sir  ?  That  is  well  done.  I  pray  you,  Sir,  where 
find  you  the  soul  when  you  go  to  mass?" 

P.—"  I  cannot  tell  thee." 

B. — "  I  pray  you,  where  do  you  leave  it,  Sir,  when  the  mass  is  done  ?" 

P. — "  I  cannot  tell  thee." 

B. — "  Neither  can  you  tell  where  you  find  it  when  you  go  to  mass, 
nor  where  you  leave  it  when  the  mass  is  done :  how,  then,  can  you 
have  the  soul?" 

P. — "  Go  thy  ways,  thou  art  a  heretic,  and  I  will  be  even  with 
thee." 

The  dialogue  ended.  In  due  time  the  bark  touched  the  bank  at 
Gravesend,  the  passengers  landed,  John  Browne,  without  delay,  went 
on  his  way  to  Ashford,  where  he  had  lately  had  an  increase  in  his 
happy  family ;  and  the  Priest,  too,  losing  not  a  moment,  required  two 
fellow-passengers  to  accompany  him  on  horseback  towards  Canter- 
bury, to  lay  information  of  heresy.  Just  three  nights  after  his  return, 
John  Browne's  wife  had  been  churched,  and  he  was  bringing  in  a 
mess  of  pottage  to  the  board  to  their  guests,  when  some  one  called 
him  out,  as  if  wanted  on  business.  No  one  suspected  any  harm ;  but, 
while  the  company  were  taking  the  meal,  their  host  was  in  the  hands 
of  ruffians,  who  gagged  him,  set  him  on  his  own  horse,  bounden  hand 
and  foot,  took  him  away  under  cover  of  night,  and  brought  him  to 
Canterbury,  where  they  lodged  him  in  prison  before  daybreak.  None 
but  the  familiars  who  had  made  the  seizure  knew  whither  he  had 
been  taken,  none  except  Warham,  the  Archbishop,  and  Fisher,  Bishop 
of  Rochester.  They  bound  him  in  a  dungeon,  and  tortured  him  by 
applying  hot  coals  to  the  soles  of  his  feet,  until  the  bones  were  laid 
bare;  but  he  would  not  recant.  It  was  Low  Sunday*  (A.D.  1517) 
when  the  day  dawned  on  him  in  Canterbury,  and  his  distressed  wife 
and  family  and  friends  were  seeking  for  him  in  Ashford  and  the 
neighbourhood.  On  the  Friday  evening  before  Whit-Sunday,  he  was 
again  mounted  on  horseback,  taken  from  Canterbury,  and,  some  time 
after  night-fall,  set  in  the  stocks  at  Ashford,  to  the  surprise  of  the 
inhabitants.  His  wife  hurried  to  the  place,  heard  from  his  lips  what 
he  had  suffered,  and  what  he  yet  was  to  endure.  The  poor  woman 
sat  by  the  stocks  all  night,  that  for  those  few  hours  she  might  testify 
her  love  to  her  Christian  husband,  and  be  witness  and  partaker  of  his 
constancy.  She  examined  his  swollen  feet.  "  The  two  Bishops," 
said  he,  "  put  hot  coals  to  them,  and  burned  them  to  the  bones,  to 
*  The  Sunday  after  Easter. 

VOL.    III.  T 


158  CHAPTER    III. 

make  me  deny  my  Lord,  which  I  will  never  do ;  for  if  I  should  deny 
my  Lord  in  this  world,  he  would  hereafter  deny  me.  I  pray  thee, 
th'erefore,  good  Elizabeth,  continue  as  thou  hast  hegun,  and  bring  up 
thy  children  virtuously,  and  in  the  fear  of  God."  The  next  day  was 
spent  in  preparing  for  the  martyrdom.  In  the  evening  they  bound 
him  to  a  stake,  where,  lifting  up  his  hands,  he  repeated  a  prayer  that 
had  probably  been  often  recited,  in  far  other  circumstances,  at  his 
fire-side : — 

"<  O  Lord,  I  yield  me  to  thy  grace  ; 
Grant  me  mercy  for  my  trespass  ; 
Let  never  the  fiend  my  soul  chase. 
Lord,  I  will  bow,  and  thou  shalt  beat, 
Let  never  my  soul  come  in  hell-heat.' 

Into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit;  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  0 
Lord  of  truth."  And  so  he  ended.  One  Chiltou,  the  Bailyarrant, 
seeing  Browne's  children  there,  roared  out,  "Throw  them  into  the 
fire :  they  '11  spring  out  of  his  ashes." 

To  follow  up  the  terror  of  this  execution,  the  Bishop  of  London 
headed  an  inquisition,  and  forced  many  to  abjure.  They  appear 
to  have  been  chiefly  tradesfolk,  one  Ecclesiastic  only  being  marked 
on  the  list,  George  Laund,  Prior  of  St.  Sithe.  One  of  the  persons 
then  abjured,  Elizabeth  Stamford,  confessed  that  she  had  been 
taught  by  one  Thomas  Beele,  eleven  years  before,  to  repeat  these 
words :  "  Christ  feedeth,  and  fast  nourisheth,  his  church,  with  his 
own  precious  body,  that  is,  the  bread  of  life  coming  down  from  hea- 
ven:  this  is  the  worthy  Word  that  is  worthily  received,  and  joined 
unto  man,  to  be  in  one  body  with  him.  Sooth  it  is  that  they  be  both 
one,  they  may  not  be  parted.  This  is  the  wisely  deeming  of  the  holy 
sacrament  Christ's  own  body  :  this  is  not  received  by  chewing  of 
teeth,  but  by  hearing  with  ears,  and  understanding  with  your  soul, 
and  wisely  working  thereafter.  '  Therefore,'  saith  St.  Paul,  '  I  fear 
me  amongst  us,  brethren,  that  many  of  us  be  feeble  and  sick ;  there- 
fore I  counsel  us,  brethren,  to  rise  and  watch,  that  the  great  day  of 
doom  come  not  suddenly  upon  us,  as  the  thief  doth  upon  the  mer- 
chant.'" This  recitation,  retained  in  memory  during  eleven  years, 
together  with  that  made  by  Browne  when  at  the  stake,  and  many 
other  examples  of  the  kind,  disclose  a  custom  common  to  many 
bodies  of  Christians,  especially  in  times  of  persecution,  of  preserving 
and  propagating  doctrinal  truths,  and  quickening  devotion,  by  means 
of  familiar  sentences,  to  be  repeated  in  prose  or  verse.  And  this  fact 
further  exhibits  the  Gospel  as  inwrought  with  the  tradition  of  a  dis- 
tinct people,  and  made  the  theme  of  household  converse,  commu- 
nicated from  friend  to  friend,  and  delivered  from  parent  to  child. 
And  this  was  the  established  tradition  of  our  "  religion  before  Luther." 

The  report  of  Browne's  faithfulness  unto  death  must  have  produced 
great  searchings  of  heart  among  many  who  had  abjured.  Two  exam- 
ples of  the  kind  soon  followed.  Between  five  and  six  years  had  passed 
away  since  Thomas  Man,  in  a  parish  of  the  see  of  Oxford,  had  so  yielded. 
By  way  of  penance  he  was  made  to  carry  and  wear  the  faggot,  and  con- 
fined to  the  monastery  of  Osney,  by  Oxford.  The  Bishop,  needing 
help  for  some  work  to  be  done  in  his  palace,  took  Man  from  the 


MARTYRS    IN    TOWN    AND    COUNTRY.  139 

monastery,  took  off  the  faggot,  made  use  of  him  as  long  as  conve- 
nient, and  then,  by  a  formal  act,  confined  him  in  Osney  again,  with 
the  mark  of  penance.  Weary,  disgusted,  and  repentant  of  having 
denied  Christ,  he  escaped,  fled  into  another  jurisdiction,  and  sustained 
life,  by  labour,  in  the  counties  of  Essex  and  Suffolk.  In  the  present 
persecution  he  was  detected,  and  brought  before  Fitz-James  in  Lon- 
don. It  then  appeared,  on  evidence,  and  by  his  free  confession,  that, 
first  at  Newbury,  and  then  at  Amersham,  he  and  his  wife  had  asso- 
ciated with  the  praying  people  in  those  towns,  assisted  several  who 
were  in  peril  by  persecution  to  effect  their  escape,  and,  chiefly  at 
Amersham,  had  been  the  means  of  making  about  seven  hundred  con- 
verts. He  was  easily  convicted  of  what,  indeed,  he  did  not  deny,  and, 
being  sentenced  as  a  relapsed  heretic,  was  delivered  to  the  Sheriff, 
who  sat  on  horseback,  waiting  at  the  Bishop's  door,  in  Paternoster- 
row.  The  sentence  set  forth  that  he  deserved  to  be  punished  with 
"  rigorous  rigour,  yet  no  dissolute  mansuetude,  et  tamen  citra  mortem, 
and  yet  without  death."  That  was  written  to  be  read  in  testimony 
to  the  tender  mercy  of  the  Church  ;  but  the  Sheriff,  who  understood 
that  Man  was  to  be  killed,  took  him  from  Paternoster-row  into 
Smithfield,  and  burnt  him  there  (March  29th,  1518). 

Another  such  relapse  suffered  in  a  few  months.  He  had  been 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  twenty  years  before.  Richard 
Smart,  one  of  the  Salisbury  martyrs,  had  instructed  him  out  of 
Wycliffe's  Wicket,  and  then  given  him  a  copy  of  the  book,  and  of 
another  book,  containing  an  exposition  of  the  Decalogue.  In  course 
of  time  he  was  apprehended,  taken  before  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury, 
and  there  he  recanted,  and  was  put  under  penance.  But,  when 
expecting  to  be  apprehended,  he  hid  the  two  books  in  a  hollow  tree, 
where  they  lay  untouched  for  two  years,  when  he  went  to  the  tree, 
took  out  the  books,  and  secretly  removed  to  London.  The  flame  of 
love  to  God,  half-quenched  as  it  had  been,  then  revived.  He  could 
no  more  keep  silence,  but,  out  of  the  books  that  had  been  bequeathed 
to  him  by  his  departed  brother,  taught  many,  affirming  that  Wycliffe, 
their  author,  was  a  saint  in  heaven.  Of  his  trial  little  is  recorded, 
except  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  laboured  hard  to  bring  him 
to  a  second  recantation  ;  and  that  Dr.  Hed,  Vicar-General,  pronounced 
him  a  relapsed  heretic,  and  gave  him  to  the  obsequious  Sheriff,  who 
burnt  him  in  Smithfield  the  same  hour  (October  25th,  1518). 

Of  Christopher  Shoemaker,  Great  Missenden,  little  more  is  known 
than  that  he  frequently  read  to  his  neighbours  out  of  "a  little  book," 
was  honoured  in  the  conversion  of  some  of  them,  and  burnt,  at  New- 
bury, about  the  same  time.* 

Some  Christian  parents  at  Coventry  were  wont  to  teach  their  chil- 
dren the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  in  English. 
Here  was  family  religion,  and  the  beginnings,  at  least,  of  family 
prayer.  But  family  religion,  and,  therefore,  prayer  so  offered,  have  no 
place  in  Popery, f  and  are  hateful  to  the  Priests.  Pious  recitations  in 

*  Foxe,  book  vii. 

t  It  is  not  unfrequent  to  recite  rosaries,  or  other  LatLu  prayers,  in  Popish  families  ; 
hut  family  prayer,  offered  in  n  vernacular  lanrjiiagc,  is  a  thing  unknown. 

T    2 


140  CHAPTER    III. 

English  led  to  the  religious  instruction  of  children,  tended  to  perpe- 
tuate a  knowledge  and  love  of  the  Gospel  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion ;  and  it  was  determined  that,  on  the  return  of  Lent,  a  strong 
effort  should  be  made  to  put  down  that  novelty  of  family  prayer. 
Accordingly  six  men  and  one  woman,  a  widow,  who  were  known  to 
have  taught  their  children  prayer,  and  obedience  to  the  law  of  God, 
were  apprehended  on  Ash  Wednesday  (A.D.  1519),  and  placed  in  soli- 
tary confinement  ;  some  of  them  in  dungeons  under  ground.  On  the 
following  Friday  they  were  all  removed  to  Mackstock  Abbey,  about 
six  miles  from  Coventry,  and  their  children  sent  for  to  the  Grey 
Friars,  where  the  Warden,  Friar  Stafford,  examined  them  as  to  their 
belief,  and  as  to  what  their  fathers  had  taught  them,  and  charged  them 
not  to  meddle  again  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten  Commandments, 
on  pain  of  suffering  death,  as  their  fathers  were  about  to  suffer. 
Meanwhile  the  Lent  preachers  had  abundant  opportunity  to  refresh 
the  zeal  of  their  people  against  heresy  ;  and,  this  done,  the  ceremo- 
nies of  the  season  were  closed,  by  bringing  back  the  seven  heads  of 
families  to  Coventry,  on  Palm-Sunday,  condemning  them  as  heretics, 
and  burning  them  in  one  fire,  in  a  place  called  the  Little  Park,  one 
day  in  Passion  week.*  The  widow,  indeed,  was  to  have  been  spared. 
She  was  exempted  from  the  sentence,  and  the  Sumner,  with  suspicious 
kindness,  offered  to  accompany  her  from  the  court  to  her  home,  as 
the  evening  was  rather  dark.  By  the  way,  as  she  leant  on  his  arm, 
he  perceived  something  rustle  in  her  sleeve,  rudely  searched,  and 
drew  out  a  scroll  containing  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten  Command- 
ments. She  was  then  his  prisoner.  They  turned,  retraced  their 
steps  into  the  presence  of  the  Inquisitors  :  the  scroll  was  sufficient 
testimony,  and  widow  Smith  was  added  to  the  martyrs.  As  soon  as 
they  had  ceased  to  live,  the  Sheriffs  ran  to  their  houses,  seized  every 
article  of  property,  and  left  the  families  to  starve.  To  silence  some 
expressions  of  dissatisfaction  at  this  aggravation  of  the  sentence,  by 
inflicting  a  penalty  on  the  survivers  for  merely  repeating  a  Prayer  and 
Commandments,  the  Bishop  caused  it  to  be  reported  that  the  real 
offence  was  one  of  greater  gravity,  —  eating  flesh  on  Fridays  !f  The 
holocaust  would  have  been  of  eight  persons,  had  not  one  escaped. 
This  one,  however,  (Robert  Silkeb,)  was  discovered  about  two  years 
afterwards,  apprehended,  brought  back  to  Coventry,  and  burnt 
(January  13th,  1521).£ 

While  the  widows  of  the  Coventry  martyrs  were  yet  weeping,  the 
Pope  himself  unconsciously  gave  the  first  signal  for  ecclesiastical 
reform  in  England.  It  was  the  Roman  policy,  at  that  time,  to  talk 
loudly  of  such  reform,  in  order  to  satisfy,  if  possible,  the  Germans, 
by  whom  it  was  demanded,  and  to  divert  attention  from  questions  of 
doctrine.  Cardinal  Wolsey,  too,  athirst  for  power,  solicited  Papal 
authority  for  reforming  the  Monks  and  Priests  of  Enland.  A  Bull 


*  A?ril*A\  7°  revir  the  zealots>  "*  to  Persecute  Protestants,  is  the  usual  busi- 
ness ot  a  Popish  Lent,  wherever  practicable. 

t  Foxe,  hook  Viii. 

J  The  names  are  Mrs  Smith,  widow  ;  Robert  Hatchets,  Archer,  Hawkins,  Thomas 
JJond,  shoemakers  ;  M  ngsham,  glover  ;  Laudsdale,  hosier  ;  and  Robert  Silkeb. 


DR      COLET,    DEAN    OF    ST.    PAUI/S.  141 

to  that  effect  was  issued  by  Leo  X.,  (June  10th,  1519,)  as  offensive  to 
the  Clergy  of  both  orders,  for  the  just  severity  of  its  censures, — it 
affirmed  that  they  were  lewd  and  ignorant,  and  given  over  to  a  repro- 
bate mind, — as  it  was  gratifying  to  the  Cardinal.  But  Leo  X.  was  not 
the  man  to  preach  morality,  and  Wolsey  was  even  more  unfit  than  he. 
The  Bull,  in  effect,  authorized  him  to  visit  the  monasteries,  to  sup- 
press the  worst  of  them,  and  convert  them  into  cathedral  or  collegiate 
churches.  He  was  dissuaded  from  acting  on  it  then,  but  he  cherished 
the  scheme,  communicated  it  to  Henry  and  to  Secretary  Cromwell, 
and,  in  doing  so,  suggested  the  beginnings  of  the  work  that  was  after- 
wards done  by  other  hands,  and  with  a  far  different  intention.*  True 
it  is  that  Leo  issued  another  Bull,  for  the  suppression  of  heresy, 
immediately  after  that  which  empowered  Wolsey  to  attempt  his  expe- 
riment of  reformation  of  manners,  and  that  the  honoured  names  of 
Tyndale,  Roy,  and  Brightwell,  were  therein  associated  with  those 
of  Luther,  Zuinglius,  Melancthon,  and  many  others ;  but  both  Bulls 
were  equally  ineffectual  to  mend  or  to  destroy. f  A  few  abjurations 
were  the  only  result. 

If  Fitz-James  could  have  done  it,  a  good  man,  who  died  this  year, 
would  have  been  killed  long  before.  Dr.  John  Colet,  Dean  of  St. 
Paul's,  entertained  many  opinions  in  common  with  the  "  known 
men "  of  Buckinghamshire,  who  frequently  resorted  to  his  sermons. 
Fitz-James  complained  to  the  King  against  him,  after  having  failed 
with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  but,  by  the  friendship  of  War- 
ham,  and  the  discernment  of  Henry,  under  the  good  providence  of 
God,  he  was  shielded  from  harm.  His  offence,  at  first,  consisted  in 
expounding  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  instead  of  Scotus  and  Aquinas,  in  the 
University  of  Oxford ;  and,  when  promoted  to  the  deanery  of  St. 
Paul's,  preaching  like  one  who  desired  to  win  souls,  in  living  godly, 
and  disapproving  of  clerical  celibacy.  St.  Paul's  School  is  a  monu- 
ment of  his  beneficence  and  zeal  for  learning ;  and  the  circumstance 
of  its  management  by  lay-Trustees,  is  known  to  have  arisen  from  his 
distrust  of  the  Clergy  of  his  time,  and  is  supposed  to  indicate  a  pre- 
monition of  the  extensive  impropriation  of  Church-lands  that  soon 
took  place,  and  might  have  extended  to  that  foundation,  if  held  by 
Ecclesiastics  instead  of  laymen.  J 

Burnet  conjectured  that  Wolsey  was  not  displeased  with  the  dis- 
affection to  the  Church  in  England,  but  thought  that  heresy  might 
give  a  salutary  check  to  the  power  of  the  Clergy,  whom  he  desired  to 
humble,  for  the  increase  of  his  own.  This  conjecture  does  not  receive 
confirmation  from  history.  However  willing  Wolsey  may  have  been 
to  set  the  English  Clergy  at  his  feet,  he  was  never  indifferent  to  the 
spread  of  principles  that  tended  to  overthrow  the  See  towards  which 
he  constantly  aspired  ;  and,  if  the  elections  of  Adrian  VI.  and  Clement 
VII.  seemed  to  render  his  ambition  hopeless,  his  dignities  as  Cardinal 
and  Legate  were  still  to  be  guarded  against  the  peril  of  religious  inno- 

*  Burnet,  part  i.,  book  i. 

t  This  Bull  is  cited,  by  Mr.  Offor,  from  the  archives  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  in  hia 
Memoir  prefixed  to  the  reprint  of  Tyndale's  Testament ;  and  by  Strype,  Ecclesiastical 
Memorials,  chap,  ii.,  and  appendix  ix.,  where  Wolsey  quotes  it. 

1   Fuller,  book  v.,  sect.  i. ;  Foxe,  book  vii. 


142  CHAPTER    III. 

vation,  that  endangered  all.     And,  in  fact,  we  find  him  busied  in  an 
effort  to  bring  about  a  general  persecution.     Having  fanned  Henry's 
zeal  during  the  composition  of  his  book  against  Luther,  he  made  the 
religious  state  of  England  a  subject  of  report  and  appeal,  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  Court  of  Rome,  whence  came  a  Brief,  exhorting 
Henry  to  explode  (ad  explodendum}  heresy  in  his  kingdom.      A  pro- 
hibition  of   Luther's   writings  was    accordingly   issued   under    royal 
authority,  and  followed  by  a  letter  from  Wolsey,  as  Legate,  addressed 
to  the   King  and   the  kingdom,   condemning  the   errors   of  Martin 
Luther,  and  referring  to  the  above-mentioned  Bull.     After  remarking 
that  the  Pope  had  called  his  Majesty  Defender  of  the  Faith,  (although 
it  must  be  observed  that  the  title  was  not  yet  obtained,)  he  instructed 
the  Clergy  to  the  following  effect : — That  on  the  next  Sunday  or  feast- 
day,  at  time  of  mass,  when  the  largest  congregations  should  be  assem- 
bled, they  were  to  publicly  require  all  booksellers  and  stationers,  with 
all  other  persons,  ecclesiastical  and  secular,  subjects  of  the  realm,  or 
foreigners,  to  give  up  all  written  or  printed  books  or  papers  contain- 
ing the  writings  of  Martin  Luther,  in  Latin,  English,   or  any  other 
language,  within  a  fortnight,  under  penalty  of  the  greater  excommu- 
nication, and  of  punishment  as  abettors  and  promoters  of  heretical 
pravity.    The  Clergy,  under  the  same  penalty,  were  commanded  to  do 
the  same ;  and,  within  ten  weeks,  to  send  him  a  certificate  of  having 
obeyed  the  mandate*   (May  14th,  1521).    In  order  to  concentrate  all 
power,  pontifical  and  regal,  in  the  one  work  of  persecution,  he  obtained 
a  Bull  conferring  on  Henry  the  title  of  Defender  of  the  Faith,f — yet 

*  Strype,  Memorials,  cliap.  ii.,  appendix  is. 

t  After  the  introductory  sentences,  Leo  writes  thus :  "  And  as  other  Roman  Pontiffs, 
our  predecessors,  were  wont  to  confer  special  favours  on  Catholic  Princes,  (as  the  state 
of  affairs  and  of  the  times  required,)  especially  on  those  who  in  storm}-  times,  aud  when 
the  rabid  perfidy  of  schismatics  and  heretics  was  raging,  not  only  stood  firm  in  the  calm- 
ness of  faith,  and  in  the  unstained  devotion  of  the  most  holy  Roman  Church,  but  also,  as 
legitimate  sons  and  mighty  wrestlers  (athlete)  of  the  said  Church,  opposed  tlumselves, 
spiritually  and  temporally,  to  the  insane  furies  of  schismatics  and  heretics  :  thus  also  We 
desire  to  exalt  Your  Majesty  with  deserved  and  immortal  commendations  and  praises  on 
account  of  your  excellent  and  immortal  words  and  deeds  towards  Us  and  this  holy  See, 
in  which,  by  Divine  Providence,  We  sit,  and  to  grant  them  to  you,  that,  for  their  sake, 
you  may  be  watchful  to  drive  away  wolves  from  the  Lord's  flock,  and  cut  off,  with  iron 
and  the  material  sword,  those  putrid  members  that  infect  the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  aud 
confirm  the  hearts  of  those  faithful  who  are  wavering  in  the  solidity  of  faith.  For  when, 
lately,  our  beloved  son  John  Clerk,  Orator  of  Your  Majesty  at  our  Court,  in  our  Con- 
sistory, before  our  venerable  brethren,  the  Cardinals  of  the  holy  Roman  Church,  and 
many  other  Prelates  of  the  Court  of  Rome,  presented  Us,  to  be  examined  by  Us,  and  then 
approved  by  our  authority,  the  book  which  Your  Majesty  composed,  kindled  with  charity 
that  does  nothing  rashly,  with,  zeal  for  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  with  fervour  toward*  Us 
and  this  holy  See,  as  a  noble  and  salutary  antidote  against  the  errors  of  divers  heretics, 
often  condemned  by  this  holy  See,  and  lately  revived  and  introduced  again  by  Martin 
Luther  ;  and  when  he  declared  in  a  brilliant  oration  that  Your  Majesty  was  ready  and 
disposed,  not  only  to  refute  with  true  and  irrefragable  reasons  of  holy  Scripture,  and 
authorities  of  the  holy  Fathers,  the  notorious  errors  of  the  said  Martin,  but  also  to  pcr- 


ing  and  not  inferior  eloquence,  and  approve  and  confirm  it  with  our  authority,  but  also 
to  adorn  Your  Majesty  himself  with  such  an  honour  and  title,  that  all  Christ's  faithful  in 
cur  own  and  all  future  timea  may  understand  how  grateful  and  acceptable  your  present 
has  been  to  Us.  especially  as  offered  in  such  a  time  as  this."  "  We,  etc.,  have  deter- 


PERSECUTION    IN    LINCOLN.  143 

not  given  until  after  long  reluctance, — and  another  Bull,  giving  ten 
years  and  ten  quarantains  of  indulgence  to  the  readers  of  his  book 
against  Luther.  All  that  is  essential  in  the  former  of  these  Bulls,  is 
translated  at  the  foot  of  the  preceding  page.  And,  in  the  same  month, 
the  King,  probably  informed  of  the  despatch  of  those  Bulls,  when  as 
yet  they  could  not  have  reached  him,  on  application  from  Longland, 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  under  whose  jurisdiction  the  "  known  men  "  were  so 
numerous,  that  he  could  not  venture  to  attack  them  without  special 
authority  and  aid,  sent  that  Prelate  a  letter,  (October  20th,  1521,) 
addressed  to  all  Mayors,  Sheriffs,  Bailiffs,  Constables,  and  other  his 
officers,  ministers,  and  subjects,  charging  and  commanding  them  all 
to  assist  the  said  Right  Reverend  Father  in  God  in  the  execution 
of  justice  on  the  heretics.  Thus  armed,  the  Bishop  made  a  pitiless 
inquisition  as  far  as  his  power  extended.  A  multitude  of  persons  was  exa- 
mined. Husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children,  were  made  to  inform 
against  each  other  by  artful  questioning,  by  bribery,  or  by  intimidation. 
They  were  accused  of  reading  the  Evangelists,  which  were  said  to  be  full 
of  damnable  errors,  reciting  prayers,  learning  by  memory  the  Epistle 
of  St.  James,  or  some  part  of  an  Epistle  of  St.  Paul,  or  select  sentences 
of  Wycliffe,  or  speaking  slightly  of  the  mass,  or  of  pilgrimage  or 
images.  Many  were  convicted  of  having  spent  whole  nights  in  read- 
ing and  prayer,  and  in  labouring  to  turn  sinners  from  the  error  of 
their  way.  And  most  of  the  offences  were  registered  as  of  so  long 
standing,  committed  before  the  name  of  Martin  Luther  was  known 
beyond  his  own  province,  that  the  dishonesty  of  calling  those  people 
Lutherans  was  flagrant.  Foxe,  with  all  his  industry  did  not  venture 
on  the  labour  of  extracting  all  the  names  of  the  abjured  from  the 
voluminous  records  at  Lincoln.  Brand,  faggot,  pilgrimage,  fasting, 
imprisonment,  and  exposure  to  the  public  gaze  in  processions  and  on 
the  greecen  (steps)  of  crosses,  were  the  usual  forms  of  penance.  But 
persecution  was  conducted  systematically  :  some  were  always  burnt, 
for  greater  terror  of  the  rest ;  and  the  names  of  six  *  are  on  record, 
who  thus  finished  their  course  (A.D.  1521).  And  that  a  perfect  exam- 
ple of  diabolical  cruelty  might  not  be  wanting,  the  Priests  compelled 
the  daughter  of  one  of  them,  John  Scrivener,  to  light  the  pile  on 
which  her  living  father  was  bound  ;f  teaching  her,  Brachman-like, 
that  parricide  is  meritorious.  A  horrid  doctrine  ;  yet  one  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  taught,  in  various  ways,  for  many  ages  past. 
From  this  time  there  appears  to  have  been  no  more  burnings  for 
several  years  in  England,  but  important  events  occur  in  the  interval. 

Proud  of  his  title  and  his  roses,  (for  Leo,  too,  had  sent  him  a  golden 
rose,)  Henry  still  waged  war  on  Reformers  and  Reformed.  To  the 

mined  to  give  Your  Majesty  this  title,  to  wit,  DEFENDER  OF  THE  FAITH,  by  winch  title 
we  have  distinguished  you  in  these  presents,  commanding  all  Christ's  faithful  that  they 
name  Your  Majesty  hy  this  title,  and  that,  when  they  write  to  you,  they  add  Defender 
of  the  Faith  after  the  word  King."  Some  exhortation  and  good  wishes  follow,  as  of 
course.  After  the  seal  of  "  Ego  Leo  Deeimus  Catholicae  Ecclesise  Episcopus,"  were 
appended  the  seals  of  twenty-seven  Cardinals. — Rymeri  Fosdera,  torn.  xiii..  p.  756. 

*  Thomas  Bernard,  James  Mordeu,  Robert  Rave,  John  Scrivener,  Joan  Norman, 
Thomas  Holmes. 

t  Foxe,  book  vii.  As  the  daughter  of  William  Tylesworth  was  compelled  to  burn 
him.  Page  125,  supra. 


144  CHAPTER    III. 

Archduke  Ferdinand  of  Austria,  one  of  their  bitterest  enemies  in  Ger- 
many, he  sent  a  magnificent  embassy,  with  the  insignia  of  the  Order 
of  the  Garter,  and  wrote  a  sketch  of  a  speech  which  Master  Edward 
Lee,  Archdeacon  of  Colchester,  clerical  member  of  the  embassy,  was 
to  pronounce  on  investing  Ferdinand  with  the  garter.  "  And,  in  the 
latter  end  of  his  oration,  the  said  Master  Lee  shall  largely  and  amply 
extend  the  great  lawd,  praise,  and  estimation,  which  the  said  Duke 
doth  attain,  in  that  he,  like  a  good  Catholick  and  vertuous  Prince, 
doth  with  all  effect  impugn  the  detestable  dampnable  heresies  of  Freer 
Martin  Luther :  saying  that  nothing  can  be  more  joyous  or  acceptable 
to  the  King's  Highness,  who,  as  well  with  his  sword  as  with  his  pen, 
hath  always  endeavoured  himself  to  the  tuition  and  defence  of 
Christen  faith,  than  to  hear  and  understand  that  his  good  cousin  and 
nephew  shall  persist  in  this  his  godly  and  meritorious  purpose"  (A.D. 
1523).*  But  this  expensive  embassy  was  not  sent  to  Ferdinand  with- 
out a  special  reason  of  religion  and  wicked  policy.  Clement  VIT.  evi- 
dently regarded  it  as  signifying  readiness  to  join  in  a  crusade  against 
the  followers  of  Luther,  as  appears  by  a  Bull  shortly  afterwards 
issued,  (March,  1524,)  confirmatory  of  the  title  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  granted  by  his  predecessor.  In  that  document,  f  after  much 
ridiculous  praise  of  Henry  for  pure  and  inviolate  observance  of  the 
Christian  religion,  moderation,  clemency,  and  every  virtue  of  which 
he  was  notoriously  devoid,  the  Pope  inserts  a  gentle  intimation  of  his 
hope.  "A  time  followed  not  less  injurious  to  Christian  faith,  than 
wicked  ;  in  which — when  Luther  was  troubling  Germany  with  impious 
and  depraved  opinions — there  was  no  small  decline  in  the  souls  of  the 
faithful.  In  which  time,  as  thou  hadst  not  AN  OPPORTUNITY  of 
employing  arms  for  the  protection  of  the  faith,"  fyc.  Any  reader 
could  understand  the  reticence,  and  supply :  But  now  thou  hast :  go 
and  help  the  zealot  Ferdinand. 

In  England,  the  remembrance  of  recent  persecution  unto  death,  the 
terror  of  legantine  and  royal  edicts,  and  the  vexation  that  good  men 
daily  suffered  from  the  wicked,  caused  many  to  leave  England,  and, 
among  others,  William  Tyndale,  who  went  to  Holland,  and  there  dili- 
gently applied  himself  to  translating,  for  the  first  time,  the  New 
Testament  from  Greek  into  English. 

Wolsey,  persisting  in  his  desire  to  reform  the  Clergy,  both  secular 
and  regular,  and  ever  willing  to  display  his  authority  as  Legate,  sum- 
moned a  convocation  from  the  provinces  of  Canterbury  and  York,  (the 
letters  citatory  were  dated  April  22d,  1524,)  "to  deliberate  concern- 
ing the  reformation  as  well  of  the  laics  as  of  the  Ecclesiastics."  They 
were  to  "appear  before  him"  in  the  church  of  Westminster.  No  such 
reformation  came  to  pass;  but  it  was  well  that,  under  the  highest 
ecclesiastical  authority,  people  should  have  liberty  to  speak  of  the 
acknowledged  corruption  of  Priests  and  Monks.  A  letter  from  Fox, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  written  to  Wolsey  about  this  time,  contains 
charges  against  them  as  strong  as  any  that  were  ever  found  in  articles 
of  inquisition  against  "  known  men,"  and  expiated  at  the  stake.  He 
declares  that,  after  devoting  his  energies,  during  three  years,  almost 

*  Stiype,  ut  supra.  f  Rymeri  Fcedera,  torn,  xiv.,  p.  13. 


FIRST    SUPPRESSION    OF    MONASTERIES.  145 

exclusively  to  the  single  object  of  ascertaining  the  state  of  his  diocese, 
with  a  view  to  such  a  reformation  therein  as  Wolsey  contemplated 
throughout  the  kingdom,  he  found,  far  beyond  all  that  he  could  have 
imagined,  that  everything  that  had  contributed  to  the  ancient  inte- 
grity of  the  Clergy,  and  especially  of  the  Monks,  was  so  depraved  by 
licentiousness  and  corruption,  or  abolished  by  the  malignity  of  the  times, 
or  worn  out  or  decayed  by  age,  that  he  had  so  much  the  more  ardently 
desired  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  the  work  contemplated. 
Yet  the  wickedness  of  the  Clergy  was  so  great  that  it  took  away  all 
hope  of  his  ever  seeing  a  perfect  and  entire  reformation  in  his  single 
diocese.  And  his  reference  to  the  state  of  public  opinion  and  feel- 
ing towards  them  is  not  less  confirmatory  of  the  statements  of 
Protestant  writers.  His  words  are  these  : — "  It  appears  to  me  that 
this  reformation  of  the  Clergy  and  of  all  sacred  things  will  please  the 
people  who  have  been  long  and  loudly  murmuring,  will  enlighten  the 
Clergy,  will  conciliate  the  most  serene  King  himself,  and  all  the 
nobility,  to  the  Clergy.  And,  especially,  it  will  please  the  most  high 
God  himself,  more  than  all  sacrifices,  that  I  should  employ  and 
spend  the  remainder  of  my  life  most  gladly  in  promoting  it."* 
Then  what  hindered  such  a  reformation  ?  Wolsey,  Pope  of  the  West, 
this  Bishop,  and  many  other  learned  and  well-meaning  men,  the 
King,  the  nobility,  and  most  of  all  the  people,  desired  and  clamor- 
ously called  for  it.  Two  Popes  had  sanctioned  the  scheme.  The 
cause  of  their  failure  is  explained  by  our  Lord  in  a  few  words  :  "  Let 
them  alone,  they  be  blind  leaders  of  the  blind.  And  if  the  blind  lead 
the  blind,  both  shall  fall  into  the  ditch." 

Already  they  are  digging  the  ditch,  and  undermining  their  own 
house.  God  employs  those  to  demolish  who  are  utterly  unfit  to  build. 
A  favourite  part  of  Wolsey's  scheme  was  to  erect  new  colleges,  to  be 
seats  of  learning  from  which  a  better  race  of  Clergymen  should  go 
forth  ;  and  he  thought  that  a  few  worthless  monasteries  might  be  well 
suppressed  for  the  building  and  endowment  of  them.  And  Clement 
VII.,  perhaps  to  placate  the  Cardinal,  who  had  been  flattered  with 
promises  of  election  to  the  Papal  See,  not  only  confirmed  him  to  be 
Legate  for  life ;  but  gave  him  a  Bull  for  the  suppression  of  the 
monastery  of  St.  Fridswide,  Oxon,  in  order  to  the  building  of  a  col- 
lege in  that  University .f  Here  began  the  suppression  of  monasteries 
in  England;!  the  initiators  of  that  great  revolution  being,  not  Henry 
VIII.,  but  Pope  Clement  VII.  and  his  Legate,  Cardinal  Wolsey. 
This  Pope,  however,  did  not  claim  an  absolute  right  over  the  monastic 
property,  but  made  an  express  limitation  :  If  the  assent  of  the  King 
were  given,  and  that  assent  duly  signified,  it  gave  authority  for 
the  execution  of  the  Bull.§  The  reader  will  not  fail  to  remember 
that  the  first  monastery  suppressed,  was  that  which  had  been  made 
use  of  as  a  prison  for  Thomas  Man,  who  escaped  thence,  and  was 

*  Strype,  Appendix,  No.  x. 

t  "  First  called  Cardinal's  College  ;  then,  King's  College  ;  and,  at  last,  Christ's 
Church,  which  it  retaineth  at  this  day." — Fuller. 

J  Strype,  vol.  i.,  chap.  4;  Burnet,  part  i.,hook  i. 

§  The  words  are  :  "  Si  ad  hoc  charissirni  in  Christo  Clii  nostri  Henrici  Angliae  Reg!* 
illustris  accesserit  asaensus." — Rymeri  Foedera,  tosn.  siv.,  p.  15. 
VOL.    III.  V 


146  CHAPTER    III. 

therefore  burnt  in  Smithfield.  Nor  must  we  overlook  the  fact,  that 
to  drive  away  the  "  horrid  Lutheran  pestilence  "  was  an  object  avowed 
by  Clement  VII.  in  renewing  to  Wolsey  his  authority  for  visiting  the 
religious  houses.* 

But  the  raising  of  the  Universities,  which  had  never  been  so  abso- 
lutely subject  to  the  Popes  as  the  monasteries,  was  simultaneous  with 
the  decline  of  those  fraternities  over  which  they  had  exercised,  and 
now  again  exercise,  a  supreme  disciplinary  control.  The  holy  Scrip- 
tures had  not  hitherto  been  read  there ;  but  were  soon  introduced  into 
Cambridge  (A.D.  1524).  George  Stavert,  or  Stafford,  B.D.,  Reader 
of  Divinity,  Proctor  of  the  University,  and  University  Preacher,  first 
read  lectures  out  of  the  books  of  Scripture,  instead  of  the  Sentences. 
The  Bible  thus  came  into  request,  and  his  labours  were  appreciated 
by  many  who  began  to  investigate  for  themselves  the  true  sense  of  the 
inspired  writings  of  the  New  Testament.  After  his  death,  his 
books  were  brought  into  the  library,  and  an  epigraph  on  the  covers 
attested  the  gratitude  of  those  who  had  been  enlightened  by  his 
instructions, — 

"  Augustini  opera  oia',  Testamentum  et  ntrumque 
Hebraice  et  Grace,  bue  contulit  ille  Stavert. 
Contulit  ille  Stavert,  nostris  studiis  promovendi*  ; 
Qui  Paulum  explicuit  rite,  et  evangelium." 

Which  means  that  Stafford,  who  had  correctly  explained  St.  Paul  and 
the  Gospel,  had  bequeathed  to  that  library  all  the  works  of  Augus- 
tine, the  Old  Testament  in  Hebrew,  and  the  New  in  Greek,  for  the 
promotion  of  their  studies.  One,  at  least,  of  those  to  whom  he 
"  rightly  explained  "  the  Epistles  and  Gospels,  eminently  profited  by 
the  instruction,  rose  to  the  dignity  of  Bishop,  and  the  higher  dignity 
of  martyr,  as  appears  by  the  following  passage  of  Latimer's  seventh 
Sermon  on  the  Lord's  Prayer  : — "  When  I  was  at  Cambridge,  Mr. 
George  Stafford  read  a  lecture  there.  I  heard  him.  And  in  expound- 
ing the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  when  he  came  to  that  place  where  St. 
Paul  saith,  that  we  shall  overcome  our  enemy  with  well-doing,  &c., 
it  was  even  at  that  time  when  Dean  Colet  was  in  trouble,  and  should 
have  been  burnt,  if  God  had  not  turned  the  King's  heart  to  the 
contrary."  And  Stafford  was  not  alone.  Nicholas  Paynel,  a  York- 
shireman,  mathematical  lecturer,  and  John  Thixtel,  of  the  diocese 
of  Norwich,  also  a  University  Preacher,  were  noted  "  Scripture  men." 
Paynel  afterwards  published  a  small  book  containing  a  collection 
of  passages  from  the  Bible,  classified  for  devotional  use  on  various 
occasions ;  and  Thixtel  acquired  so  high  authority  by  his  use  of  the 
book  which  laymen  suffered  death  for  reading,  that,  as  if  he  were  a 
second  Aristotle,  the  disputants  used  to  cite  him  with  "  Thixtel  dizit" 
"Thixtel  has  said  it."f 

From  Cambridge  the  leaven  spread  to  Oxford.  Wolsey  had 
brought  a  company  of  learned  men  from  Cambridge  to  his  new  col- 
lege of  Fridswide's,  as  he  himself  named  it ;  but  the  name  was 
changed  successively  until  it  retained  that  of  Christ's  Church, — in 

*  Rymeri  Fcertera,  torn,  s'iv.,  p.  18.  f  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  chap.  3. 


PERSECUTION    AT    CAMBRIDGE.  ] -J  / 

order  to  give  it  the  desired  literary  distinction  ;  and  especially  for 
the  counteraction  of  evangelical  doctrine  in  England,  as  the  royal 
warrant  for  the  foundation  of  "  the  Cardinal's  college  "  most  dis- 
tinctly set  forth.*  Among  them  were  John  Clark,  John  Frith, 
Henry  Sumner,  Richard  Cox,  and  Richard  Taverner,  of  whom  we 
shall  hear  again,  with  some  others,  not  of  Cambridge  ;  but  equally 
distinguished  by  sound  learning,  and  love  of  evangelical  truth.  But 
they  were  Bible  men,  and  held  frequent  conferences  together  on  the 
acknowledged  corruptions  of  the  Church,  acknowledged  and  severely 
censured  by  their  patron,  the  founder  of  the  college.  For  this 
offence  they  were,  with  some  few  others,  who  afterwards  cast  away 
their  confidence,  locked  up  in  a  cellar  under  the  building  where  salt 
fish  was  kept,  all  infected  by  the  stench,  and  diseased  by  being  fed 
on  the  fish ;  and,  when  removed  to  their  chambers,  still  under  arrest, 
three  of  them  died.  These  were  Clark,  Sumner,  and  another 
named  Bayley.  Master  Bettes,  having  no  books  in  his  chamber, 
obtained  permission,  with  some  difficulty,  to  be  prisoner  at  large  in 
the  college,  stole  away  to  Cambridge,  and  became,  eventually,  Chap- 
lain to  Queen  Anne  Boleyu.  Wolsey  heard  with  displeasure  of  this 
severe  persecution  of  men  whom  he  esteemed,  however  he  might 
blame  them  for  what  was  deemed  heretical,  and  wrote  to  desire  that 
they  should  be  less  straitly  handled.  And  of  Taverner  he  said,  that 
as  he  was  only  a  musician,  referring  to  his  skill  in  musical  composi- 
tion, he  should  be  fully  released.  The  others  were  dismissed  on  con- 
dition of  not  going  beyond  ten  miles  from  Oxford.  So  they  remained 
there,  diffusing  a  good  influence  around,f  (A.D.  1524,)  except  Frith, 
who  fled  to  Antwerp. 

Beyond  Oxford  there  was  little  judicial  persecution.  Even  under 
the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  there  appears  to  have  been  but  one  process  on 
accusation  of  heresy  in  the  year  1525  ;  but  that  one  disclosed  an 
admirable  instance  of  pure  Christian  belief.  Roger  Hachmau,  sitting 
in  the  church-aisle  at  North-Stoke,  in  the  earnestness  of  a  familiar 
conversation,  said  such  words  as  these  : — "  I  will  never  look  to  be 
saved  for  any  good  deed  that  ever  I  did,  neither  for  any  that  ever  1 
will  do,  unless  I  may  have  my  salvation  by  petition,  as  an  outlaw 
shall  have  the  pardon  of  the  King."  And  he  insisted  that  "  if  he 
might  not  have  his  salvation  so,  he  thought  he  should  be  lost." 
Thus  did  he  honour  Christ,  and  no  doubt  suffered  much  vexation,  yet 
enjoyed  the  blessedness  of  being  persecuted  for  His  name's  sake. 

Meanwhile,  Wolsey  is  unwittingly  contributing  another  occasion 
of  separation  from  Rome.  His  ambition  in  heading  an  effort  for 
reform  had  already  marked  a  way  of  incipient  reformation,  and  now 
his  disgust,  also,  begins  to  sever  England  from  the  Pope.  The 
Emperor  of  Germany,  Charles  V.,  was  nephew  of  Catharine,  Infanta 
of  Spain,  and  Queen  of  England.  He  had  been  at  war  with  his 
rival,  Francis  I.  ;  and  while  Francis  was  his  prisoner,  entered  into 
a  treaty  with  him  on  unequal  terms,  and  then  released  him.  This 
fame  Charles  V.  had  come  over  to  England  five  years  before,  anticipat- 

*  Rymeri  Foedera,  torn,  xiv.,  p.  39. 
t  Fox*-,  book  viii. ;   Fuller,  book  v.,  sect.  1. 

TJ    2 


148  CHAPTER    III. 

ing  an  intended  visit  of  his  rival,  to  pay  court  to  Henry  VIIT.,  in 
order  to  make  use  of  his  alliance  to  the  prejudice  of  Francis.  When 
here,  perceiving  that  Wolsey  exerted  so  great  an  influence  over  his 
master  that  his  concurrence  was  indispensable  to  success  in  any  nego- 
tiation, he  made  the  Cardinal  valuable  presents,  and  promised  him 
that  when  the  Papacy  should  next  be  vacant,  he  would  use  all  his 
interest  to  have  him  elected.  Leo  X.  died  much  sooner  than  might 
have  been  expected,  and  Wolsey  thought  himself  sure  of  getting  the 
triple  crown;  but  it  was  placed  on  the  head  of  a  Dutchman,  who 
chose  to  be  saluted  Adrian,  sixth  of  that  name.  After  an  uneasy  reign 
of  only  twenty  months  Adrian  died,  and  the  English  Cardinal  again 
believed  that  the  way  to  the  Pontificate  was  assuredly  open  to  him ; 
but  the  Emperor  a  second  time  failed  to  procure  his  election,  and 
Giulio  de'  Medici,  an  Italian,  mounted  the  vacant  throne.  Wolsey 
brooded  over  the  breach  of  promise  in  silence,  and  waited  for  an 
opportunity  to  avenge  himself  on  the  faithless  Emperor.  After  the 
treaty  of  Madrid,  drawn  up  and  ratified  while  Francis  was  yet  a 
captive,  Wolsey  encouraged  the  feeling  prevalent  at  court  that  there 
had  been  much  injustice,  and  even  cruelty,  in  the  transaction.  He 
impressed  this  view  on  the  ardent  mind  of  Henry.  At  the  same  time 
he  made  a  confidential  overture  to  the  French  King,  offering  to  induce 
Henry  to  break  with  the  Emperor,  and  make  a  new  treaty  with  him. 
Delighted  with  the  proposal,  Francis  sent  over  a  present  of  four  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns,  as  the  retainer  of  so  powerful  service  ;  and 
Wolsey,  artfully  suppressing  the  real  motive  of  his  enmity  to  Charles, 
obtained  permission  of  his  Sovereign  to  conduct  secret  preliminaries, 
and  then  to  effect  a  treaty  between  England  and  France  on  terms 
of  perfect  reciprocity.  Strengthened  by  this  alliance,  Francis  broke 
his  engagement  with  his  former  conqueror,  and  perpetual  rival ;  the 
Kings  of  England  and  France  became  virtually  allied  against  the 
Emperor,  and  the  disappointed  Cardinal  enjoyed  revenge  (A.D.  1525). 
The  Pope  seemed,  for  a  moment,  to  be  delivered  from  the  cumbrous 
patronage  of  Charles  by  this  new  movement ;  and,  by  showing  favour 
to  the  newly-allied  Princes,  so  provoked  him  that,  by  a  vengeful  stra- 
tagem of  the  Germans,  the  head  of  the  Church,  as  already  mentioned, 
found  himself  a  prisoner  in  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and  Rome  was  pil- 
laged for  fourteen  days  by  imperial  soldiers  (A.D.  1527).  And,  as  if  to 
testify  more  fully  his  orthodoxy,  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  covertly 
negotiating  with  the  King  of  France,  Henry  issued,  a  second  book 
against  Luther,  in  continuation  of  the  theological  controversy.  "  Rex 
Anglorum  Regi  kcereticorum  scribit"  "  The  King  of  England,"  said  a 
wit,  "writes  against  the  King  of  heretics!"  But  it  is  his  last  pro- 
duction of  the  kind.  Alienation  from  the  nephew  of  his  Queen  leads 
his  thoughts  into  another  channel,  as  a  little  time  will  show  ;  yet, 
for  the  present,  he  is  very  zealous  against  heresy. 

William  Tyndale,  Chaplain  to  Humphrey  Mummuth,*  an  Alderman 
of  London,  foreseeing  persecution,  went  to  Wittemberg,  where  he 
translated  the  New  Testament  from  Greek  into  English,  assisted  by 

*  Xot  Monmouth. 


TYNDALE'S  TESTAMENT.  149 

John  Frith,  one  of  the  Cambridge  men  whom  Wolsey  had  placed  at 
Oxford,  and  by  William  Roy,  a  Friar,  whose  services  were  chiefly 
those  of  an  amanuensis.  At  Cologne  a  small  edition  was  first 
printed,  (A.D.  1525,)  and  a  corrected  and  more  numerous  impression 
was  in  the  press,  (A.D.  1526,)  when  Cochloeus,  one  of  Luther's 
bitterest  opponents,  discovered  every  particular  of  the  printing  and 
intended  circulation  of  the  books,  by  making  the  printers  drunk,  and 
then  drawing  the  information  from  them.  While  he  was  proceeding  to 
seize  the  printed  sheets,  Tyndale  succeeded  in  getting  both  types  and 
paper  removed  to  Worms  or  Wittemberg,  and  there  the  edition  was 
completed.  Without  delay,  packages  of  this  precious  volume  M'ere 
brought  to  England  by  persons  who  disguised  themselves  for  the  hazard- 
ous enterprise,  and  extensively  circulated.  Wycliffe's  version  (made 
from  the  Latin  Vulgate)  existed  only  in  manuscript,  and  had  been 
preserved,  and  even  multiplied,  in  spite  of  searching  inquisition  ;  but 
now,  without  labour,  and  at  comparatively  little  cost,  an  excellent 
translation  was  offered  to  the  "  known  men  "  in  all  parts  of  England. 
A  sudden  and  profound  sensation  of  alarm  pervaded  the  priesthood  ; 
and  well  it  might.  For  the  unexpected  importation  of  the  word 
of  life  delighted  multitudes  who  had  heard  of  the  Cambridge  read- 
ings, and  were  receiving  scriptural  instruction  from  the  disciples 
of  Stafford,  and  of  his  brethren,  persecuted  and  martyred  at  Oxford. 
Families,  wherein  a  scroll  containing  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten  Com- 
mandments, or  a  few  leaves  with  but  an  Epistle  or  the  fragment  of  a 
Gospel  written  on  them,  had  been  their  only  store,  now  saw  the  entire 
volume  for  the  first  time.  Many  an  Ecclesiastic  caught  a  glimpse, 
and  read  with  trembling  such  paragraphs  *  as  this  :  — 

"  The  Sprete  speaketh  evydently  that  in  the  latter  tymes  some 
shall  departe  from  the  fayth,  and  shall  geve  hede  vnto  spretes  of 
errure,  and  dyvlysshe  doctryne  off  them  which  speake  falce  thorow 
ypocrisy,  and  have  their  consciences  marked  with  an  hott  yeron, 
forbyddynge  to  mary,  and  commaundynge  to  abstayue  from  meates, 
which  God  hath  created  to  be  receaved  with  gevynge  thankes,  off 
them  which  beleve,  and  have  knowen  the  trueth,  for  all  the  creatures 
of  God  are  good  :  and  nothynge  to  be  refused,  yff  it  be  receaved  with 
thankes  gevynge  :  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  worde  of  God,  and  prayer. 
Yff  thou  shalt  put  the  brethren  in  remembraunce  of  these  thynges, 
thou  shalt  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesu  Christ  which  hast  bene 
norisshed  vppe  in  the  wordes  of  fayth,  and  good  doctryne,  which 
doctryne  thou  hast  continually  followed.  But  cast  awaye  vngostly 
and  olde  wyves  fables." 

At  the  instigation  of  Wolsey,  Cuthbert  Tonstal,  Bishop  of  London, 
friend  and  correspondent  of  Erasmus,  a  reputed  lover  of  learning,  and 
patron  of  scholars,  was  the  first  man  to  resist  the  circulation  of  the 
printed  word  of  God.  Without  loss  of  time  he  issued  a  mandate  to 
his  Clergy,  telling  them  that  many  children  of  iniquity,  maintainers 
of  Luther's  sect,  blinded  by  extreme  wickedness,  wandering  from  the 
way  of  truth,  and  the  Catholic  faith,  had  craftily  translated  the  New 

*  Robert  Stevens  had  not  )-et  divided  the  chapters  into  verse*.  This  he  did  in  the 
year  1551,  while  on  a  journey  from  Paris  to  Lyons  ;  inter  equitiinJum,  as  he  said. 


]50  CHAPTER    III. 

Testament  into  our  English  tongue,  mingling  therewith  many  here- 
tical articles  and  erroneous  opinions,  &c.,  dispersing  that  most  pesti- 
ferous and  pernicious  poison  throughout  the  diocese  of  London  in 
great  numbers.  In  short,  he  commanded  them  to  call  in  all  the 
books  within  thirty  days,  under  penalty  of  excommunication.  And 
opportunity  was  taken  to  publish  a  list  of  prohibited  books  at  the 
same  time,  which  list,  as  it  appears  to  have  been  the  first  put  forth 
by  authority  in  this  country,  shall  be  copied  at  the  foot  of  the  page.* 
The  books  circulated,  notwithstanding;  and  among  other  examples 
of  zeal  in  distribution,  one  of  the  most  prominent  is  Thomas  Garret, 
Curate,  of  Honey-Lane,  who  dispersed  them  diligently  in  Oxford,  and 
thereby  enlightened  many  future  Clergymen  in  the  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, f  For  this  he  afterwards  suffered  at  the  stake. 

With  heresy  in  the  people,  heresy  infecting  the  priesthood,  heresy 
penetrating  into  the  Universities,  and  heresy  streaming  into  the  king- 
dom at  the  sea-ports  from  presses  at  work  in  the  strongholds 
of  Lutheranism, — the  Priests  began  to  see  that  mandates,  inquisi- 
tions, and  burnings  were  insufficient  to  quell  the  rising  peril  to  their 
craft.  The  King  and  the  Bishop  of  Rochester  had,  as  yet,  been  the 
only  polemic  writers ;  they  alone  had  attacked  Luther,  and  that  in 
Latin  ;  but  it  was  now  thought  necessary  to  condescend  to  the  vulgar 
tongue,  and  write  something  for  general  reading,  iu  order  to  sustain 
their  cause.  So,  after  full  deliberation,  Toustal  made  up  a  stout 
package,  containing  the  books  catalogued  below,  some  few  others,  and 
the  writings  of  the  principal  foreign  Reformers,  and  sent  them  to 
Sir  Thomas  More,  with  an  official  licence  empowering  him  to  read  the 
"pestiferous"  productions  without  incurring  excommunication  or 
death.  In  a  flattering  letter  to  Sir  Thomas,  he  asked  him,  since  he 
could  play  the  Demosthenes  both  in  Latin  and  English,  to  steal  a  few 
hours  from  weightier  labours,  in  order  to  declare  to  rude  and  simple 
people  the  craft  and  malice  of  their  enemies.  The  books — "fond  trifles  " 
— were  sent  to  Sir  Thomas  More,  lest  he  should  strive  and  contend 
blindfold,  like  the  Audabatse ;  and,  being  thus  allowed  an  insight  into 
the  counsels  of  the  enemies,  he  was  exhorted  to  win  for  himself,  by 
i  hat  holy  work,  an  immortal  name,  and  eternal  glory  in  heaven.  As 

*  The  New  Testament,  translated  by  Tyndale. 

The  Supplication  of  Beggars. 

The  Revelation  of  Antichrist,  written  by  Luther. 

The  wicked  Mammon. 

The  Obedience  of  a  Christian  Man. 

Au  Introduction  to  Paul's  Kpistle  to  the  Romans. 

A  Dialogue  between  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

Luther's  Exposition  upon  the  Pater  Noster. 

(Economics  Christian*. 

Unio  Dissidentium. 

Pise  Precationes. 

Capti vitas  Babylonica. 

Joaunis  Hussi  in  Oseam. 

Zuinglius  in  Catabaptista*. 

De  pueris  instituendis. 

Brentius  de  admirauda  republica. 

Lutherus  ad  Galata*. 

De  Libertate  Christiana. 
1   Foxe,  book  viii.  ;  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  chap   23- 


INQUISITORIAL    VISITATION.  1  ."  1 

to  immortality  of  name,  if  the  author  of  Utopia  attained  it,  it  was 
not  by  his  productions  for  the  refutation  of  the  Gospel.* 

Clement  VII.  being  in  durance,  (A.D.  1527,)  Wolsey  contrived  to 
obtain  the  new  office  of  Vicar-General,  by  which  he  was  empowered 
to  do  whatever  a  Pope  would  do  in  England,  without  appeal,  and  to 
make  definitive  negotiations  to  restore  the  Pope.f  This  placed  him 
at  the  zenith  of  his  glory, — a  spiritual  Plenipotentiary.  He  thus 
assumed  the  supreme  charge  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  being 
also  Chancellor  of  England,  and  still  in  ascendancy  over  the  royal 
counsels,  the  King  was  united  with  him  in  the  joint  administra- 
tion of  Church  and  State,  and  in  the  complication  of  sacred  and 
civil  attributes.  It  is  therefore  no  matter  of  wonder  that,  after  the 
fall  of  Wolsey,  Henry  should  wish  to  retain  the  whole  power  in  his 
own  hands.  In  the  exercise  of  this  absolute  authority,  "Wolsey 
forthwith  applied  himself  to  the  extirpation  of  the  obnoxious  doctrines, 
and  established  a  Court  at  Westminster  for  the  inquisition  of  heretical 
pravity.  Jeffrey  Wharton,  the  Bishop's  Vicar- General,  presided  there 
during  the  absence  of  the  Bishop  with  the  Cardinal  in  France  ;  (A.D. 
1 527;)  and  the  disclosures  made  by  the  examinates  throw  much  light  on 
the  means  employed  by  good  men  for  spreading  true  religion  in  those 
times.  The  inquisitorial  visitation  of  the  diocese  of  London  began 
in  the  month  of  January,  and  must  have  been  preceded  by  a  deter- 
mination as  to  the  course  to  be  taken.  There  was  no  sentence  of 
death,  no  employment  of  torture,  no  extremely  severe  penance ;  and, 
if  we  may  judge  by  records,  the  most  zealously-devoted  persons  were 
not  the  first  apprehended. 

One  Hacker,  or  Ebbe,  was  first  examined.  For  six  years  preceding  he 
had  travelled  over  a  wide  district  of  town  and  country,  including  Lon- 
don and  the  county  of  Essex.  Some  places  he  visited  annually,  others 
quarterly,  and  others  more  freqxiently.  He  was  wont  to  read  and  con- 
verse with  families,  or  with  companies  of  the  "  brethren  in  Christ," 
as  they  called  themselves,  assembled  to  meet  him  on  those  visits;  and 
he  taught,  one  by  one,  those  who  desired  instruction  in  Christian  doc- 
trine. Such  inquirers  he  supplied  with  written  papers,  or  small 
books,  all  in  manuscript,  written  by  his  own  hand,  or  by  brethren 
who  could  write.  Some  he  taught  to  write,  that  they  might  render 
that  important  service ;  and  in  one  instance,  in  the  house  of  John 
Stacy,  a  bricklayer  in  Coleman-street,  a  scribe  was  kept  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  copying  the  Apocalypse  in  English  ;  one  John  Sercot,  a 
grocer  in  the  same  street,  defraying  the  entire  cost.  Some  of  the 
brethren  gave  much  time  to  reading  and  teaching,  being  guided 
by  his  advice,  if  not  under  his  direction.  Such  an  one  was 
"  Thomas  Philip,  pointmaker,  dwelling  against  the  little  conduit  at 
Cheap."  Notwithstanding  this  great  activity,  and  after  persevering 
for  six  years,  he  was  so  timid,  or  so  unfaithful,  as  to  give  the  names 
of  forty  or  fifty,  at  fewest,  of  those  who  had  regarded  him  as 
their  spiritual  father  and  pastor,  in  London,  Colchester,  Branktree, 
(Braintree,)  Witham,  and  neighbouring  places.  This  sweeping 
information  gave  the  Bishop  and  his  Vicar  abundant  employment  for 

*  Foxe,  book  viii.  t   Rynieri  Fa'dera,  tom.  xiv.,  p.  198. 


152  CHAPTER    III. 

many  weeks,  until  it  no  doubt  became  a  question  how  far  they  might 
venture  to  enforce  discipline  on  so  many  persons,  connected,  as  they 
were,  with  multitudes  yet  undetected.  Dr.  Wharton,  however, 
(February  24th,)  sat  judicially  in  the  long  chapel  of  St.  Paul's  church, 
and  examined  Sir  Sebastian  Herns,  Curate  of  Kensington,  who  con- 
fessed that  he  possessed  two  books,  Tyndale's  Testament,  and  the 
Unio  Dissideutium.  The  Curate  was  absolved,  sworn  on  the  holy 
Gospels  not  to  possess  the  Gospels  any  more,  nor  any  other  book 
containing  heresy  ;  and  seeing  that  London  was  a  dangerous  place  to 
be  the  abode  of  a  religiously-suspected  person,  he  was  required  to 
leave  it  within  twenty-four  hours,  and  not  approach  within  four  miles 
during  two  years  following.  This  proceeding  was  conducted  with 
great  solemnity,  in  the  presence  of  several  ecclesiastical  dignitaries. 

A  more  extensive  inquest  was  made  by  "  the  reverend  father  in  Christ, 
Cuthbert,  Bishop  of  London,  sitting  judicially  in  his  chapel  within 
his  palace  at  London."  It  continued,  with  some  intermission,  during 
three  weeks  (from  3d  to  23d  of  March).  John  Pykas,  of  Colches- 
ter, was  the  son  of  a  pious  woman  who  lived  at  Bury  St.  Edmond's. 
About  five  years  before  this  time  she  had  sent  for  him,  exhorted  him 
to  turn  from  the  errors  of  Romanism,  and  given  him  a  book  of  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  in  English,  to  be  the  rule  of  his  life,  together  with  the 
Gospels.  These  sacred  writings  he  studied,  forsaking  the  services 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  and  when  a  Lombard,  or  trader,  from  Lon- 
don, brought  a  supply  of  Tyndale's  *  New  Testament  to  Colchester, 
he  purchased  a  copy  for  four  shillings,  and  read  it  through  many 
times.  When  the  prohibition  of  this  book  was  published,  he  sent  it 
back,  with  the  others,  to  his  mother  ;  yet  retaining  in  memory  much 
of  the  sacred  text,  and  still  conversing  and  teaching  from  house  to 
house,  after  the  accustomed  manner.  When  brought  before  the 
Bishop,  he  answered  every  question  without  reserve,  and  so  freely  dis- 
closed the  names  of  the  known  men,  or  "  brethren  in  Christ,"  that  it 
is  scarcely  possible  to  resist  the  impression  that  they  must  have 
agreed  together  no  longer  to  attempt  concealment.  Several  others 
were  examined  on  oath,  both  to  confess  their  own  conduct,  and  to  dis- 
close that  of  others.  Some  few  objected  to  take  the  oath,  and  one 
so  determinately,  that  he  was  sent  to  the  Lollards'  Tower,  and  put 
into  the  stocks ;  but  at  last  all  yielded,  and  were  sworn,  examined, 
and  abjured.  Cuthbert  and  his  Priests  violated  a  first  principle 
of  humanity  in  confining  each  person  in  a  separate  cell,  and  in  extort- 
ing from  one  relative  information  against  another  ;  but  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  justify  the  facility  with  which  they  all  abjured  their  faith,  even 
on  the  supposition  that  a  compulsory  abjuration  was  considered  to  be 
invalid.  During  the  remainder  of  this  and  the  following  year,  many 
more  signed  confessions  and  abjurations  ;  and,  in  order  to  complete 
his  work,  Dr.  Wharton  went  into  Essex  on  a  tour  of  inquisition.  At 
Colchester,  in  the  monastery  of  St.  John,  a  company  of  the  wives  of 

*  Tyndale  was  also  called  "  Hotchyn."  It  was  usual  in  those  dark  times,  when  the 
profession  of  faith  in  Christ  was  treated  as  a  crime,  for  persons  to  bear  assumed  names, 
for  the  sake  of  concealment.  •  The  custom,  however  necessitated,  was  bad  •  and  we  may 
be  thankful  that,  in  our  day,  this  method  of  concealment  is  only  a  necessity  to  rogues. 


BULLS    FOR    SUPPRESSION    OF    MONASTERIES.  153 

known  men  who  had  already  made  their  submission,  appeared  before 
him  and  did  the  like.  Having  displayed  his  condescension  in  going 
down  into  the  country  to  impose  penance  on  housewives  who  might 
not  have  journeyed  to  the  metropolis  so  easily  as  their  husbands,  the 
Vicar-General  proceeded  to  Walden,  rapidly  dispatched  his  business 
there,  and  soon  re-appeared  in  London  covered  with  the  easy  honours 
of  a  bloodless  victory.*  That  it  was  bloodless  must  be  attributed, 
under  God,  to  the  policy  of  the  moment.  But  it  was  illusive  to  the 
imaginary  conquerors.  They  had  gained  nothing. 

The  Bishop  of  London,  and  whoever  else  undertook  the  repression 
of  heresy,  were  but  the  commissaries  of  Wolsey,  who  thought  fit  to 
content  himself  with  the  imposition  of  penances.  Another  object 
engrossed  his  care,  and  that  of  Henry.  Queen  Catharine,  aunt  of 
Charles  V.,  whom  Wolsey  hated,  had  been  wife  of  Arthur,  Prince 
of  Wales.  Arthur  died  six  months  after  their  marriage ;  from  that 
union  there  was  no  issue,  and  Henry,  obtaining  a  Papal  dispensation, 
married  his  deceased  brother's  widow.  The  dispensation  was  sup- 
posed to  have  overcome  all  scruples  in  Henry  as  to  the  lawfulness 
of  the  marriage  ;  but  after  the  lapse  of  sixteen  years,  Catharine  being 
still  childless,  Henry,  who  had  married  her  for  the  sake  of  her  dowry 
and  political  relations,  rather  than  from  affection,  was  quite  ready  to 
listen  to  a  suggestion  of  divorce.  Wolsey,  having  already  disengaged 
him  from  alliance  with  the  Emperor,  prosecuted  his  design  of  revenge 
by  making  the  suggestion  ;  and  application  was  made  to  the  Pope, 
just  after  his  liberation  and  flight  from  Rome,  for  a  commission  to 
examine  the  affair,  in  order  to  effect  a  dissolution  of  the  marriage. 
Then  (A.D.  1527)  began  those  negotiations  that  led  to  the  separation 
of  England  from  Rome  ;  but  the  narrative  would  be  tedious,  and 
must  be  sought  elsewhere.  The  history  of  this  reign  is  full  of  it. 
Clement,  it  is  enough  to  say,  would  willingly  have  granted  the  King 
of  England  any  request,  however  contrary  to  the  law  of  God  ;  but  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  accede  to  this  without  incurring  the  ven- 
geance of  Charles  V.,  whom  he  did  not  love,  yet  durst  not  offend. 
Other  favours,  however,  he  could  grant.  In  addition  to  former  gifts, 
he  again  issued  Bulls  for  the  suppression  of  many  monasteries,  in  order 
to  the  building  and  larger  endowment  of  the  Cardinal's  college  at 
Oxford,  and  for  another  that  Wolsey  purposed  to  erect  at  Ipswich.  And, 
yet  again,  he  authorized  the  suppression  of  as  many  others  as 
might  be  required  for  the  fabric  and  endowment  of  royal  colleges  at 
Cambridge  and  Windsor  Castle.  In  one  Bull  alone,  twenty-two 
monasteries  were  named.  The  Pope  is  said  to  have  expressed  his 
gratification  at  hearing  from  Henry's  Ambassadors,  that  an  opportu- 
nity had  occurred  for  abolishing  such  scandalous  establishments,  and 
diverting  the  property  to  the  support  of  colleges  wherein  learning 
should  be  taught,  and  Lutheranism  counteracted  ;  and  if  an  opinion 
were  to  be  formed  from  the  number  and  tenor  of  Papal  Bulls  in  the 
years  1527 — 1529,  we  should  say  that  Clement  VII.  was  a  zealous 
suppressor  of  monasteries,  and  even  parsonages,  in  England.  To 

*  Foxe   scarcely   notices    these  proceedings;  but    Strype    records   them    at   length. 
Memorial!),  vol.  i.(  chapters  7,  8,  and  Appendix. 
VOL.    III.  X 


154  CHAPTER    III. 

promote  the  interests  of  the  colleges,  to  build  new  cathedrals,  and  to 
vacate  houses  where  the  Monks  or  Nuns  were  fewer  than  twelve,  are 
the  objects  sanctioned  "  under  the  lead  "  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  ;  but 
always  subject  to  the  condition  that  royal  assent  be  given  to  the  pro- 
posed suppression,*  and  always  pursuing  the  very  track  which  has  been 
followed  in  later  years  for  bringing  about  the  abolition  of  monasticism 
itself  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  Most  fully,  then,  did  the  Pope 
establish  the  precedent  for  what,  at  Rome,  is  called  spoliation. 

North  of  the  Tweed  the  darkness  had  been  almost  unbroken,  and 
hitherto  witnesses  to  the  truth  were  so  few  and  rare,  that  we  have 
not  digressed  from  the  course  of  our  narrative  to  mention  them. 
But  (A.D.  1527)  Gospel  light  suddenly  rose  on  Scotland,  precisely 
when  ecclesiastical  freedom  was  approaching  England.  To  gather  up, 
however,  the  few  testimonies  afforded  by  the  history  of  North  Britain, 
it  must  be  noted  that,  upwards  of  a  century  earlier,  the  city  of  Glas- 
gow heard  some  evangelical  truths  from  an  English  Lollard,  James 
Resby,  and  saw  him  burnt  to  death — the  proto-martyr  of  Scotland. 
Another  foreigner,  Paul  Craw,  one  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  was 
apprehended  in  St.  Andrews,  summarily  examined,  condemned,  gagged 
by  a  piece  of  brass  thrust  into  his  mouth,  that  he  might  not  confess 
Christ  in  the  hearing  of  the  people,  and,  as  usual,  burnt  (A.D. 
1431).  Yet  the  martyred  followers  of  Huss  and  Wycliffe  did  not 
preach  nor  pray  in  vain.  By  some  unrecorded  means,  the  word  of 
God  was  introduced  into  Glasgow,  and,  it  would  also  appear,  into 
other  parts  of  the  country  ;  for  Robert  Blackader,  Archbishop  of  that 
city,  (A.D.  1494,)  detected  no  fewer  than  thirty  persons,  "  some  in 
Kyle-Stewart,  some  in  King's-Kyle,  and  some  in  Cunninghame,"  who 
professed  the  doctrines  held  by  Wycliffe,  and  had  them  brought 
before  him  on  charge  of  heresy.  But,  unused  to  inquisitorial  formal- 
ities, or  afraid  to  try  them,  he  allowed  those  heretics  to  be  sheltered 
under  favour  of  the  King,  to  whom  some  of  them  were  familiarly  known, 
and  in  whose  presence  they  spoke  with  so  great  confidence  and  such 
pungent  wit,  that  the  Archbishop  allowed  them  to  disperse  without 
prosecuting  the  inquisition,  much  less  pronouncing  any  sentence. 
They  were  called  "  the  Lollards  of  Kyle."  Into  Scotland,  also,  the 
writings  of  Luther  and  others  were  brought  by  sea,  notwithstanding 
the  most  rigid  prohibitions  ;  and  a  change  of  public  opinion  in  mat- 
ters of  religion  silently,  but  rapidly,  advanced.  The  events  of  the 
Lutheran  Reformation  were  not  unheard  of,  nor  were  the  Ecclesiastics 
indifferent  to  the  controversy. 

Patrick  Hamilton,  titular  Abbot  of  Fearu,  of  a  noble  family,  and 
closely  allied  to  royalty,  partook  of  the  desire  to  know  more  of  the 
Reformers  and  their  doctrine.  He  was  but  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
and,  ardently  athirst  for  knowledge,  determined  to  visit  Germany. f 
Taking  with  him  three  companions,  he  crossed  over  to  the  Continent, 


345 


—    ry  poverty  of  th\,  ^Uv«—  ~  — 

ities  in  that  age.    Students  went  abroad  to  finish  their  education.  To  learn  Greek  in 
bcotland  from  a  living  master  was  impossible. 


PATRICK    HAMILTON.  155 

and  was  soon  found  as  a  student  in  the  University  of  Marburg, 
newly  founded  by  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  receiving  instruction 
from  Francis  Lampert,  first  occupant  of  the  Chair  of  Divinity,  and 
holding  intimate  correspondence  with  men  in  whose  heart  the  love 
of  God  was  shed  abroad.  Already  a  keen  logician,  he  reasoned 
closely,  by  a  free  communication  that  would  have  been  impracticable 
in  his  native  country,  improved  the  talent,  and,  by  diligent  study 
of  holy  Scripture,  attained  to  a  clear  perception  of  the  word  of  truth, 
that  sanctifies  them  who  love  it.  With  prayer  he  sought  the  wisdom 
that  cometh  from  above,  and,  having  received  the  liberal  gift,  became 
anxious  to  make  it  known  in  Scotland.  No  representations  of  dan- 
ger could  deter  him  from  his  purpose.  With  one  of  the  three  compa- 
nions he  quitted  Marburg,  and,  as  speedily  as  wind  and  carriage 
would  convey,  hastened  to  Glasgow.  Although  beneficed  as  pension- 
ary Abbot  of  Fearn,  he  had  no  licence  to  preach ;  but,  whether  from 
pulpits  or  in  private  can  scarcely  be  gathered  from  the  history,  he  did 
preach  Christ,  more  clearly,  and  therefore  more  powerfully,  than  the  Lol- 
lards of  Kyle;  and  aroused,  as  ever,  the  anger  of  an  inexorable  priesthood. 
Before  going  abroad,  his  views  of  religion  began  to  be  enlarged ;  and, 
had  he  not  left  Scotland,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  been  then 
imprisoned,  for  already  Bishop  Beaton  had  summoned  him  to  under- 
go an  examination.  On  his  return,  when  he  appeared  in  Glasgow  as 
a  zealous  Evangelist,  Beaton  contrived  to  have  him  decoyed  to  St, 
Andrews,  as  if  to  hold  an  amicable  conference  with  the  Doctors  in 
that  University ;  and  in  order  that  the  young  King,  to  whom  Hamil- 
ton was  distantly  related,  might  not  be  induced,  by  interposing  his 
authority,  to  save  him  from  death,  His  Majesty  was  engaged  to  go  on 
a  pilgrimage  beyond  the  Grampians,  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Dothe's,  in 
Ross.  The  Conference  at  St.  Andrews  was  conducted  with  apparent 
candour,  and  even  kindness,  nor  were  acknowledgments  withheld  that 
many  things  in  the  Church  needed  reformation.  Several  days  had  thus 
been  spent,  James  V.  (a  child  of  fourteen)  was  taken  beyond  the  reach 
of  appeal,  and  Hamilton  had  one  night  retired  to  his  chamber  without 
the  slightest  suspicion  of  danger,  when  the  Bishop's  messengers 
entered,  and  took  him  to  the  castle,  with  an  intimation  that  he  would 
be  required  to  appear  before  their  master  at  a  certain  hour  the  next 
morning.  He  obeyed  the  summons  with  alacrity,  found  a  numerous 
company  of  Priests  and  nobles  assembled  to  hear  the  sentence,  and  to 
subscribe  it  with  their  names.  Even  children,  being  of  the  nobility, 
were  compelled  to  give  their  signatures :  a  heap  of  wood  and  coals 
was  made  before  the  college,  and,  after  his  judges  had  dined,  they 
saw  him  taken  to  the  spot.  The  bystanders  could  not  believe 
that  a  person  of  so  high  dignity  and  excellent  reputation,  after  a 
lengthened  and  apparently  friendly  intercourse  with  the  heads  of  the 
University,  would  be  thus  thrown  into  the  fire.  He  was  only  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  something  might  be  allowed  for  youthful  haste ; 
and  they  thought  the  whole  was  but  an  effort  to  terrify  him  into 
submission.  But  it  was  not  so :  the  plot  was  complete,  and,  after 
suffering  severely  from  an  explosion  of  gunpowder  which  did  not 
ignite  the  wood,  he  was  consumed  by  fire  (February  28th,  1528). 

x  2 


156  CHAPTER    III. 

When  the  torches  were  applied,  he  cried,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  ray 
spirit !  How  long  shall  darkness  overwhelm  this  realm  ?  How  long 
wilt  thou  suffer  this  tyranny  of  men  ?  "  The  fire  burnt  slowly,  and 
one  Campbell,  a  Black  Friar,  officious  as  cruel,  persisted  in  reiterat- 
ing, "  Convert,  heretic  ;  call  upon  our  Lady,  and  say,  '  Salve 
Regina.'  "  "  Depart,  and  trouble  me  not,  ye  messengers  of  Satan," 
was  his  first  answer.  But  when  the  Friar  persisted  in  that  vexatious 
outcry,  Hamilton  remembering  long-repeated  interviews  with  the 
man,  when  they  had  freely  conversed  together  on  the  faith  for  which 
he  then  was  suffering,  and  contrasting  that  savage  with  the  Christian 
brother,  as  he  once  had  thought  him,  who,  shut  up  in  the  same 
chamber,  had  exchanged  professions  of  the  most  unrestrained  confi- 
dence, the  sight  of  such  a  transformation  filled  him  with  horror,  and 
he  could  no  longer  refrain  from  saying  plainly,  "  Wicked  man  ! 
Thou  knowest  the  contrary.  To  me  thou  hast  confessed.  I  cite 
thee  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  Jesus  ! "  These  were  the 
last  words  that  he  could  speak,  and  Alexander  Campbell  said  no  more, 
but  went  away  to  Glasgow  covered  with  confusion  ;  and,  after  a  few 
days,  died  without  giving  any  sign  of  repentance.* 

Of  all  people  in  the  world,  the  Scotch  were  least  likely  to  be  deter- 
red from  religious  inquiry  by  force.  Their  country  was  profoundly 
ignorant,  it  is  true ;  but  a  few  rays  of  sacred  knowledge  had  gleamed 
in  from  England  and  the  Continent,  just  enough  to  show  where  fur- 
ther information  might  be  found.  And  the  Clergy,  more  impetuous 
than  prudent,  kept  alive  the  rising  excitement  by  waging  open  war  on 
all  who  differed  from  them.  Alexander  Galoway,  Canon  of  Aberdeen, 
went  over  to  Louvain,  and  delighted  the  University  by  an  account  of 
the  feat  performed  at  St.  Andrews  in  the  burning  of  Patrick  Hamil- 
ton. The  professors  of  theology  forthwith  wrote  a  laudatory  letter  to 
their  Scottish  brethren,  exhorting  them  to  expel  those  ravening  wolves 
from  the  sheep-fold  of  Christ,  as  they  had  themselves  done,  to  employ 
inquisitors  and  examiners  of  books,  and  to  imitate  the  example  of  the 
English  zealots,  in  preserving  Scotland  clear  from  the  plague  of  heresy 
by  which  it  had  not  been  hitherto  defiled.  Meanwhile,  people  asked 
each  other  with  what  reason  Hamilton  had  been  condemned.  The 
following  articles  objected  against  him  were  read  with  avidity,  and 
few  could  perceive  in  them  anything  worthy  of  death  : — 

I.  Man  hath  no  free-will. 

II.  A  man  is  only  justified  by  faith  in  Christ. 

III.  A  man,  so  long  as  he  liveth,  is  not  without  sin. 

IV.  He  is  not  worthy  to  be  called  a  Christian,  who  believeth  not 
that  he  is  in  grace. 

V.  A  good  man  doeth  good  works  :  good  works  do  not  make  a 
good  man. 

VI.  An  evil  man  bringeth  forth  evil  works  ;  and  evil  works,  being 
faithfully  repented,  do  not  make  an  evil  man. 

VII.  Faith,  hope,  and  charity  are  so  linked  together,  that  one  of 
them  cannot  be  without  another  in  one  man,  in  this  life. 

*  John  Knox,    Hidtory  of.tUe   Reformation   iu  Scotlaud,   book  i. ;  M'Crie'a   Life  of 
Kuox  ;  Foxe,  book  viti. 


HENRY    FORREST.  157 

These  became  tlieses  for  universal  discussion ;  and  the  propositions, 
although  not  all  such  as  we  can  fully  approve,*  could  not  be  enter- 
tained •without  leaving  an  indelible  impression  of  new- discovered  truth 
on  the  public  mind.  Some  dared  to  affirm  that  Master  Patrick 
Hamilton  had  died  a  martyr,  and  that  his  articles  were  true.  Henry 
Forrest,  a  young  man  lately  admitted  to  the  lesser  orders,  was  reported 
to  have  said  as  much.  Beaton  caused  him  to  be  forthwith  immured 
in  the  tower  of  St.  Andrews,  and  sent  a  Friar,  Walter  Laing,  to  con- 
fess him,  with  instruction  to  draw  out,  if  possible,  some  avowal  that 
might  serve  to  his  condemnation.  The  Friar  succeeded  perfectly,  and 
disclosed  the  confession  to  the  Archbishop  and  a  council  of  the  Clergy, 
who  pronounced  Forrest  to  be  a  heretic,  equal  to  Patrick  Hamilton, 
and  delivered  him  to  the  secular  arm.  At  a  place  between  St.  An- 
drews Castle  and  Monymaill,  the  Clergy  assembled  to  degrade  him  ; 
he  was  brought  into  their  presence,  and,  on  entering  at  the  door,  he 
saluted  them  with  an  indignant  cry :  "  Fie  on  falsehood !  Fie  on 
false  Friars,  revealers  of  confession !  f  After  this  day,  let  no  man 
ever  trust  any  false  Friars,  contemuers  of  God's  word,  and  deceivers 
of  men."  Proof  against  shame,  and  not  troubling  themselves  with 
the  law  of  God,  or  even  of  their  Church,  they  stripped  him  of  his 
orders.  When  this  was  done,  he  asked  them  to  take  from  him  also 
"  their  own  baptism,"  which  he  justly  thought  to  be  very  different 
from  Christian  baptism.  For  such  a  deprivation  they  had  no  form  in 
the  Ritual ;  but,  "  at  the  north  stile  of  the  abbey  church  of  St. 
Andrew,  to  the  intent  that  all  the  people  of  Forfar  might  see  the 
fire,"  they  burnt  the  man  whose  sin — allowing  them  to  think  that  he 
had  sinned — they  were  bound  to  have  buried  in  perpetual  silence,  because 
discovered  in  auricular  confession  (A.D.  1533).£  Murmurings  gave 
way  to  terror,  and  subsided ;  but  the  Cardinal,  not  considering  that 
they  must  have  been  succeeded  by  silent  reflection,  stirred  up  the 
latent  truth  again  by  citing  a  brother  and  sister  of  Patrick  Hamilton, 
James  and  Catherine,  with  a  woman  of  Leith,  and  two  others,  to 
appear  before  him  in  the  abbey  church  of  Holyrood-House  in  Edin- 
burgh, as  accused  of  heresy.  Young  James  was  brought  there,  to 

#  Such  as  articles  I.  and  III.,  to  which  latter,  however,  the  Church  of  Rome  had  no 
reason  to  object. 

t  The  law  of  the  Church  on  this  point  is  explicit,  but  has  been  often  violated.  It  is 
found  in  the  Gregorian  Decretals,  lib.  v.,  cap.  38,  Omnis  utriusque.  "  But  let  (the 
confessor)  beware  lest  by  the  least  word,  or  gesture,  or  in  any  other  way  whatever,  he 
in  the  slightest  degree  betray  the  sinner.  But  if  he  need  more  prudent  counsel,  let  him 
cautiously  seek  it  without  any  indication  of  the  person  ;  because  he  who  shall  presume 
to  reveal  a  sin  disclosed  to  him  in  penitential  judgment,  we  determine  that  he  shall  not 
only  be  deposed  from  the  priestly  office,  but  shut  up  in  some  close  monastery,  there  to 
do  perpetual  penance."  Turning  from  this  original  statute  of  the  Church  to  the  autho- 
rized exposition  of  it  made  a  few  years  after  the  perfidious  breach  by  Archbishop 
Beaton  and  his  accomplices,  we  find  the  Roman  Catechism  demanding  people's  confi- 
dence in  confessoi-s,  and  assuring  "  tiiefideles"  of  their  honesty.  "  And  because  there 
is  no  one  who  does  not  earnestly  desire  to  conceal  his  crimes  and  his  uncleanness,  the 
faithful  are  to  be  assured  that  they  have  no  reason  to  fear  that  what  they  disclose  in 
confession  will  be  ever  divulged  by  any  Priest,  or  that  any  sort  of  danger  could  result  to 
them  at  any  time.  For  the  Sacred  Sanctions  provide  that  those  Priests  shall  be  most 
severely  punished  who  do  not  keep  all  sins,  which  any  one  may  have  confessed  to  them, 
buried  in  perpetual  silence."  (Cat.  Rom.,  De  Pocnitentiu.)  The  Catechism  here  refers 
to  a  Decretal  of  Innocent  111.,  which  I  find  in  its  place,  aud  have  translated  in  this  note. 

J   Foxe,  book  viii. 


158  CHAPTER    III. 

give  regal  authority  to  the  procedure,  appropriately  dressed  in  red, 
the  colour  of  their  Church.*  James  Hamilton,  informed  of  his 
danger  by  a  secret  message  from  the  King,  fled.  Catherine  appeared, 
and,  after  long  reasoning  with  a  professor  of  canon  law,  in  presence 
of  the  court,  recanted  at  the  King's  desire,  "because  she  was  his 
aunt."  The  woman  of  Leith  also  recanted  ;  but  the  two  others, 
Norman  Gurley  and  David  Straton,  stood  firm.  Mr.  Straton,  a  gen- 
tleman of  St.  Andrews,  had  quarrelled  with  the  Bishop  about  some 
tithes  which  he  refused  to  pay.  The  Bishop  prosecuted ;  the  circum- 
stance led  him  to  serious  reflection,  and  this,  by  the  divine  blessing, 
to  change  of  heart.  He  and  his  friends,  the  lairds  of  Dun  and  Lauristen, 
frequently  read  the  Bible  together.  One  day,  when  with  the  latter 
in  a  field  reading  in  the  Gospels,  they  came  to  the  sentence  of  our 
Lord :  "  Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  con- 
fess also  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven  :  but  whosoever  shall 
deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven."  He  fell  on  his  knees,  and,  after  some  moments'  silent  and 
most  earnest  prayer,  devoutly  pronounced  such  words  as  these :  "  O 
Lord,  I  have  been  wicked,  and  justly  mayest  thou  withdraw  thy 
grace  from  me :  but,  Lord,  for  thy  mercy's  sake,  let  me  never  deny 
thee,  nor  thy  truths,  for  fear  of  death  or  temporal  pains."  Thus 
prepared,  he  stood  before  Beaton  and  the  priestly  court  at  Holyrood, 
and,  in  the  strength  of  God's  grace,  sought  in  faith,  preferred  death 
to  recantation.  Mr.  Gurley  displayed  equal  constancy ;  and,  after 
dinner,  (August  27th,  1534,)  they  were  taken  to  an  open  place  near 
the  rood  (cross)  of  Greenside,  and  burnt  to  death.  It  appears  that 
others,  not  named,  were  summoned  to  Holyrood  at  the  same  time ; 
but  that  they  escaped  to  England,  whither  many  of  the  persecuted, 
by  this  time,  betook  themselves  for  safety. 

Yet  England  afforded  them  a  very  precarious  refuge,  and  those 
who  would  escape  imprisonment  or  death,  eventually  endeavoured  to 
make  their  way  to  Germany,  or,  at  least,  to  the  Netherlands  ;  and 
there  some  of  them  laboured  with  eminent  success,  by  committing 
their  writings  to  the  press,  and  sending  them  over  into  this  country, 
where  they  were  distributed  by  multitudes  of  willing  hands,  and  read 
with  avidity  by  persons  of  all  classes.  There  was  no  society  estab- 
lished for  the  purpose ;  but  wealthy  merchants  and  flourishing  trades- 
men, rendering  spontaneous  co-operation,  bought  parcels  of  those 
little  books  newly  set  forth  in  English,  and  trusty  "  known  men  " 
gladly  scattered  them  abroad. 

Such  a  distribution  was  made  at  Westminster  Abbey  on  Candlemas- 
day,  February  2d,  1528.  Many  thousands  of  candles  received  the 
blessing  of  the  Bishop,  and  were  placed,  with  the  accompaniments  of 
holy  water,  kissing,  and  genuflection,  into  the  hands  of  Canons,  nobles, 
and  as  many  of  the  people  as  were  fortunate  enough  to  catch  a  lesser  bit 
of  the  consecrated  wax ;  and  even  His  Majesty,  who  had  already  been 
honoured  with  rose,  and  cap,  and  sword,  and  pendent  bullce,  headed 
the  throng,  and  took  his  weighty,  decorated  taper,  amidst  the  crowd 
of  courtiers  and  Priests,  while  the  choir  sang  a  shrill  antiphone. 

*  Henry  VIII.,  of  England,  when  going  to  l>urn  Lambert,  less  honestly  chose  white. 


"THE  SUPPLICATION  OF  BEGGARS."  159 

This  part  of  the  ceremony  being  ended,  and  his  portly  person  at 
ease  in  the  chair  of  state,  a  cross-bearer  moved  towards  the  great 
western  door,  preceded  by  a  band  of  choristers,  and  followed  by  the 
choicest  hierarchy  of  England,  and  a  long  train  of  inferior  clerks,  all 
intonating  the  supplications  of  a  litany,  in  sonorous  response  to  the 
soprano  invocation  of  the  siuging-boys.  The  train  made  their  ap- 
pointed circuit  of  the  Abbey,  carrying  the  newly-hallowed  lights,  and 
flanked  by  a  rude  but  vigorous  constabulary,  who  kept  back  the 
dense  crowd  of  devotees  and  idlers.  Every  now  and  then  you  might 
have  perceived  a  taper-flame  dip.  Its  bearer  had  stooped  to  pick  up  a 
small  book  that  lay  at  his  feet.  Or  you  might  have  observed  a  scowling 
Priest  fold  his  left  arm  hurriedly  under  his  robe,  but  half  concealing 
a  copy  that  had  been  dropped  before  him,  too.  Yet  the  procession 
must  have  halted  for  him  to  inquire  by  what  daring  hand  it  had  been 
projected.  The  procession  completes  its  round.  The  master  of 
Ceremonies  and  acolyths  are  hard  at  work  in  packing  away  the  para- 
phernalia of  the  day :  King,  Abbot,  Bishops,  dignitaries,  and  common 
people  go  home  to  the  banquet  and  the  cup ;  but  many  a  Priest,  and 
many  a  Lord,  half  impatient  of  the  festivity,  burns  to  know  the  con- 
tents of  the  surreptitious  libel  in  his  pocket.  Many  an  eye  is  kept 
open  all  night  in  curious  perusal  and  uneasy  thought. 

The  title  is,  "  The  Supplication  of  Beggars."  The  author  speaks 
for  the  whole  community  of  beggars,  who  complain  to  the  King  their 
sovereign  Lord.  His  poor  daily  beadsmen,  wretched,  hideous  mon- 
sters, on  whom  scarcely  for  horror  any  eye  dares  look ;  the  foul  un- 
happy sort  of  lepers,  and  other  sore  people,  needy,  impotent,  blind, 
lame,  and  sick,  that  live  only  by  alms,  "  lamentably  complaineth  of 
their  woeful  misery."  Their  number  is  sore  increased ;  all  the  alms 
of  well-disposed  people  are  insufficient  to  sustain  them,  and  they  die 
for  hunger.  This  most  pestilent  calamity  has  come  upon  the  King's 
poor  beadsmen  by  reason  that,  in  the  times  of  his  predecessors,  ano- 
ther sort  of  beggars,  not  impotent,  but  strong,  puissant,  counterfeit, 
holy,  and  idle  beggars  and  vagabonds,  craftily  crept  into  this  realm, 
and,  since  the  time  of  their  first  entry,  by  all  the  craft  and  wiliness 
of  Satan,  are  not  only  increased  into  a  great  number,  but  into  a  king- 
dom. These  alien  beggars  are  not  only  the  Mendicant  Friars,  formerly 
complained  of,  but  Bishops,  Abbots,  Priors,  Deacons,  Archdeacons, 
Suffragans,  Priests,  Monks,  Canons,  Friars,  Pardoners,  and  Sumners. 
This  "  ravenous  sort "  have  begged  so  importunately,  that  they  have 
gotten  into  their  hands  more  than  the  third  part  of  all  the  realm. 
Their  territory  consists  of  the  goodliest  manors ;  they  also  take  a 
tithe  of  all  produce  and  of  all  stock,  and  even  a  tithe  of  every  ser- 
vant's wages.  The  poor  wife  who  fails  to  pay  even  her  tenth  egg,  is 
branded  as  a  heretic  when  Easter  comes.  They  gather  from  probates 
of  testaments,  privy-tithes,  pilgrimages,  and  masses ;  masses  and 
dirges  and  mortuaries  for  the  dead  ;  confessions,  (yet  not  kept  secret,) 
hallowings,  blessings,  cursings,  absolutions,  extortions,  citations,  bribes, 
beggings ;  by  all  these  things,  iu  fraud,  chicanery,  and  force,  they 
drain  the  realm,  and  cheat  the  true  beggars.  The  petitioners  im- 
plore his  Grace  to  mark,  and  he  will  see  all  things  out  of  joint :  here 


160  CHAPTER    III. 

it  is  made  out  that  the  Friars  alone  get,  in  the  form  of  offerings, 
.£43,333.  6*.  8</.  per  annum,  whereof,  four  hundred  years  before, 
they  had  not  one  penny.  Not  only  are  the  real  beggars  defrauded, 
but  the  King  is  cheated  of  his  revenue,  and  the  nation  of  defence ; 
for  the  people  cannot  possibly  pay  necessary  taxes,  nor  is  there  force 
sufficient  to  defend  the  kingdom  from  invasion.  It  is  proved,  by 
truth  of  history,  that  those  sturdy,  idle  thieves  have  ever  drawn  the 
nation  into  disobedience  and  rebellion ;  that,  by  their  celibacy,  popu- 
lation is  diminished,  and  that,  by  their  gross  immorality,  it  is  depraved 
and  enfeebled,  while  they  perpetrate,  by  their  benefit  of  Clergy,  the 
foulest  crimes  with  impunity.  They  are  stronger  than  the  Parlia- 
ment. To  them  the  laws  are  captive,  or  are  shamelessly  eluded  ;  since 
whom  they  list  they  will  murder  as  a  heretic  :  that  honest  merchant, 
Richard  Hun,  for  example.  The  utmost  good  they  can  pretend  to  do 
in  return  for  half  the  wealth  of  the  kingdom,  is  to  pray  men  out  of 
purgatory,  which  is  but  a  region  of  their  own  invention.  Therefore 
they  will  not  have  the  New  Testament  translated  into  English  ;  there- 
fore they  keep  civil  power  in  their  own  hands ;  and  therefore  the 
chief  Minister  of  England  is  always  a  spiritual  man,  as  Wolsey  at 
this  time. 

The  prayer  of  this  remarkable  petition  probably  surpassed  in  bold- 
ness anything  as  yet  addressed  to  an  English  King.  "  Set  these 
sturdy  loobies  abroad,  to  get  them  wives  of  their  own,  to  get  their 
living  with  their  labour  in  the  sweat  of  their  faces,  according  to  the 
commandment  of  God  in  the  third  of  Genesis ;  to  give  other  idle 
people,  by  their  example,  occasion  to  go  to  labour.  Tie  these  holy 
thieves  to  the  carts,  to  be  whipped  naked  about  every  market-town, 
till  they  fall  to  labour,  that  they,  by  their  importunate  begging,  take 
not  away  the  alms  that  the  good  Christian  people  would  give  unto  us, 
sore,  impotent,  miserable  people,  your  headmen.  Then  shall  as  well 
the  number  of  our  aforesaid  monstrous  sort,  as  of  the  profligate  men 
and  women,  thieves  and  idle  people,  decrease ;  then  shall  these  great 
yearly  exactions  cease ;  then  shall  not  your  sword,  power,  crown, 
dignity,  and  obedience  of  your  people  be  translated  from  you ;  then 
shall  you  have  full  obedience  of  your  people  ;  then  shall  the  idle  people 
be  set  to  work ;  then  shall  matrimony  be  much  better  kept ;  then 
shall  the  generation  of  your  people  be  increased ;  then  shall  your 
commons  increase  in  riches  ;  then  shall  the  Gospel  be  preached  ;  then 
shall  none  beg  our  alms  from  us ;  then  shall  we  have  enough,  and 
more  than  shall  suffice  us,  which  shall  be  the  best  hospital  that  ever 
was  founded  for  us ;  then  shall  we  daily  pray  to  God  for  your  most 
noble  estate  long  to  endure." 

The  Supplication  of  the  Beggars  was  thenceforth  the  subject  of 
conversation  ;  and  Sir  Thomas  More  made  haste  to  publish  an  attempt 
to  counteract  its  mischief,  under  the  less  nervous  title  of  "  The  poor 
silly  Souls  puling  out  of  Purgatory."  But  the  puling  of  the  souls 
could  not  cry  down  the  Supplication  of  the  Beggars.  Cardinal  Wol- 
sey, with  feverish  anxiety,  employed  his  servants  to  search  narrowly 
for  copies  of  the  book,  lest  one  should  reach  the  King ;  but,  despite 
his  diligence,  more  than  one  were  already  in  Henry's  possession. 


WOLSEY    DECLINES.  I6i 

"  If  it  shall  please  your  Grace,"  said  he,  "  here  are  divers  seditious 
persons  who  have  scattered  abroad  books  containing  manifest  errors 
and  heresies."  His  Grace  said  nothing,  but,  coolly  putting  his  hand 
into  his  bosom,  drew  out  a  copy,  and  gave  it  to  the  spiritual  Chancel- 
lor. In  truth,  that  "  supplication  "  was  deeply  lodged  in  the  King's 
bosom  ;  and  a  succession  of  incidents  served  to  convince  Wolsey  that 
his  master  was  already  disposed  to  give  ear  to  the  complaints  of  no 
small  part  of  the  nation,  expressed  with  so  much  ingenuity  and  pun- 
gency by  one  of  the  English  exiles.  And  it  soon  became  known  that 
the  King  had  read  the  book  with  great  satisfaction.  Anne  Boleyn, 
now  aspiring  to  be  Queen  instead  of  Catharine,  who  no  longer  occu- 
pied the  same  palace  with  her  heartless  consort,  had  commended  the 
"libel"  most  warmly.  He  asked  her  who  made  it.  "One  Fish," 
said  she,  "  a  subject  cf  your  Grace,  who  is  fled  out  of  the  realm  for 
fear  of  the  Cardinal."  Henry  then  put  the  book  into  hid  bosom, 
whence  he  delivered  it,  three  or  four  days  afterwards,  to  the  perse- 
cutor of  its  author.  The  King's  footman,  too,  talking  with  him  about 
religion,  mentioned  "  a  marvellous  book,"  and  offered  to  introduce 
persons  who  would  present  it  to  him.  Two  merchants  were  accor- 
dingly introduced  into  "  a  privy  closet,"  and  gave  the  same  work  to 
the  King,  who  received  it  with  a  significant  pleasantry,  heard  it  read, 
locked  it  up  in  a  desk,  and  then  gravely  said,  "  If  a  man  should  pull 
down  an  old  stone-wall,  and  begin  at  the  lower  part,  the  upper  part 
thereof  might  chance  to  fall  upon  his  head."  To  pull  down  the  old 
fabric  was  the  thing  he  desired  to  do,  if  it  couiJ  be  done  with 
safety  to  himself.* 

Anne  Boleyn  also  incited  him  to  the  demolition  of,  at  least,  the 
material  system  of  Popery.  She  had  imbibed  the  new  doctrines,  as 
they  were  called,  and  read  the  books  as  they  were  brought  over  from 
the  Continent,  and  so  did  those  around  her.  She  introduced  Fish's  wife 
to  the  King,  who  immediately  gave  her  permission  to  bring  her 
husband  into  his  presence ;  and,  when  the  good  man  came,  took  him 
out  a  hunting  with  him  for  three  hours,  and  gave  him  a  ring  from  his 
finger,  with  a  message  to  Sir  Thomas  More, — by  that  time  the  suc- 
cessor of  Wolsey  in  the  dignity  of  Lord  Chancellor, — requiring  his 
Lordship  to  protect  him.  And  the  degradation  of  Wolsey  had 
been  hastened  by  his  interference  with  Anne  Boleyn,  on  account 
of  her  religious  opinions,  independently  of  other  causes  of  dislike  in 
her  towards  him  which  have  been  conjectured.  An  incident  is  related 
•which  shows  that  new  influences  must  have  now  obtained  ascendancy 
at  court.  Anne  Boleyn  had  lent  Tyndale's  "  Obedience  of  a  Chris- 
tian Man  "  to  a  young  lady  in  her  suite,  from  whom  a  gentleman  in 
the  same  service,  being  her  suitor,  caught  it  playfully,  but  afterwards 
read  it  with  serious  attention,  and  with  much  profit.  The  Dean 
of  the  King's  chapel,  suspecting  that  the  book  was  heretical,  rudely 
demanded  it  of  him,  gave  it  to  the  Cardinal,  and  Wolsey  refused  to 
return  it.  The  lady  ran  to  her  mistress  to  explain  the  loss  of  the 
oook,  which  she  valued  very  highly  ;  and  Anne  declared  that  it  should 
oe  the  dearest  book  the  Dean  or  Cardinal  ever  had.  Hastening  to 

*  Foxe,  Act*  and  Monuments,  book  viii. 
VOL.    III.  Y 


1(52  CHAPTER    III. 

Henry,  she  fell  on  her  knees,  desired  help  for  the  recovery  of  her 
book,  and  Wolsey  was  obliged  to  restore  it.  No  sooner  was  it  in  her 
possession  again,  than  she  besought  the  King  to  read  it,  as  he  did, 
and  expressed  delight  in  the-  perusal,  saying,  that  that  book  loas  for 
him  and  all  Kings  to  read.  Less  than  three  years  before,  he  had 
prohibited  the  reading,  under  the  severest  penalties,  of  the  very  book 
which  he  now  accepts  as  a  book  for  himself  and  all  Kings  ;  and,  like 
one  suddenly  recovering  from  some  illusion,  perceives,  or  thinks  that 
he  perceives,  that  Wolsey  has  abused  excessive  confidence,  partakes 
of  the  keen  disgust  entertained  against  him  by  Anne  Boleyn,  sends 
the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  to  deprive  him  of  the  Great  Seal, 
commands  him  to  leave  "  York  Place," — residence  of  the  Archbishop 
of  York  in  London, — and  to  confine  himself  to  his  house  at  Esher,  a 
country  seat  near  Hampton  Court  *  (October,  1529).  The  sudden 
fall  of  this  great  but  godless  man,  his  abject  humiliation,  the  fitfulness 
of  the  King,  the  cowardly  triumph  of  his  enemies,  and  his  mournful 
end,  abundantly  described  by  our  historians,  are  replete  with  instruc- 
tion to  the  Christian,  as  well  as  to  the  philosopher. 

It  was  when  the  Cardinal  had  fallen,  condemned  under  a  prcemunire, 
— when  the  Pope  had  declared  himself  -f  unable  to  gratify  the  King 
with  a  bill  of  divorce  from  Catharine,  and  the  Clergy  agreed  with 
him,  generally,  in  thinking  that  a  divorce  would  be  unlawful, — just 
after  Dr.  Cranmer  had  suggested  that  the  question  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  judgment  of  Divines,  rather  than  to  the  authority  of  the 
Pope  and  vexatious  policy  of  the  court  of  Rome,| — and  while  the 
laity  were  more  alienated  from  the  Clergy,  and  more  willing  to  listen 
to  evangelical  doctrine  than  at  any  former  time, — that  a  Parliament 
met  at  Westminster  (November  6th,  1529).  The  first  debate  in  the 
House  of  Commons  related  to  the  oppression  of  the  temporalty  by 
the  spiritualty,  and  issued  in  a  formal  complaint  of  six  grievances : 
1.  Exorbitant  fines  for  probates  of  wills.  2.  Unreasonable  exaction 
for  mortuaries,  or  burial-fees.  3.  Monopoly,  by  Priests,  of  farms  and 
granges.  4.  Pursuit  of  trade  and  commerce  by  Monks  and  Priests. 
5.  Non-residence.  6.  Pluralities.  The  King  supported  the  Com- 
mons, and  the  House  of  Lords  was  compelled  to  pass  bills  for  the 
correction  of  the  grievances  relating  to  probates,  mortuaries,  plural- 
ities, and  non-residence.  While  he  gratified  the  Commons  with  these 

*  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  chap.  15. 

t  On  the  9th  of  July  Dr.  Bennet  had  an  audience  of  the  Pope  at  Rome,  and  wrote  to 
Wolsey,  the  same  day,  to  inform  him  that  Clement  had  declared,  with  tears,  that  he 
could  not  grant  Henry's  request,  although  "now  he  saw  the  destruction  of  Christendom, 
and  lamented  that  his  fortune  was  such  to  live  to  that  day,  and  not  be  able  to  remedy 
it.'  (Burnet,  book  ii.,  collection  29.)  Wolsey,  however  earnest  in  acting  against  the 
Emperor,  would  not  act  contrary  to  a  decision  of  the  Pope  ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  no 
matter  of  surprise  that  his  royal  master  should  treat  him  as  guilty  of  having  used  his 
legantine  office  to  the  prejudice  of  the  kingdom.  One  in  his  position,  even  if  such  an ' 
one  could  possibly  he  single-minded, — which  Wolsey  was  not, — could  hardly  have 
avoided  that  offence ;  and  Henry,  therefore,  found  no  difficulty  in  making  out  a  case, 
and  accordingly  took  the  Great  Seal  from  him  in  September,  before  the  commencement 
of  the  Michaelmas,  term. 

t  Cranmer  became  known  to  the  King,  and  was  consulted  by  him,  in  August,  1529, 
the  time,  almost  to  a  day,. when  the  intelligence  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note 
reached  England. 


HENRY    VIII.    PERSECUTES.  163 

reasonable  reforms,  he  repaid  himself  by  forcing  another  bill  to  cancel 
all  debts  due  from  him  to  his  subjects,  in  consideration  of  the  heavy 
charges  incurred  during  the  military  expeditions  to  the  Continent,  and 
as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  prevention  of  war  on  England  "  by  the 
high  providence  and  politic  means  of  his  Grace."* 

As  he  gave  to  the  Commons  with  one  hand  and  took  away  with 
the  other,  so  did  he  make  the  Clergy  feel  his  power  by  a  similar 
policy.  While  slightly  diminishing  some  of  their  revenues,  he  unre- 
servedly supported  them  in  carrying  on  persecution.  "  Of  his  most 
virtuous  and  gracious  disposition,"  as  he  was  pleased  to  proclaim, 
considering  the  long  persistence  of  this  noble  realm  of  England  in 
"  the  true  Catholic  faith  of  Christ's  religion,"  and  the  laws  previously 
enacted  for  the  defence  of  the  said  faith  "  against  the  malicious  and 
wicked  sects  of  heretics  and  Lollards,"  who  again  perverted  Scripture 
arid  sowed  error  and  sedition,  after  the  example  of  Martin  Luther  in 
some  parts  of  Germany  :  considering,  also,  certain  heretical  and  blas- 
phemous books  lately  made,  and  privily  sent  into  the  kingdom  by 
Lutherans  and  others,  "his  Highness,  like  a  most  gracious  Prince, 
of  his  blessed  and  virtuous  disposition,  for  the  incomparable  zeal 
which  he  had  to  Christ's  religion  and  faith,  and  for  the  singular  love 
and  affection  that  he  bore  to  all  his  good  subjects  of  this  his  realm, 
and  especially  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  according  to  his  office 
and  duty  in  that  behalf,"  willed  to  be  put  in  execution  all  existing 
laws  for  the  extirpation,  suppressing,  and  withstanding  of  the  said 
heresies.  His  Highness,  therefore,  charged  and  straitly  commanded 
all  authorities,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  all  his  true  and  loving 
subjects,  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  those  laws,  under  penalty  of  his 
high  indignation  and  displeasure.  Again  he  forbade  all  preaching, 
teaching,  and  writing,  openly  or  privily,  that  should  contain  any 
thing  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  holy  Church  ;  as  well  as  favouring 
those  who  so  preached  or  taught  in  schools,  or  in  any  way  disseminated 
the  alleged  heresy,  or  retained  prohibited  books  in  their  possession, 
under  penalty  of  immediate  imprisonment.  He  also  authorized 
Bishops  to  imprison  and  to  impose  fines ;  the  fines,  however,  "  to  be 
paid  to  the  behoof  of  the  King,"  and  "certified  by  the  Bishop  info 
the  King's  exchequer,  there  to  be  levied  to  the  King's  use,"  except 
where  such  persons  were  "totally  to  be  left  to  the  secular  jurisdic- 
tion," in  order  to  suffer  death  f  (A.D.  1529).  This  proclamation 
stirred  up  persecution  afresh  :  the  Clergy  almost  seem  to  have  ima- 
gined that  the  desired  extirpation  of  Lollardy  and  Lutheranism  would 
soon  be  realized,  and,  as  their  inquisition  proceeded,  pastorals  and 
proclamations  were  issued  to  invest  it  with  a  more  awful  appearance 
of  legality.  Archbishop  Warham,  Chancellor  More,  Bishop  Tonstal, 
and  several  others,  met  in  a  sort  of  convocation  and  issued  an  injunc- 
tion (May  24th,  1 530)  to  every  Incumbent  to  publish  in  his  parish,  that 
the  obnoxious  books,  as  therein  catalogued,  were  heretical  and  dan- 
gerous ;  and  that,  having  consulted  concerning  a  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  English,  they  had  agreed  that  such  a  work  was  not  neces- 
sary, and  that,  although  it  had  been  half  promised  when  Tyndale's 

*  Foxe,  book  viii. ;  Burnet,  book  ii.,  and  collection  31.  t   Foxe,  book  viii. 

Y    2 


104  CHAPTER    III. 

version  of  the  New  Testament  was  first  prohibited,  the  King  had  done 
well  in  not  authorizing  the  work.*  Four  days  afterwards  a  voluminous 
document  was  published,  in  presence  of  the  King,  his  Council,  and  a 
convocation  of  Clergy  at  Westminster,  repeating  and  amplifying  the 
contents  of  the  former.  Henry  delivered  an  oration  to  the  assembly, 
to  incite  them  to  a  zealous  execution  of  the  mandate  for  search  and 
destruction  of  the  books  ;  and  a  multitude  of  hands  gave  signature  to 
the  deed,  Hugh  Latimer,  at  that  time  a  Papist,  amongst  them.f  Yet 
the  effect  of  this  edict  conld  not  have  been  satisfactory  to  those  who 
issued  it ;  for  in  order  to  get  a  heap  of  books  for  burning  in  St. 
Paul's  church-yard,  the  Bishop  of  London  was  obliged  to  buy  them  ; 
and,  within  a  month,  another  royal  proclamation,  which  required  all 
forbidden  books  to  be  delivered  up  within  fifteen  days,!  was  issued, 
as  a  further  effort  to  force  them  out  of  people's  hands.  But  Henry 
could  not  equal  Diocletian. 

Abjurations  had  been  extorted  incessantly.  Many  lay  in  prison, 
and  of  these  one  deserves  especial  mention.  Humphrey  Mummuth,  an 
Alderman  of  London,  had  received  William  Tyndale  into  his  house  as 
Chaplain,  believed  the  doctrine  held  by  him,  given  money  to  him  and 
his  friend  Roy  when  they  went  over  to  Antwerp,  and  assisted  them 
when  translating  and  printing  the  New  Testament.  He  had  scandal- 
ized the  bigots  by  eating  flesh  in  Lent,  and  affirming  that  a  man  is 
justified  by  faith  without  works  of  the  law  ;  and  had  spoken  against 
saint-worship,  pilgrimage,  auricular  confession,  and  Papal  pardons. 
His  former  munificence  to  their  Church,  and  to  many  Ecclesiastics, 
who  were  far  from  being  Lutherans,  did  not  engage  the  gratitude 
of  his  persecutors ;  nor  did  his  eminently  Christian  deportment  con- 
ciliate their  esteem.  He  was  arrested  by  order  of  Wolsey,  and 
imprisoned  in  the  Tower  of  London,  where  he  lay  when  the  Cardinal 
was  degraded,  but  was  afterwards  forced  to  abjure,  then  released  ; 
and  when  the  King's  views  had  undergone  some  change,  knighted, 
and  made  a  Sheriff  of  London. § 

Thomas  Philip  was  another  prisoner  in  the  Tower.  His  brethren 
suspected  that  he  had  been  betrayed  by  one  of  their  own  number, 
and  conveyed  to  him  a  letter  when  on  his  way  to  the  Tower,  exhort- 
ing him  to  make  a  good  confession,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  stand 
firm.  Upheld,  no  doubt,  by  their  prayers,  he  steadfastly  refused  to 
recant  the  articles  of  his  Christian  faith,  resolutely  telling  the  Bishop 
of  London  that  he  would  only  abjure  heresy,  reserving  to  himself  the 
right  of  judging  as  to  what  was  or  was  not  heresy.  The  Bishop 
would  not  yield,  neither  would  he,  but  appealed  to  the  King,  who 
would  have  been  well  pleased  to  be  called  on  to  arbitrate ;  but  the 
Bishop  suppressed  the  appeal.  In  the  Lollards'  Tower,  also,  was 
immured  a  victim  of  personal  malice.  Stokesley,  Bishop  of  London, 
having  conceived  dislike  against  Thomas  Patmore,  the  Incumbent 
of  Hadham,  ||  in  Hertfordshire,  sought  occasion  to  put  him  out  of  the 
way,  and  easily  found  it  at  a  time  when  few  earnest  men  had  not 
expressed  some  sentiment  unsanctioned  by  the  Church.  Patmore  had, 

*  Burnet,  part  i.,  book  ii.       .       t  Offor,  Memoir  of  Tyadale.  I   Ibid. 

§   Foxe,  book  viii.  Probably  Much  Haddam. 


ABJURATIONS.       IMPRISONMENTS.       DEATHS.  165 

indirectly,  at  least,  disapproved  of  clerical  celibacy  ;  and  if  he  did  not 
pronounce  the  nuptial  benediction,  yet,  knowing  that  his  Curate  had 
secretly  married  a  servant  rather  than  live  with  her  after  the  usual 
manner,  had  retained  him  in  his  church  ;  and  when  the  poor  man 
was  compelled  to  flee  after  the  discovery  of  the  fact,  covered  his 
escape.  Bishop  Stokesley,  using  the  authority  allowed  him  over  his 
Clergy,  and  again  and  again  confirmed  by  royal  edicts,  imprisoned  the 
Parson  of  Hadham  in  the  Lollards'  Tower,  without  any  trial  or  form 
of  justice,  and  kept  him  there  in  solitary  durance  without  the  sight 
of  a  friend,  or  fire,  or  candle,  for  two  years.  He  did  not  so  much 
as  allow  him  food,  except  what  his  friends  sent  him,  who  yet  were 
not  permitted  to  see  him,  not  even  when  sick.  The  Bishop's  Vicar- 
General,  Foxford,  like  the  Chancellor  Horsey  who  murdered  Hun  in 
the  same  place,  was  the  active  man,  and  often  endeavoured  to  entangle 
him  by  questions  and  the  exhibition  of  articles  of  reputed  heresy  ;  but 
Patmore  withstood  the  extreme  suffering  of  two  years  in  that  dreadful 
chamber,  and  at  length  appealed  to  the  King,  who  liberated  him,  at  the 
end  of  the  third  year,  on  the  intercession  of  Anne  Boleyn.  The  King 
also  commanded  an  investigation  of  the  conduct  of  Stokesley  in  inter- 
cepting his  appeal,  with  the  view  of  restoring  him  to  his  benefice  if  it 
should  be  found  that  he  was  innocent  of  heresy.  But  it  does  not 
appear  that  such  an  investigation  was  prosecuted,  probably,  because  the 
King  would  have  been  thereby  committed  to  an  execution  of  justice  on 
the  guilty  Prelate,  and  that  would  have  brought  a  revolt  of  the  whole 
priesthood  against  him,  as  had  almost  happened  in  the  case  of  Hun, 
whose  murderers  the  King  did  not  dare  to  punish.  Longland,  Bishop 
of  Lincoln,  signalized  himself  as  a  zealot,  of  which  the  register  of  his 
diocese  gave  ample  evidence.  A  poor  man,  a  painter,  named  Edward 
Freese,  apprehended  in  Colchester  for  the  single  offence  of  painting 
some  words  of  Scripture  on  a  picture,  was  brought  up  to  Fulham,  impri- 
soned and  tormented  in  the  Bishop's  palace,  and  then  in  Lollards' 
Tower,  until  he  lost  his  reason,  and  was  discharged  in  a  state  of  idiocy. 
Perhaps  that  was  the  effect  of  grief,  on  account  of  the  murder  of  his 
wife.  When  the  poor  woman  heard  whither  they  had  carried  him,  she 
made  her  way  to  Fulham  to  implore  pity  of  the  Bishop,  and  was  endea- 
vouring to  gain  admission  at  the  gate,  when  the  brutal  porter,  observ- 
ing that  she  was  likely  soon  to  become  a  mother,  kicked  her  with  vio- 
lence, that  at  the  same  time  destroyed  the  life  of  the  unborn  babe,  and 
sent  her  to  an  untimely  grave.  These  are  but  a  few  examples  of  the 
sufferings  of  reputed  heretics  at  that  time  (A.D.  1530,  1531)  ;  a  narra- 
tive of  abjurations  and  penances,  with  the  charges  brought  against  the 
penitents, — often  ridiculously  trifling, — would  fill  a  long  chapter.* 

But  the  Inquisitors  could  never  be  satisfied  without  blood. 

The  Martyrologist  of  England,  to  whom  every  subsequent  writer 
must  be  principally  indebted,  and  many  of  whose  sources  of  inform- 
ation cannot  be  re-opened,  as  regards  his  own  country,  thus  records 
the  sole  memorial  of  one  :  "  Touching  the  memorial  of  Thomas  Hitten 
remaineth  nothing  in  writing,  but  only  his  name ;  save  that  William 
Tyndale,  in  his  apology  against  More,  entitled,  '  The  Practice  of  Pre- 

*  Fuxc,  book  viii. 


166  CHAPTER    III. 

Jates,'  doth  once  or  twice  make  mention  of  him,  by  way  of  digression. 
He  was  (saith  he)  a  Preacher  at  Maidstone,  whom  the  Bishop  of  Can- 
terbury, William  Warham,  and  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  after  they 
had  long  kept  him  in  prison,  and  tormented  him  with  sundry  tor- 
ments, and  that  he,  notwithstanding,  continued  constant ;  at  last 
they  burned  him  at  Maidstone,  for  the  constant  and  manifest  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  his  free  grace  and  salvation,  A.D. 
1530."  * 

An  undaunted  witness  to  the  truth  appears  at  Exeter.  Thomas 
Benet,  a  native  of  Cambridge,  Master  of  Arts  in  that  University,  and 
Priest,  enlightened  by  the  Bible  readings  and  holy  conversation  of  the 
few  good  men  there,  secretly  cast  off  Popery.  For  the  same  reason 
that  induced  many  of  his  brethren  to  do  the  like,  he  privately  married  ; 
and  finding  the  constraint  of  a  perpetual  concealment  to  be  insuffer- 
able, removed  to  Devonshire.  In  the  little  market-town  of  Tor- 
rington,  divested  of  the  priestly  robe,  and  in  the  character  of  a 
layman,  with  wife  and  children,  he  endeavoured  to  eke  out  their 
maintenance  by  keeping  a  school.  But  as  in  that  rural  population 
there  was  little  demand  for  learning,  he  removed  to  Exeter,  hired  a 
house  in  Butcher-row,  and  pursued  his  new  vocation  of  schoolmaster 
with  better  success.  When  not  so  employed,  he  spent  the  leisure 
hours  in  his  library,  absorbed  in  study  or  earnest  in  prayer ;  or  he 
attended  at  sermons,  gleaning  the  good,  and  fortifying  his  mind 
against  the  evil.  Unable  to  associate  with  most  of  his  neighbours,  he 
slowly  gathered  around  himself  a  small  circle  of  serious  and  enlightened 
persons,  whom  he  instructed,  as  a  brother,  with  unobtrusive  modesty. 
Amidst  such  exercises  and  such  communion,  his  soul  gained  increas- 
ing power,  and  his  conversation  became  increasingly  instructive.  He 
ventured  to  seek  out  for  persons  like-minded  with  himself,  and 
enjoyed  the  mutual  confidence  that  in  those  days  shielded  companies 
of  praying  people  from  detection.  So,  after  he  had  been  six  years 
in  the  county,  when  William  Strowd,  Esq.,  of  Newnham,  (Gloucester,) 
was  committed  to  the  Bishop's  prison  on  charge  of  heresy,  he  sent 
him  letters  written  in  Latin, — prisons  in  those  days  and  for  centuries 
later  being  easily  accessible,  although  indescribably  wretched, — and, 
to  obviate  mistrust,  disclosed  his  history.-j-  A  man  so  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  Christ  could  not  be  content  to  hide  his  talent.  He  burned 
with  desire  to  do  something  that  should  arouse  public  attention  to  the 
great  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and,  perhaps,  received  a  suggestion 
from  some  of  the  proceedings  of  the  continental  Reformers.  Yet  he 
knew  that,  sooner  or  later,  any  active  endeavour  would  draw  down 
the  vengeance  of  those  "antichristians  ;"  and,  therefore,  making 
known  his  determination  to  his  friends,  distributed  his  books  among 
them,  strove  to  surrender  himself  as  a  living  sacrifice  to  God,  and, 
encouraged  by  their  exhortations,  prayed  for  power  to  confess  Christ 
even  unto  death.  But  how  should  he  carry  out  his  purpose  ?  He 
wrote  a  single  sentence  on  scrolls  of  paper,  and  secretly  affixed  one 


*  Foxe,  book  viii. 
t  "  Ut  ne  scortato 
iatoruui  antichristianorum  m 


t  "  Ut  ne  scortator  aut  iinmundus  essem,  uxorem  duxi,  cum  qua  Li^ee  sex  anuis  ah 
[lanibus  in  Devonia  latitavi." 


THOMAS    BENET    AT    EXETER.  167 

to  each  door  of  the  cathedral.  "  The  Pope  is  Antichrist,  and  we  ought 
to  worship  God  only,  and  no  saints."  Early  next  morning  the  mass- 
goers  and  passengers,  entering  the  cathedral-yard  from  all  parts  of  the 
city,  were  attracted  by  the  white  papers,  read  the  sentence  aloud,  and 
in  an  hour  it  was  repeated  on  every  lip.  The  Clergy  were  strangely 
excited ;  and,  as  the  thesis  could  not  now  he  suppressed,  it  was  deter- 
mined that  their  Doctors  should  preach  a  sermon  every  day  against 
the  heresy.  They  delivered  sermons,  but  similar  placards  appeared 
on  the  doors  of  other  churches.  Benet  quietly  marked  the  progress 
of  his  enterprise,  and  went  to  the  cathedral,  as  usual,  to  the  sermon 
on  the  following  Sunday,  casually  seating  himself  by  the  two  most 
zealous  heretic-hunters  of  Exeter.  They  suspected  him,  but  as  he 
sat  with  no  less  decorum  than  they,  devoutly  conning  a  Latin  Testa- 
ment, their  suspicion  died  away.  At  last,  when  no  familiar  had  suc- 
ceeded in  detecting  the  author  of  the  scandal,  the  Priests  resolved  to 
make  a  new  effort  for  discovery.  On  an  appointed  day,  a  Priest, 
robed  in  white,  ascended  the  cathedral  pulpit,  the  Monks  of  St. 
Nicholas  standing  round,  and  a  lofty  cross  erected  near,  illuminated 
with  wax  tapers.  The  Priest  began  with  a  flourish  of  rhetoric. 
"Blasphemia  est  in  castris"  *  "  There  is  blasphemy  in  the  camp." 
Then  he  delivered  a  vituperation  of  the  foul  and  abominable  heretic ; 
and  lastly  an  apostrophe  to  God,  our  Lady,  St.  Peter,  the  patron 
of  that  church,  and  all  martyrs,  confessors,  and  virgins,  praying  that 
they  would  make  him  known.  Sermon  being  ended,  the  curse  fol- 
lowed ;  and  as  it  is  as  compendious  a  form  of  malediction  as  can  be 
found,  it  shall  be  repeated  here,  and  will  render  any  similar  recitation 
needless  in  this  volume.  A  Priest  in  pontificals  officiated,  reading 
thus : — 

"  By  the  authority  of  God  the  Father  Almighty,  and  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul,  and  of  the  holy  saints,  we  excom- 
municate, we  utterly  curse  and  ban,  commit  and  deliver  to  the  devil 
of  hell,  him  or  her,  whatsoever  he  or  she  be,  that  hath — in  spite 
of  God  and  of  St.  Peter,  whose  church  this  is,  in  spite  of  all  holy 
saints,  and  in  spite  of  our  most  holy  Father  the  Pope,  God's  Vicar  here 
in  earth,  and  in  spite  of  the  reverend  father  in  God,  John  our  Diocesan, 
and  the  worshipful  Canons,  Masters  and  Priests  and  Clerks,  who  serve 
God  daily  in  this -cathedral  church — fixed  up  with  wax  such  cursed 
and  heretical  bills,  full  of  blasphemy,  upon  the  doors  of  this  and  other 
churches  within  this  city.  Excommunicated  plainly  be  he  or  she 
plenally,  or  they,  and  delivered  over  to  the  devil,  as  perpetual  male- 
factors and  schismatics.  Accursed  may  they  be,  and  given,  body  and 
soul,  to  the  devil.  Cursed  be  they,  he  or  she,  in  cities  and  towns,  in 
fields,  in  ways,  in  paths,  in  houses,  out  of  houses,  and  in  all  other 
places  ;  standing,  lying,  or  rising,  walking,  running,  waking,  sleeping, 
eating,  drinking,  and  whatsoever  thing  they  do  besides.  We  separate 
them,  him  or  her,  from  the  threshold,  and  from  all  the  good  prayers 
of  the  Church  ;  from  the  participation  of  the  holy  mass  ;  from  all  sacra- 

*  No  siich  sentence  exists  in  the  Vulgate,  nor  can  I  find  it  any  where  else.  It  was 
not  the  custom  to  name  the  place  of  Scripture,  so  that  any  scrap  of  Latin  would  serve  as 
text.  He  might  have  meant  to  quote,  Educ  llasphemum  extra  castra.  (Lev.  xxiv.  11.) 


168  CHAPTER    III. 

ments,  chapels,  and  altars ;  from  holy  bread  and  holy  water ;  from 
all  the  merits  of  God's  Priests  and  religious  men,  and  from  all  their 
cloisters  ;  from  all  their  pardons,  privileges,  grants,  and  immunities, 
which  all  the  holy  fathers,  Popes  of  Rome,  have  granted  to  them ; 
and  we  give  them  over  utterly  to  the  power  of  the  fiend :  and  let  us 
quench  their  souls,  if  they  be  dead,  this  night,  in  the  pains  of  hell- 
fire,  as  this  candle  is  now  quenched  and  put  out.  (He  puts  out  a 
candle.)  And  let  us  pray  to  God,  if  they  be  alive,  that  their  eyes  may 
be  put  out,  as  this  candle  light  is.  (He  puts  out  another  candle.)  And 
let  us  pray  to  God  and  to  our  Lady,  and  to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
and  all  holy  saints,  that  all  the  senses  of  their  bodies  may  fail  them, 
and  that  they  may  have  no  feeling,  as  now  the  light  of  this  candle  is 
g0ne> — (he  extinguishes  a  third  candle,) — except  they,  he  or  she,  come 
openly  now  and  confess  their  blasphemy,  and  by  repentance,  as  much 
as  in  them  shall  lie,  make  satisfaction  unto  God,  our  Lady,  St.  Peter, 
and  the  worshipful  company  of  this  cathedral  church  ;  and  as  this 
holy  cross-staff  now  falleth  down,  so  may  they,  except  they  repent 
and  show  themselves." 

The  cross  was  removed  ;  the  staff  that  had  leant  against  it  fell  upon 
the  ringing  pavement ;  the  whole  congregation  shouted,  and  every 
hand  was  raised  in  savage  imprecation.  Benet  alone  stood  unmoved, 
except  to  scorn.  Scarcely  could  he  repress  laughter,  which  some  one 
observing,  asked  how  he  could  dare  to  laugh,  seeing  that  that  weighty 
curse  must  fall  on  some  one.  "  My  friends,"  said  he,  "who  can  for- 
bear, seeing  such  merry  conceits  and  interludes  played  by  the 
Priests?"  "Here's  the  heretic!"  they  cried :  "here's  the  heretic! 
Hold  him  fast!"  Yet  no  one  touched  him  ;  for  they  could  not  con- 
ceive it  possible  that  a  man  canonically  deprived  of  peace,  and  almost 
of  life,  and  the  senses  of  whose  body  ought  to  have  failed,  if  he  were 
indeed  the  foul  blasphemer,  could  be  guilty.  So  the  clamour  subsided, 
the  crowd  dispersed,  and  Benet  returned  to  Butcher-row  to  carry  on 
the  warfare.  Very  early  next  morning  his  servant-boy  was  sent  with 
more  bills,  relating  to  these  proceedings,  to  post  them  up  in  a  few 
public  places.  As  he  was  attaching  one  of  them  to  a  gate  called  the 
Little  Stile,  a  devotee,  going  to  hear  a  five  o'clock  mass,  caught  him  in 
the  act,  and  took  him  to  the  Mayor,  who  instantly  caused  Benet  to  be 
taken  into  custody.  The  Canons  and  chief  men  of  the  city  came  to 
institute  an  examination  ;  but  he  rendered  that  unnecessary  by  plainly 
acknowledging  that  he  had  put  up  the  bills,  and  would  do  so  again, 
if  it  were  possible,  and  maintain  that  what  he  had  written  was  the 
truth.  Next  day  he  was  sent  to  the  Bishop,  who  first  committed  him 
to  his  own  prison,  where  he  was  put  into  the  stocks  and  laden  with 
irons,  until  it  pleased  his  Lordship,  with  his  Chancellor,  Dr.  Brewer, 
and  some  others,  to  examine  their  prisoner.  With  perfect  self-posses- 
sion he  entered  into  controversy,  and  argued  so  learnedly  and  so 
forcibly,  that  they  not  only  thought  fit  to  close  the  conversation,  but 
could  not  conceal  their  admiration  of  the  man.  During  a  full  week 
the  Friars,  after  their  usual  manner,  harassed  him  with  threateuiugs 
and  intreaties,  hoping  for  the  glory  of  an  abjuration.  His  house  was 
searched,  and  his  wife  ill-treated.  The  good  woman  brought  him  food, 


THOMAS    BILNEY.  169 

and  he  soothed  her  grief  with  godly  exhortations.  Meanwhile  a  writ 
"  for  burning  the  heretic  "  was  obtained  from  London,  and  on  the 
15th  of  January,  1531,  he  was  delivered  to  Sir  Thomas  Denis,  Sheriff 
of  Devonshire,  to  be  burnt.  "  The  mild  martyr,  rejoicing  that  his 
end  was  approaching  so  near,  as  the  sheep  before  the  shearer,  yielded 
himself  with  all  humbleness,  to  abide  and  suffer  the  cross  of  persecu- 
tion." In  a  place  called  Livery-dole,  outside  the  city,  he  endured 
meekly,  but  triumphantly,  the  last  trial.  Two  Esquires  beset  him 
with  coarse  abuse,  and,  as  he  was  burning,  excited  the  rabble  to  pelt 
him.  But  he  had  raised  his  voice  in  testimony  to  the  Gospel,  the 
surrounding  crowd  had  heard  it  that  day,  and  he  was  satisfied.  Praying 
for  his  murderers,  he  for  ever  escaped  their  fury. 

Another  name  that  adds  honour  to  Cambridge  is  Thomas  Bilney. 
He  studied  there  from  childhood,  graduated  Bachelor  in  Canon  and 
Civil  Law,  (utriusque  juris,)  and  was  a  good  Churchman.  Of  low 
stature,  slender,  active,  temperate,  and  studious,  as  if  fashioned  for 
preferment,  he  was  likely  to  become  an  earnest  and  eminent  Eccle- 
siastic ;  but  an  incident,  such  as  often  determines  a  man's  career, 
diverted  him  from  the  pursuits  of  clerical  ambition.  Hearing  the 
Latinity  of  Erasmus's  Paraphrase  of  the  New  Testament  highly  com- 
mended, he  bought  the  book.  It  was  then  new,  and  to  be  desired  as 
a  literary  luxury.  At  the  very  first  reading,  just  on  the  opening 
of  the  book,  before  he  had  begun  a  consecutive  perusal,  this  sentence 
caught  his  eye :  "  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  accept- 
ation, that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners ;  of  whom 
I  am  chief."  The  "  faithful  saying  "  could  not  have  been  found  more 
opportunely  ;  for  his  heart  was  already  wounded  with  a  sense  of  guilt, 
and  he  was  endeavouring  to  find  consolation  in  works  of  righteous- 
ness. At  the  moment  he  did  not  perceive  the  power  of  that  precious 
sentence  ;  but  it  was  the  first  read,  and  the  best  remembered.  The 
words,  Fidelis  sermo,  et  omni  acceptione  dignus,  followed  him  every 
where  ;  he  pondered  the  faithful  saying,  he  accepted  it,  confessing 
himself  to  be  the  chief  of  sinners,  "  and  immediately  felt  a  mar- 
vellous comfort  and  quietness,  insomuch  that  his  bruised  bones 
leaped  for  joy."  Profoundly  studying  the  Gospel,  he  perceived  that 
all  his  labours,  fastings,  watchings,  all  the  spurious  redemption 
of  masses  and  pardons,  being  without  Christ,  who  only  saves  from 
sin,  were  nothing  better  than  error  and  delusion.  Alarmed  at  the 
discovery,  and  under  keen  stings  of  sorrow  and  shame,  he  prayed 
earnestly  for  mercy,  and  after  some  time  "  was  taught  of  God 
the  lesson  that  Christ  speaketh  :"  "As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted 
up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
eternal  life."  Thomas  Bilney  believed  ;  and  while  the  paraphrast 
enjoyed  the  applause  of  Europe  for  a  work  written  in  darkness,  the 
penitent  at  Cambridge,  "  taught  of  God,"  came  to  an  understanding 
of  the  text,  and  walked  in  the  light  of  His  countenance,  rejoicing  in 
the  loving-kindness  that  is  better  than  life. 

The  same  divine  teaching  and  grace  constrained  him  to  cry  to  God 
for  strength  "  to  teach  the  wicked  His  ways,  which  are  mercy  and 

•VOL.  in.  z 


170  CHAPTER    III. 

truth."     From  that  time  he  visited   the  prisons,  and  exhorted  the 
"  desperates  "  to  repent  and  believe  in  Christ.    He  fearlessly  ventured 
into  the  lazar  cots,  or   "  leper  hospitals,"  wrapped  the   sufferers  in 
sheets,  and  strove  to  win  them  for  Him  who  cleansed  the  lepers,  by 
displaying  compassion  towards  both  soul  and   body.     Without  any 
formal  connexion  with  the   "  known  men "  in  the  country,  pcobably 
without  knowing  any  of  them,  he  did  as  they  did,  exhorting  his  friends, 
bringing  them  over  to  bis  views,  uniting  them  in  a  distinct  company 
of  praying  brethren,  and  labouring  with  them  to  convert  sinners.  We 
now  find  him  associated  with  Stafford,  the  lecturer  on  the  Gospels 
and  Epistles,  with  Arthur,  of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to  say,  with 
Master  Thixtel,  of  Pembroke-Hall,  Master  Fooke,   of  Benet-College, 
Master  Soud,  Warden  of  the  same   College,    Master  Parker,  Master 
Powry,  and  others.     Dr.  Barnes    and  Lambert,  afterwards   martyrs, 
were  converted  by  means  of  Bilney :  and  Hugh  Latimer,  cross-bearer, 
hitherto  a  most  zealous  Papist,  proud  of  leading  all  the  great  pro- 
cessions, and  on    the   way  to    high    Church    dignities,   owned    him 
as   a  spiritual  father.     The   Priests  charged    him  with  propagating 
Luther's  opinions,  and  bound  him  by  an  oath  not  to  do  so  :  but  he 
preached  Christ,  not  Luther ;  and  at  length  left  Cambridge,  accompa- 
nied by  Thomas  Arthur,  and  proceeded  through  Norfolk  and  Suffolk 
towards  London,  delivering  many  sermons  by  the  way,  and  in  the 
metropolis  excited  much  attention  by  a  discourse  at  St.  Magnus,  (an 
obsolete  saint,)  where  a  large  crucifix  had  just  been  erected,  but  was 
not  yet  gilded.     Such  images,  he  told  the  congregation,  ought  not  to 
be  worshipped,  but  taken  down  by  Kings  and  Princes,  as  Hezekiah 
destroyed  the  brazen  serpent.    Neither  should  men  worship  saints,  but 
God  alone  ;  nor  should  lights  be  placed  before  their  images,  since  the 
blessed  in  heaven  need  not  light,  and  the  images  cannot  perceive  it. 
He  also  denounced  the  Popes  as  holding  keys  of  simony,  not  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  pointed  out  the  folly  of  pilgrimages, 
and  the  insufficiency  of  men's  best  works,  who  can  do  nothing  meri- 
torious.    But  he  spoke  plainly  of  the  merits  of  the  Saviour,  expressed 
his  joy  that  the  Gospel  was  at  last  made  known,  and  his  hope  that 
many  other  preachers  would  shortly  confirm  his  words.     And  at  the 
recitation  of  the  Litany,  the  congregation  pronouncing  the  responses, 
after  the  invocation  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  when   he   came  to   Sancta 
Maria,  ora  pro  nobis,  "  Holy  Mary,  pray  for  us,"  he  bade  the  people 
stop  there,  and  pray  to  God  alone.     Scarcely  had  he  left  the  church 
when  he  was  apprehended,  taken   to  the   Bishop  of  London's  coal- 
house  at  the  back  of  his  palace  in   Paternoster-row,  together  with 
Arthur,  and  thence  conveyed  to  the  Tower  (Whitsun  week,  1527). 
From  the  Tower  he  wrote  no  fewer  than  five  letters  to  Tonstal,  Bishop 
of  London,  containing  an   account  of  his   conversion,  and  an  undis- 
guised confession  of  his  faith  ;  and,  after  half  a  year's  imprisonment, 
he  was  taken   to  the  Chapter-house  at  Westminster,  before  Cardinal 
Wolsey,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of  London,  Roches- 
ter, Ely,  Exeter,  Lincoln,  Bath  and  Wells,  and  St.  Asaph,  with  many 
others,  both  Divines  and  Lawyers,  and  interrogated  by  the  Cardinal 
himself  respecting  his   sermons  in  London  and   the  neighbourhood, 


BILNEY'S  TRIAL  AND  ABJURATION.  l/l 

Norfolk,  and  elsewhere.  To  every  question  lie  gave  a  clear  and  unequi- 
vocal reply,  agreeing  in  many  lesser  points  with  the  Church  of  Rome, 
displaying  strong  prejudice  against  Luther,  yet  maintaining  the  essen- 
tial doctrines  of  the  Gospel.*  Four  days  afterwards  Bilney  and 
Arthur  were  recalled  to  the  same  place,  Wolsey  having  commis- 
sioned the  Bishops  to  proceed  as  his  representatives,  and  gone 
to  look  after  secular  affairs.  Two  long  series  of  articles  were  then 
exhibited  against  them,  extracted  from  reports  of  their  sermons  and 
conversations.  Arthur  acknowledged  some,  explained  or  denied 
others,  revoked  the  whole,  and  submitted  himself  to  the  judgment  and 
discipline  of  the  Church  (December  2d,  1529).  Thus  closed  the 
proceedings  of  the  day. 

The  court  re-assembled  on  the  following  day  :  Bilney,  deserted  by 
his  companion,  was  exhorted  to  submit  also,  and  return  to  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  but  he  steadily  refused  to  deny  Christ.  Then 
the  Bishop  exhibited  the  five  letters,  delivered  them  to  Notaries 
to  be  copied  into  the  register,  and  the  originals  returned  to  him- 
self. Bilney  demanded  a  copy,  which  was  granted,  and  the  Nota- 
ries were  sworn  to  transcribe  accurately.  Several  witnesses  made 
their  depositions ;  a  Friar  from  Ipswich  brought  up  a  long  report 
of  a  private  conversation  concerning  image-worship,  written  in 
Latin  ;  and  after  spending  the  day  in  juridical  formalities,  the 
Bishops  adjourned,  and  Bilney  was  reconducted  to  the  Tower, 
to  ponder  the  question  of  life  and  death  until  morning.  When 
morning  came,  he  was  again  set  before  the  same  tribunal,  and 
called  on  to  answer  the  single  question,  whether  he  would  recant. 
The  Judges  evidently  shrank  from  pronouncing  the  extreme  sen- 
tence. Tonstal  appeared  perfectly  sincere  in  his  notion  of  doing 
God  a  service  by  persecution,  and  betrayed  some  signs  of  humanity 
struggling  against  the  ruthless  temper  of  his  order.  Bilney  was  no 
vulgar  heretic,  and  his  learning,  self-possession,  and  dignified  piety, 
called  forth  as  much  courtesy  as  could  be  found  in  such  a  place. 
Neither  was  his  influence  at  Cambridge  forgotten.  The  depositions 
of  witnesses  were  once  more  read  over,  with  his  answers ;  and  this 
done,  Tonstal  exhorted  him  to  recant,  and  offered  him  permission  to 
withdraw,  in  order  to  determine  in  private.  This  permission  he  did 
not  accept,  but  intimated  his  wish  for  an  immediate  decision  :  Fiat 
justitia  et  judicium  in  nomine  Domini,  "Let  justice  and  judgment  be 
done  in  the  Lord's  name."  Again  and  again  the  Bishops  entreated 
him,  but  as  often  he  reiterated  the  same  sentence  :  "  Let  justice  and 
judgment  be  done  in  the  Lord's  name  ;"  and  added  at  the  last, 
"  This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath  made :  let  us  rejoice  in  it  and  be 
glad."  The  Bishops  consulted  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  Tonstal 
arose,  put  off  his  cap,  and  said,  "  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen.  Let  God  arise,  and  let  his  enemies  be 

*  Yet  not  without  retaining  much  that  is  erroneous.  It  is  certain  that  he  believed 
in  baptismal  regeneration,  and  in  the  "  real  presence."  But  in  truth,  the  great  doc- 
trine of  justification  by  faith  in  Christ  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  sum  and  substance 
of  the  Gospel  ;  and  he  went  little  further  than  the  more  obvious  conclusions  to  which 
thut  necessarily  conducted  him. 

z  2 


172  CHAPTER    III. 

scattered."  *  And  having  crossed  himself  twice,  he  gave  sentence  : 
"  I,  by  the  consent  and  counsel  of  my  brethren  here  present,  do 
pronounce  thee,  Thomas  Bilney,  who  hast  been  accused  of  divers 
articles,  to  be  convicted  of  heresy ;  and,  for  the  rest  of  the  sentence, 
we  take  deliberation  till  to-morrow."  Next  morning  all  were  in  their 
places  in  the  Chapter-house  again ;  and  again  the  question  was 
repeated.  Bilney  answered  that  he  would  not  bring  scandal  on  the 
Gospel  by  a  recantation,  and  he  trusted  that  he  was  not  separated 
from  the  Church  ;  but  if  witnesses  to  his  conduct  were  admitted,  he 
would  have  thirty  in  his  favour  to  each  one  that  had  appeared  against 
him.  The  Bishop  replied,  that  after  the  delivery  of  the  sentence,  it 
was  too  late  to  summon  new  witnesses,  and  urged  him  to  recant, 
which  he  still  refused,  but  was  told  that  he  might  withdraw  and 
consult  his  friends  in  private,  until  one  o'clock.  On  this  consulta- 
tion he  began  to  waver,  catching  at  some  of  those  fallacies  which, 
to  a  man  so  dealt  with,  and  so  wearied,  grow  into  the  semblance 
of  reasons.  After  much  difficulty  on  both  sides,  the  Bishops  fear- 
ing that  he  would  appeal  to  the  King,  if  allowed  time,  and  he 
wishing  to  save  life  and  conscience,  two  days  were  granted ;  and  on 
the  following  Saturday,  (December  7th,)  he  was  brought  up  again, 
professed  himself  persuaded  to  submission  by  his  friends,  read  an 
abjuration,  and  received  a  final  sentence  to  be  imprisoned  as  long  as 
the  Cardinal  should  please,  after  doing  public  penance.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  he  walked  bare-headed  before  the  procession  in  St.  Paul's, 
with  a  faggot  on  his  shoulder,  and,  during  the  sermon  at  the  Cross, 
stood  in  the  same  guise  before  the  preacher. 

About  a  year  after  this  we  find  him  at  Cambridge  again,  which  makes 
it  probable  that  for  so  long  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don. Latimer,  who  had  received  his  friend  and  enjoyed  his  entire  con- 
fidence, afterwards  related,  in  a  sermon  preached  before  the  Duchess 
of  Suffolk,  that  he  was  overwhelmed  with  remorse,  refused  consola- 
tion, and  declared  that  for  having  denied  Christ  he  was  excluded 
from  all  participation  in  the  promises  of  God,  and  from  all  hope 
of  mercy.  In  that  wretched  state  he  continued  for  some  months, 
until,  by  divine  grace,  he  was  enabled  to  resolve  that  he  would  sub- 
mit to  die  in  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance.  This  reso- 
lution was  communicated  to  his  more  intimate  friends  ;  and  one  night, 
about  ten  o'clock,  he  took  leave  of  them,  saying,  in  allusion  to  our 
Lord's  last  journey  when  he  went  to  be  delivered  up  for  death,  that 
he  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem.  Under  cover  of  darkness,  he  walked 
out  of  the  college,  (Trinity-Hall,)  and  by  day-light  was  many  miles 
on  the  way  towards  Norfolk,  where  he  sought  out  the  persecuted 
Lollards,  joined  in  their  cottage-meetings,  and  proceeded  to  Norwich, 
where  he  found  an  anchoress,  whom  he  had  previously  brought,  under 
God,  to  acknowledge  the  truth,  still  persevering.  To  her  he  gave 
copies  of  Tyndale's  Testament,  and  his  "  Obedience  of  a  Christian 
Man."  But  he  had  not  contented  himself  with  frequenting  private 
meetings.  Often  had  he  gone  into  the  fields,  followed  by  a  few  per- 

*  A  sentence  that  frequently  occurs  in  the  proceedings  of  the  "  Holy  Office.'1 


BILNEY'S  RESTORATION  AND  DEATH.  173 

sons,  and  preached  to  them  there,  bewailing  his  fall,  and  exhorting  all 
who  had  any  knowledge  of  Christianity  to  take  warning  by  him.  His 
field-sermons  began  to  be  numerously  attended  :  aware  of  the  conse- 
quent notoriety,  he  had  voluntarily  appeared  in  the  streets  of  Nor- 
wich, and  it  was  then  that  Nix,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  caused  him  to  be 
apprehended,  and  placed  in  custody  at  the  Guildhall ;  and,  as  no  trial 
was  necessary  for  the  condemnation  of  a  known  relapse,  sent  to  Lord 
Chancellor  More  for  a  writ  to  burn  him.  So  delighted  was  More  on 
receiving  the  application,  that  he  bade  the  messengers  go  their  ways 
and  burn  him  first,  and  afterwards  come  for  the  parchment,  that 
would  be  engrossed  at  leisure.  Meanwhile,  Nix  lost  no  time.  His 
Chancellor  examined  the  heretic,  and  had  him  degraded  with  great 
publicity,  amidst  an  officious  crowd  of  Friars  and  Doctors,  and  forth- 
with committed  to  the  two  Sheriffs  of  the  city.  One  of  these, 
Thomas  Necton,  was  a  friend  of  Bilney,  and  therefore  provided  him 
with  every  possible  accommodation  at  the  Guildhall,  until  the  return 
of  the  persons  who  had  gone  to  London  for  the  writ,  and  refused  to 
be  present  at  the  execution.  During  the  two  days  that  intervened, 
many  of  his  friends  from  Cambridge  and  elsewhere  came  to  see  him, 
and  were  surprised  to  find  their  once  broken-hearted  brother  cheerful 
as  none  had  ever  known  him.  The  burden  of  guilt  and  shame  had 
fallen  off,  and  he  ate  his  bread  with  gladness.  He  told  them  that 
he  was  following  the  example  of  men,  who,  having  a  ruinous  house  to 
dwell  in,  yet  bestow  cost,  as  long  as  they  may,  to  keep  it  up.  "  And 
so  do  I  now  with  this  ruinous  house  of  my  body,  and  with  God's 
creatures,  in  thanks  to  Him,  refresh  the  same,  as  ye  see."  The  con- 
versation turning  on  the  pain  of  burning  that  he  was  to  suffer  the  next 
day,  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  might  be  expected  to  sus- 
tain him,  he  did  what  he  had  often  done  before.  While  his  friends 
were  talking,  he  silently  stretched  out  his  hand  towards  a  candle,  and 
held  his  finger  in  the  flame  ;  and,  when  they  were  surprised  at  this, 
conversed  in  a  strain  that  Plato  never  equalled.  "  0,"  said  he,  "  I  feel 
by  experience,  and  have  known  it  long  by  philosophy,  that  fire,  by  God's 
ordinance,  is  naturally  hot;  but  yet  I  am  persuaded  by  God's  holy  word, 
and  by  the  experience  of  some,  spoken  of  in  the  same,  that  in  the 
flame  they  felt  no  heat,  and  in  the  fire  they  felt  no  consumption  ;  and 
I  constantly  believe,  that  however  the  stubble  of  this  my  body  shall  be 
wasted  by  it,  yet  my  soul  and  spirit  shall  be  purged  thereby  :  a  pain 
for  the  time,  whereon  followeth,  notwithstanding,  joy  unspeakable." 
Then  he  recited  and  descanted  on  a  passage  before  marked  in  the 
margin  of  his  Bible :  *  "  Fear  not :  for  I  have  redeemed  thee,  I 
have  called  thee  by  thy  name  ;  thou  art  mine.  When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they 
shall  not  overflow  thee  :  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou 
shalt  not  be  burned ;  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee.  For 
I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Saviour." 
At  the  same  time  his  finger  was  burning.  All  his  friends,  except 

*  This  BiMe  is  stated  by  the  Rev.  George  Townsend  (Foxe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  6:53,  note)  to 
be  now  in  the  library  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge,  so  marked  at  Isai.  xliii. 
1—3. 


174  CHAPITER    III. 

one  old  scholar,  left  him  :  with  him  he  retired  to  rest,  and  the 
Doctor  perceived,  in  the  night,  that  he  was  again  holding  that  finger 
in  the  flame.  "  I  am  trying  my  flesh,"  he  said,  "  by  God's  grace, 
and  burning  one  joint,  when  to-morrow  God's  rods  shall  burn  my 
whole  body  in  the  fire." 

On  the  Sunday  came  the  officers  to  receive  him.  A  party  of 
friends  were  standing  at  the  prison-door  when  he  came  out ;  and  one 
of  them  prayed  him  to  be  constant,  and  take  his  death  patiently. 
Bilney  compared  himself  to  a  mariner,  biding  the  storm  in  hope 
of  reaching  the  haven  ;  but  requested  the  benefit  of  his  prayers.  The 
procession  then  moved  through  the  city,  Bilney  dressed  as  a  layman, 
disfigured  by  the  clumsy  cutting  off  of  his  hair  at  the  time  of 
degradation,  and  wearing  a  tattered  cloak,  with  Dr.  Warner,  an  old 
fellow-student,  at  his  side,  who  distributed  alms  for  him  among  the 
poor.  Thus  they  went  out  at  the  Bishop's  gate,  and  down  the  lull 
towards  a  place  called  "  Lollards'  pit,"  where  they  found  that  the 
preparations  for  burning  were  not  quite  complete ;  and  employing 
the  interval  in  speaking  to  the  people,  he  assured  them  of  his  stead- 
fastness in  the  Christian  faith,  justified  himself  for  having  preached, 
contrary  to  the  prohibition  of  the  Church,  and  reverently  recited  the 
Creed.  Then,  putting  off  his  unsightly  gown,  he  walked  to  the  stake, 
knelt  on  the  ledge  prepared  for  him  to  stand  on,  and  offered  private 
prayer  with  as  much  calmness  and  subdued  fervour  as  if  he  had  been 
in  his  chamber,  ending  with  this  Psalm,  "  Hear  my  prayer,  0  Lord, 
give  ear  to  my  supplications,"  &c. ;  and  thrice,  with  deep  meditation, 
repeated  the  sentence,  "  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy  servant," 
as  if  in  remembrance  of  his  former  abjuration.  Having  finished  this 
act  of  devotion,  he  rose  from  his  knees,  and  asked  the  executioners  if 
they  were  ready.  Finding  that  he  might  now  be  released,  he  took 
off  his  outer  garments,  stood  on  the  ledge,  and  was  chained  to  the 
stake.  Dr.  Warner  then  came  to  bid  him  farewell ;  but  his  voice 
was  choked  with  weeping.  The  martyr  smiled,  and,  after  a  few 
words  of  thanks,  most  impressively  concluded  their  earthly  com- 
munion :  "  0,  Master  Doctor  !  Feed  thy  flock,  feed  thy  flock  ;  that 
when  the  Lord  cometh,  he  may  find  thee  so  doing.  Farewell,  good 
Master  Doctor,  and  pray  for  me."  The  Doctor  hurried  from  the 
spot,  sobbing  aloud  ;  and  as  he  retreated,  a  company  of  Friars, 
Doctors,  and  Priors,  who  had  assisted  at  his  degradation,  pressed  in 
through  the  crowd,  and  their  spokesman  thus  discharged  his  mission  : 
"  0  Master  Bilney  !  the  people  be  persuaded  that  we  be  the  causers 
of  your  death,  and  that  we  have  procured  the  same  ;  and  thereupon 
it  is  likely  that  they  will  withdraw  their  charitable  alms  from  us  all, 
except  you  declare  your  charity  towards  us,  and  discharge  us  of  the 
matter."  Their  prayer  was  granted  in  few  words  by  the  generous 
victim  of  their  Church  :  "  I  pray  you,  good  people,  be  never  the 
worse  to  these  men  for  my  sake,  as  though  they  should  be  the 
authors  of  my  death  :  it  was  not  they."  The  reeds  and  faggots  were 
then  lighted,  the  wind  drove  away  the  flames,  so  that  his  sufferings 
were  prolonged.  But  he  uttered  no  cry,  except  "Jesus,"  cr  "Credo,"  * 

*  1  believe. 


SIR    THOMAS    MORE,    A    ZEALOT.  175 

until  his  spirit  fled,  and  the  lifeless  body  sunk  forward  on  the  chain, 
was  dropped  into  the  fire,  covered  with  wood,  and  seen  no  more  * 
(A.D.  1531). 

Sir  Thomas  More,  Lord  Chancellor  after  Wolsey,  displayed  excessive 
zeal  in  the  prosecution  of  heretics,  of  which  we  are  reminded  by  one 
passage  in  the  history  of  Bilney.  During  his  imprisonment  in  the 
Tower,  he  met  two  brethren  confined  there  by  the  Chancellor, — Frith, 
of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to  say  presently,  and  John  Petit.  This  good 
man  had  been  twenty  years  burgess  for  the  city  of  London,  wealthy, 
learned,  and  benevolent,  and  of  so  great  influence  and  independence,  that 
Henry  VIII.  would  ask,  when  matters  of  supply  were  to  be  discussed  in 
Parliament,  whether  Petit  was  on  his  side  ;  and  when  the  King  required 
his  debts  to  be  cancelled  by  an  Act,  Petit  opposed  the  measure,  after 
having  first  surrendered  to  His  Majesty  a  large  loan  that  he  had  him- 
self made.  This  honourable  citizen  favoured  the  promoters  of  what 
was  then  called  the  new  doctrine,  and  contributed  towards  the  cost 
of  printing  several  of  their  books.  Moneys  advanced  to  them  for  this 
purpose,  or  for  their  private  use  when  in  distress,  he  entered  in  his 
accounts  as  "lent  unto  Christ,"  and  directed  in  his  will  that  payment 
of  such  debts  should  not  be  exacted.  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  was  in 
the  habit  of  walking  about  London  with  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower, 
and  committing  to  his  custody  any  heretics  he  could  find,  called  one 
day  at  the  house  of  John  Petit.  Mrs.  Petit  came  towards  the  door, 
and,  seeing  the  Lord  Chancellor,  ran  to  her  husband,  who  was  at 
prayer  in  his  closet,  to  announce  the  visiter.  But  More  was  close  at 
her  back ;  and  Mr.  Petit  addressed  him  with  great  courtesy,  thanking 
his  Lordship  for  having  honoured  that  poor  house  with  his  presence. 
After  some  general  conversation,  he  attended  Sir  Thomas  to  the  door, 
and,  about  to  take  leave,  asked  if  his  Lordship  would  command  him 
any  service.  "  No,"  said  the  Chancellor  :  "  ye  say  ye  have  none 
of  these  new  books."  "  Your  Lordship  saw,"  he  replied,  "  my  books 
and  my  closet."  "  Yet,"  quoth  the  Chancellor,  "  ye  must  go  with 
Mr.  Lieutenant.  Take  him  to  you."  The  Lieutenant  seized  Mr. 
Petit,  took  him  to  the  Tower,  and  shut  him  up  in  a  dungeon,  with 
no  other  furniture  than  a  pad  of  straw.  After  long  solicitation,  Mrs. 
Petit  obtained  permission  to  send  him  a  bed,  and  he  was  eventually 
released  ;  but  the  hardship  of  that  imprisonment  was  so  great,  that 
he  died  immediately  afterwards.  The  uuder-keeper,  however,  was  a 
humane  man,  and  used  to  allow  Bilney,  Petit,  and  Frith  to  meet  at 
night,  partake  together  of  their  prison-fare,  and  spend  a  few  hours  in 
spiritual  conversation  and  prayer.  Sir  Thomas  More,  on  the  contrary, 
seems  to  have  delighted  in  torturing  his  victims,  and  jesting  as  he  did 
it.  Once,  for  example,  when  examining  a  Lollard  named  Silver,  he 
told  him  that  Silver  must  be  tried  in  the  fire.  "  Ay,"  said  the 
prisoner,  "  but  quick-stiver  cannot  abide  it."  The  pun  pleased,  and 
did  what  a  thousand  prayers  would  have  failed  to  do.  Sir  Thomas 
laughed  heartily,  and  dismissed  the  man.-f 

About  the  time  that  Bilney  was  apprehended  in  Norwich,  Richard 
Bayfield  was  burnt  in   London.     When  Bayfield  was  a  Benedictine 

*  Foxe,  book  viii.  t  Strype,  Memorials  Ecclesiastical,  vol.  i.,  chap.  28. 


176  CHAPTER    III. 

Monk  at  Bury  St.  Edmund's,  Dr.  Barnes,  Prior  of  the  Augustine 
Friars  at  Cambridge,  frequently  came  to  the  abbey  of  Bury,  to  visit 
Dr.  RufFam,  an  old  fellow-student.  Two  laymen,  also,  of  London, 
Master  Maxwell  and  Master  Stacy,  were  wont  to  visit  there.  All 
being  enlightened,  they  formed  a  Christian  company,  and,  within  the 
abbey,  could  converse  on  religious  subjects  without  interruption. 
Richard  Bayfield,  as  Chamberlain  of  the  house,  found  lodging  for  the 
strangers,  was  frequently  in  their  company,  received  a  Latin  Testa- 
ment from  Dr.  Barnes,  and  Tyndale's  Testament  and  "  Obedience " 
from  the  other  two  visiters.  The  reading  of  these  books  produced 
an  entire  change  of  mind  :  at  the  end  of  two  years,  the  brother- 
hood regarded  him  as  a  confirmed  heretic ;  he  was  gagged,  that  his 
cries  might  not  be  heard,  whipped,  and  then  put  into  the  abbey 
prison, — a  necessary  part  of  every  "  religious  house," — and  kept 
there  in  the  stocks  for  three  months,  until  Dr.  Barnes  succeeded  in 
getting  him  out,  and  having  him  sent  to  Cambridge  with  himself.  At 
Cambridge  he  applied  himself  to  study,  and,  having  made  some  profi- 
ciency, went  to  London,  where  he  became  conspicuous  for  zeal  in 
disputing  with  Papists,  was  examined,  abjured,  and  made  to  carry  a 
faggot ;  (A.D.  1528 ;)  after  which  his  friends  Maxwell  and  Stacy 
concealed  him,  and  then  sent  him  over  to  Tyndale  and  Frith,  whom 
he  assisted  in  selling  their  works,  and  those  of  the  German  Reformers, 
both  in  France  and  England.  In  short,  he  became  an  itinerant 
bookseller,  and  made  three  successive  voyages  to  England  with  large 
supplies  of  books  in  sheets,  which  he  landed  at  Colchester,  at  St. 
Catherine's,  London,  and  on  the  coast  of  Norfolk,  whence  he  brought 
them  to  London  in  a  mail.  Some  one  saw  him  go  into  the  house 
of  William  Smith,  a  tailor,  in  Bucklersbury,  where  he  lodged,  as  did 
many  other  "  known  men,"  and  he  was  thence  dogged  to  his  book- 
binder's, in  Mark-lane,  there  taken,  and  carried  to  the  Lollards' 
Tower,  where  lay  Parson  Patmore,  whom  "  he  much  confirmed," 
and  thence  to  the  Bishop's  coal-house.  In  this  place  they  tied  him 
upright  to  the  wall,  passing  cords  round  his  neck,  body,  and  legs, 
put  his  hands  in  manacles,  and  bade  him  tell  who  had  bought  his 
books.  This  he  would  not  do ;  but  stood  firm  in  confession  of 
Christ,  offered  to  give  a  reason  of  his  faith,  and  was  brought  into  the 
Consistory  of  St.  Paul's  to  undergo  examination.  The  formalities 
of  trial  were  disposed  of  in  three  hearings ;  and,  the  articles  alleged 
against  him  having  been  fully  proved,  he  was  brought  into  the  choir 
of  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  (Nov.  20,  1531,)  before  the  Bishop  of 
London,  Abbots  of  Westminster  and  Waltham,  Prior  of  Christ's 
Church,  the  Earl  of  Essex,  the  brother  of  the  Marquis  of  Somerset, 
and  the  Mayor  and  Sheriffs  of  London,  who  were  required  to  be  there 
by  letters  from  the  Bishop,  under  statute  of  Henry  IV.  Before  these 
witnesses  the  Bishop  read  the  sentence  of  degradation,  and  delivered 
him  to  the  secular  power,  ordering  that  he  should  be  brought  thither 
again  on  the  following  Monday.  He  came  accordingly,  was  robed, 
und  degraded  with  a  circumstance  of  barbarism  worthy  of  the  man  who 
so  displayed  his  temper.  The  canonically-degraded  Priest  was  kneeling 
on  a  step  of  the  high  altar,  after  having  been  stripped  of  the  priestly 


BAYFIELD    AND    TEWKESBURY.  177 

vestments,  when  the  Bishop  struck  him  on  the  breast  with  his  crosier 
so  violently,  that  he  rolled  on  the  pavement  of  the  cathedral,  and  lay 
there  insensible.  When  recovered,  he  thanked  God  that  he  was 
delivered  from  the  malignant  Church  of  Antichrist,  and  come  into  the 
true  church  of  Christ  militant  here  on  earth  :  "  And  I  trust  anon  to 
be  in  heaven  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  church  triumphant  for  ever." 
The  Sheriffs  saw  him  taken  to  Newgate,  where  he  spent  about  an 
hour  in  prayer,  thence  walked  manfully  into  Smithfield,  and,  the  fire 
being  slow,  was  alive  in  it  for  half  an  hour.  His  left  arm  fell  from 
him  while  he  was  yet  fully  conscious ;  but,  standing  unmoved  in  the 
flames,  he  was  heard  offering  prayer  until  the  spirit  fled  (November 
27th,  1531).* 

This  constancy  aroused  a  brother  who  had  formerly  abjured,  to 
renew  his  confession.  John  Tewkesbury,  a  leather-seller,  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Michael-at-Quern,  had  been  enlightened  by  reading  the 
New  Testament  many  years  before.  He  possessed  a  complete  manu- 
script copy  of  the  Bible,  studied  it  closely,  read  several  of  the  writings 
of  Tyndale,  and  disputed  openly  on  points  of  doctrine,  even  in  the 
Bishop's  chapel  and  palace.  Tonstal  cited  him  into  his  presence,  and 
heard  him  argue  with  his  Doctors,  not  a  little  mortified  by  the 
superior  knowledge  of  the  leather-seller.  During  seven  examinations  he 
defended  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  and  other  fundamental 
articles  of  belief,  before  the  Consistory,  and  was  then  taken  from  the 
Lollards'  Tower  to  Sir  Thomas  More,  at  Chelsea,  who  endeavoured  to 
extort  a  recantation,  and  force  him  to  disclose  the  names  of  others. 
There  he  was  confined  for  six  days  in  the  porter's  lodge,  with  hands, 
feet,  and  head  in  the  stocks,  without  relief,  but  would  not  yield. 
They  then  took  him  to  a  private  garden,  where  he  was  tied  to 
"  Jesus'  tree,"  whipped,  and  cords  twisted  round  his  head,  until 
blood  burst  from  his  eyes ;  but  he  would  not  accuse  any  one.  After 
being  unbound  in  the  Chancellor's  house  for  a  day,  he  was  sent 
to  the  Tower,  and  racked.  Under  the  torture  he  promised  to 
recant  the  next  day,  and  was  brought  thence,  with  faggot  on 
shoulder,  to  Paul's  Cross,  and,  having  fulfilled  the  penance,  was 
allowed  to  go  home,  under  sureties  to  appear  whenever  called 
for  (May,  1529).  But  he  could  find  no  peace;  and,  after  the 
martyrdom  of  Bayfield,  openly  acknowledged  the  sin  of  abjura- 
tion, was  soon  apprehended,  brought  before  the  Lord  Chancellor  and 
the  Bishop,  sentenced  as  a  relapse,  delivered  to  the  Sheriffs,  and 
burnt  (December  20th,  1531).f 

Both  Bayfield  and  Tewkesbury  were  burnt  without  any  royal  warrant, 
although  the  law  required  a  writ  De  hceretico  comburendo,  and  the 
employment  of  torture  gave  additional  ferocity  to  the  persecutors,  and 
heightened  the  terror  of  priestly  lawlessness.  Familiarized  with  mur- 
der, they  became  less  careful  to  cover  it  with  the  cloak  of  juridical  for- 
mality, and  there  were  precedents  enough  to  justify  secret  murder  to  their 
blinded  conscience.  One  of  their  victims  about  this  time  was  John 
Randall,  a  relative  of  Foxe,  the  Martyrologist.  This  young  man  was 
a  student  in  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  having  one  Wyer  as  tutor, 

*  Foxe,  book  viii.  f  Ibid.     Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  chap-  28. 

VOT,.    III.  2    A 


178  CHAPTER    III. 

who  hated  him  because  he  had  shown  a  disposition  to  read  the  word 
of  God.  His  fellow-students  had  missed  him  for  several  days,  and, 
at  last,  perceived  a  stench  as  they  passed  his  study-door.  The  door 
was  broken  open,  and  Randall's  body  found  hanging,  and  half  putre- 
fied, with  an  open  Bible  on  a  table  by  its  side,  and  one  finger  pointing 
to  a  passage  of  Scripture  relating  to  predestination.  This  was  intended 
by  the  murderer  to  produce  an  impression  that  he  had  hung  himself  in 
a  fit  of  despair  produced  by  that  doctrine,  and  so  to  discredit  the 
study  of  holy  Scripture  ;  but,  that  a  person  dying  by  the  halter  could 
deliberately  point,  in  the  last  struggles,  to  a  particular  sentence  in  a 
book,  surpasses  all  power  of  belief.* 

Although  Henry  VIII.  read  and  commended  some  of  the  writings 
of  Tyndale,  he  seems  to  have  abandoned  his  subjects  to  the  tyranny 
of  the  Priests  and  Sir  Thomas  More.  Yet  he  was  prosecuting  unwel- 
come demands  at  Rome,  and  soon  avowed  a  quarrel  with  the  Pope.  An 
embassy,  or  commission,  consisting  of  Dr.  Cranmer,  the  Earl  of  Wilt- 
shire, father  of  Anne  Boleyn,  Dr.  Lee,  Archbishop  elect  of  York,  Dr. 
Stokesley,  Bishop  elect  of  London,  and  Drs.  Trigonel,  Karn,  and  Benet, 
were  sent  over  to  Paris,  to  confer  with  the  Doctors  there  respecting 
his  marriage  with  Catharine,  and  thence  to  Rome,  to  dispute  with  the 
Canonists  of  that  court,  and  urge  the  Pope  to  grant  a  Bull  for  the  divorce. 
The  messengers  obtained  an  audience  of  the  "Holy  Father,"  who  expected 
the  usual  genuflexions  to  be  made  before  him,  being  enthroned  for  the 
reception.  Not  supposing  that  the  Englishmen  would  have  kept  their 
feet,  he  extended  his  foot  for  them  to  kiss ;  but  the  gesture  produced 
no  other  effect  than  that  of  provoking  the  Earl's  dog,  which  snapped  at 
the  embroidered  slipper.  "  A  Protestant  dog  !  "  exclaims  the  Jesuit 
Floud  ;  on  whom  Fuller  humorously  retorts,  "  Let  him  tell  us  what 
religion  those  dogs  were  of  that  ate  up  Jezebel  the  harlot."  Cran- 
mer's  book,  written  to  establish  that  no  man  ought  to  marry  his 
brother's  wife,  and  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  ought  not  to  dispense  to 
the  contrary,  was  presented  to  Clement ;  but  received  far  differently 
from  the  volumes  previously  sent  over,  and  long  negotiations  with 
him,  and  disputations  with  the  lawyers,  were  spent  in  vain.  He 
would  have  granted  the  divorce  demanded,  but  for  fear  of  drawing 
on  himself  the  revenge  of  Charles  V.  Political  complication  thus  led 
to  the  English  schism,  as,  in  the  present  day,  political  complication 
hastens  the  downfal  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Papacy.  The  em- 
bassy, guided  by  Cranmer,  sought  and  obtained  the  judgment  of  several 
foreign  Universities  and  theologians.  Most  of  them  gave  it  in  favour 
of  Henry  ;  and  with  this,  the  only  fruit  of  their  labour,  the  messengers 
returned  to  England,  (A.D.  1530,)  when  the  King,  fearing  that  Clement 
might  interfere  to  hinder  a  formal  repudiation  of  the  Queen,  issued  a 
proclamation,  (September  19th,)  forbidding  his  subjects  to  "purchase 
anything  from  Rome,  or  elsewhere,  contrary  to  his  royal  prerogative 
and  authority,  or  to  publish  or  divulge  any  such  thing,  under  pain 
of  his  displeasure,  and  its  consequences." 

^  To  prohibit  the  publication  of  Bulls  in  England,  and  yet  leave  the 
Clergy  without  a  check  in  the  exercise  of  their  power,  would  have 

*  Foxe,  ut  supra. 


HENRY    VIII.    HEAD    OF    THE    ENGLISH    CHURCH.  1/9 

been  feeble  policy.  Their  power  was  excessive.  It  impeded  tbe  civil 
authority,  impoverished  the  nation,  weakened  allegiance,  nullified 
laws,  and  spread  immorality  among  both  Clergy  and  laity.  An 
indictment  was  therefore  brought  into  the  King's  Bench  against  all 
the  Clergy  of  England,  who  had  involved  themselves  in  a  presmuni re, 
together  with  Wolsey,  by  concurring  in  the  proceedings  of  courts 
holden  under  his  legantine  authority,  which  was  proved  to  have  been 
exercised  contrary  to  the  law  of  England,  and  in  violation  of  royal 
prerogative.  The  Convocations  of  Canterbury  and  York,  on  one  side, 
endeavoured  to  maintain  what  they  conceived  to  be  the  rights  of  the 
Church ;  Parliament,  on  the  other,  upheld  those  of  King  and  country. 
The  Convocations  endeavoured  to  appease  the  displeasure  of  their 
Sovereign  by  cautious  overtures  of  submission,  couched  in  abject 
language,  the  only  style  of  language  that  either  Priest  or  layman  used 
when  addressing  the  King ;  but  His  Majesty  would  suffer  no  reserva- 
tion, and  released  them  from  the  penalties  of  that  political  offence 
only  on  condition  of  being  acknowledged  "  Head  of  the  Church," 
and  of  receiving  a  fine  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  from  the 
province  of  Canterbury,  and  eighteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty  pounds  from  that  of  York.  The  Convocations,  with  the  Arch- 
bishops at  their  head,  and  justified  by  a  formal  judgment  of  both 
Universities,  conceded  the  supremacy  to  the  King,  and  denied  it  to 
the  Pope.  He  then  forgave  them,  became  their  head  in  reality, 
instead  of  the  alien  whom  they  had  hitherto  obeyed  ;  and  how- 
ever confused  his  notions  of  supremacy  may  have  been  as  to  the 
Church,  it  is  certain  that  those  of  the  court  of  Rome  were  unspeak- 
ably more  confused  as  to  the  State.  They  would  have  made  the 
Pontiff  supreme  over  all  men  and  things  for  an  alleged  religious 
reason  :  Henry  and  his  advisers  would  have  made  the  King  supreme 
over  the  Church  in  England  for  a  political  reason,  disguised  under  an 
appeal  to  Scripture.  Their  notion  of  supremacy  was  carried  too  far, 
and  the  religious  argument  was  abused  in  the  controversy  ;  but,  after 
allowing  this,  and  stripping  the  affair  of  what  was  extraneous,  we  must 
honestly  acknowledge,  that  the  real  question  was  whether  Henry  or 
the  Pope  should  reign  in  England;  and  we  should,  therefore,  be 
thankful  for  the  decision  then  reached,  notwithstanding  much  inac- 
curacy of  language  and  confusion  of  ideas. 

Henry  VIII.  thus  became  head  of  the  Church.  The  high  Clergy  ren- 
dered him  the  utmost  reverence,  in  utter  forgetfulness  of  their  oaths  to 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  on  the  next  New- Year's  day  (A.D.  1532)  out- 
shone Dukes  and  Earls  in  sending  gifts  to  His  Highness.*  As  early  in 
the  spring  as  Members  could  well  travel  to  London,  Parliament  assem- 
bled, and  a  national  act  of  self-defence  remitted  the  government  of  the 
Prelates  from  the  hands  of  the  Pope  into  those  of  the  King.  It  had 
been  required  of  every  Archbishop  or  Bishop  elect  to  send  one  year's 

*  For  example  :  "  By  the  Busshop  of  York,  £50."  The  Bishops  of  Durham  and 
Exeter  gave  each  as  mnch.  "  By  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  xx  soveraynes,  £22.  10*,  and 
five  pieces  of  gold,  at  40*.  the  piece,  £10."  £32.  10.  The  soveraynes,  suffereynes,  or 
sufferaynes,  of  the  Clergy  far  outnumbered  those  of  the  laity. — Strype,  Memorials,  vol. 
i.,  chap.  18. 

2   A    2 


180  CHAPTER.    III. 

rent  to  Rome  in  payment  for  the  Bulls  confirmatory  of  his  election,  in 
order,  as  the  fiction  went,  to  maintain  a  crusade  against  the  Turks. 
But  the  Turks  had  nothing  to  fear  from  that  source ;  for  the  money 
was  otherwise  employed  than  in  troubling  them.  The  people  of 
England  grudged  the  alienation  of  so  much  wealth ;  and  the  Bishops 
themselves  were  not  well  pleased  to  be  compelled,  as  they  generally 
were,  to  borrow  on  interest  a  sum  equal  to  a  year's  revenue  in 
advance.  Often  the  aged  dignitary  died  before  his  debt  could  be 
paid,  and  the  creditor  lost  a  great  part  of  the  money.  Impatient 
of  the  impost,  the  Convocation  first  appealed  against  it  in  a  letter  to 
the  King.  They  pleaded  that  a  tax  on  the  temporalties  of  a  bishopric 
should  only  be  paid  to  the  King,  if  paid  at  all,  because  he  is,  indis- 
putably, the  temporal  superior  ;  and  that  if  the  spiritualties  were 
taxed,  such  a  contribution  out  of  their  fees  ought  to  be  paid  to  the 
Archbishop  rather  than  to  the  court  of  Rome ;  and  spoke  of  that 
court  in  language  of  strong  aversion.  They  prayed  the  King  to 
refer  the  matter  to  Parliament,  in  order  that  the  payment  of  annates 
might  be  made  illegal.  This  was  done :  the  Parliament  set  forth, 
in  a  long  Act,  the  manifold  inconveniences  of  such  a  tax,  and  deter- 
mined, subject  to  any  negotiation  that  the  King  might  make  with  the 
Pope  to  the  same  effect,  that  annates  should  be  no  longer  paid.  They 
allowed,  however,  a  payment  of  five  per  cent,  on  the  estimated 
amount  of  one  year's  income,  and  enacted,  that  if  a  Bull  were  refused 
to  any  Bishop  nominated  by  the  King,  he  should  be  installed  not- 
withstanding ;  and  that,  if  the  Pope  should  see  good  to  avenge  this 
contumacy  by  an  excommunication,  or  an  interdict,  such  an  act  of 
pontifical  authority  should  be  set  at  nought.*  Nor  did  the  Legislature 
end  here.  No  sooner  had  the  King  written  the  words  of  assent 
(Le  Roy  le  volt,  "  The  King  wills  it ")  on  the  parchment,  than  by 
some  means  he  ascertained  what  he  ought  to  have  known  before,  that 
"  all  the  Prelates,  whom  he  had  looked  upon  as  wholly  his  subjects, 
were  but  half  subjects ;  for  at  their  consecration  they  swore  an  oath 
quite  contrary  to  the  oath  they  swore  to  the  crown ;  so  that  it  seems 
they  were  the  Pope's  subjects  rather  than  his."  -f  The  King  sent  for 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  :  the  oath  that  had  been 
hitherto  unobserved  in  the  manuscript  ordinals,  as  part  of  the 
mysteries  of  consecration  in  which  no  layman  thought  himself  con- 
cerned, was  put  into  his  hand  ;  he  hastened  back  to  the  House,  and 
communicated  the  King's  command  that  those  conflicting  documents 
should  be  read  and  considered  without  delay.  It  was  done  :  the 
Members  were  strongly  excited  by  the  disclosure,  and  would  have 
passed  a  severe  censure  on  the  Bishops  had  not  a  report  been  brought 
that  the  plague  was  in  London.  They  hurried  to  their  homes  with 
an  additional  feeling  of  mistrust  towards  the  Clergy.  The  Clergy 
were  astounded.  Some  murmured,  most  of  them  feared  to  murmur, 
a  few  flattered.  The  Carthusian  Monks  of  Colen,  (Cologne,)  for 

*  Burnet,  Reformation,  book  ii.,  collect.  4 1 . 

t  Burnet  gives  -  both  oaths,  which  have  been  often  republished.  The  oath  rendered 
to  the  Pope  by  every  Bishop  at  his  consecration  is  still  unaltered  and  in  full  force.  It 
now  lies  before  the  author  in  the  Pontificale  Romanum. 


HUGH    LAT1MER.  181 

example,  at  the  request  of  their  fraternity  in  England,  wrote  an 
epistle  dedicatory  to  Henry,  prefixed  to  an  exposition  of  the  Gospel 
of  St.  Matthew,  wherein  they  say,  that  "  by  his  writings  concerning 
the  sacraments  he  had  displayed  his  glory  over  his  people.  That  he 
had  put  on  the  harness  of  Catholic  doctrine,  like  a  giant,  and  girt  his 
loins  with  the  warlike  arms  of  the  Scriptures  in  battles  of  disputa- 
tion against  heretics,  and  defended  Christ's  camp  with  the  sword 
of  his  learning  :  that  he  was  like  to  an  evangelical  lion,  and  a  mysti- 
cal lion's  whelp,  sent  down  from  heaven  to  hunt  the  heretics."  *  On 
the  other  hand,  Sir  Thomas  More,  whose  heart  had  been  set  on  the 
exaltation  of  the  Church,  and  who  would  fain  have  drowned  heresy  in 
biood,  saw  that  it  was  time  to  retreat,  and  obtained  leave  to  deliver 
up  the  Great  Seal,  which  was  given  to  Sir  Thomas  Audley,  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  at  the  time  when  annates  were  suppressed, 
and  the  oaths  of  Bishops  brought  under  debate. f 

Collateral  with  the  decline  of  Papacy  in  this  country  was  the 
advance  of  evangelical  truth  ;  but  still  under  persecution.  Hugh 
Latimer  began  to  excite  notice  as  a  Preacher.  For  many  years  he 
had  been  a  zealot  in  the  cause  of  Popery  ;  but,  under  the  influence 
of  Bilney  at  Cambridge,  his  bigotry  relented,  and  the  grace  of  God 
began  to  subdue  his  nature.  The  change  became  apparent,  informa- 
tion was  laid  against  him,  and  he  was  summoned  to  answer  charges 
of  heresy  before  Archbishop  Warham.  Here  Latimer  first  appears  on 
the  field  of  history.  In  London,  before  the  Archbishop,  with 
Stokesley,  Bishop  of  London,  and  three  or  four  others,  he  under- 
went a  private  examination.  We  know  not  in  what  building,  but 
suppose  it  to  have  been  the  Bishop's  Palace  in  St.  Paul's  Church- 
Yard,  in  an  apartment  hung  with  tapestry.  During  several  weeks 
they  met  there  thrice  a  week,  and  carried  forward  a  system  of 
interrogation  intended  to  elicit  information  respecting  the  Uni- 
versity, while  their  utmost  artifice  was  employed  to  lead  him  to 
say  something  that  might  be  turned  against  himself.  One  day  he 
found  the  arrangement  of  the  room  altered.  There  was  no  fire  ;  and 
the  spacious  chimney  was  covered  by  a  piece  of  arras,  as  when  apart- 
ments were  furnished  for  the  summer.  Before  the  vacated  fire-place 
there  was  a  table,  so  that  Latimer  stood  between  it  and  the  arras. 
At  the  further  end  sat  an  aged  Bishop,  rather  dull  of  hearing,  with 
whom  he  had  been  formerly  very  familiar,  and  who  still  passed  for  a 
friend.  On  putting  a  very  subtle  question,  the  old  man  bade  him 
speak  up,  that  he  might  be  able  to  hear  his  answer,  as  well  as  those 
who  sat  at  a  distance.  He  raised  his  voice,  and,  on  ceasing  to  speak, 
heard  a  pen  moving  on  paper  behind  the  hangings.  However,  he  still 
spoke  loud  and  clear,  even  in  reply  to  the  insidious  question  :  "  Master 
Latimer,  do  you  not  think  in  your  conscience  that  you  have  been 
suspected  of  heresy  ?  "  But  God  gave  him  wisdom  so  to  answer  that 
they  could  make  no  use  of  the  reply  to  his  injury,  and,  for  that  time, 
he  was  delivered  out  of  their  hands.  J 

Those  closet  investigations  were  not  without  reason.     The  spirit 

*  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  chap.  19.  t  Burnet,  part  i.,  book  ii. 

t  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  !.,  chap.  22. 


182  CHAPTER    III. 

of  Lollardism  had  not  only  arisen  at  Cambridge,  and  revisited  Oxford, 
but  revived  throughout  the  country.  Openly  and  familiarly  people 
were  calling  the  Pope  Antichrist ;  and  the  King  was  not  displeased  at 
the  unpopularity  of  a  personage  who  had  become  his  declared  enemy. 
To  counteract  this  impression,  the  Papists  endeavoured  to  produce 
another,  by  circulating  an  obscure  prediction  that  Antichrist  would 
soon  come*  into  the  world,  a  monster  born  of  a  Jewess,  by  a  sort 
of  Satanic  incarnation ;  that  he  would  perform  miracles,  pervert 
Princes,  and  that  a  host  of  preachers,  precisely  like  the  "  known 
men,"  would  travel  over  the  whole  world,  and  bring  nations  into 
subjection  to  Antichrist.  Strype  has  printed  this  figment  from  a 
MS.  of  that  time  ;  *  and  one  might  fancy  it  to  be  a  reproduction  by 
some  Monk,  in  a  scarcely  less  monstrous  form,  of  the  old  Jewish 
fable  of  Armillus,  also  invented  to  discredit  Christianity. f  Specula- 
tion led  to  action,  as,  whether  good  or  bad,  it  always  does,  and 
therefore  should  be  well  guarded.  In  this  instance,  the  bugbear  of  a 
Monkish  Antichrist  only  served  to  quicken  the  spirit  of  inquiry  ;  the 
persuasion  that  crucifixes  and  other  images  were  idols  became  general, 
and  iconoclasm  began  again.  At  Dover-Court,  near  Harwich,  there 
was  a  crucifix  called  "  the  Rood  of  Dover-Court,"  an  awful  idol ! 
No  man,  its  worshippers  believed,  could  shut  the  church-door 
as  long  as  that  rood  remained  within.  No  man  dared  to  close 
the  door,  which  therefore  stood  open,  day  and  night ;  and  pilgrims 
from  remote  parts  of  the  country  now  and  then  strayed  in  to  pay 
their  honours  to  the  god.  But  three  good  men  of  Dedham,  Robert 
King,  Nicholas  Marsh,  and  Robert  Gardner,  with  Robert  Debnam, 
of  Eastbergholt,  were  grieved  at  the  stupid  idolatry  of  their  neigh- 
bours, and  determined  to  demonstrate  that  "  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the 
world."  They  set  out,  accordingly,  on  a  fine,  clear,  frosty  night, 
conversing  cheerfully  during  a  walk  of  twelve  or  thirteen  miles,  made 
their  way  to  Dover-Court  church,  entered  by  the  open  door,  took  the 
Rood  from  his  shrine,  carried  him  away  to  the  distance  of  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and,  no  power  resisting,  planted  him  in  a  heap 
of  brush-wood,  threw  in  the  tapers  taken  from  his  altar,  struck  fire 
with  flint  and  steel,  set  him  on  a  blaze,  and,  lighted  by  him  a  good 
mile  on  the  way,  deliberately  walked  home  again.  One  Sir  Thomas 
Rose,  the  Priest  by  whose  preaching  they  had  been  enlightened, 
afterwards  burnt  his  coat,  which  they  had  carried  away  ;  but  the 
men  were  indicted  for  felony,  and  all,  except  Robert  Gardner, 
who  escaped,  were  hung  in  chains  about  a  year  afterwards,  giving 
evidence  of  true  piety,  and  a  sincere  horror  of  idolatry,  which  then 
spread  the  more.  Many  crosses  and  images  were  destroyed  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  as  at  Coggeshall,  Great  Horksleigh, 
Sudbury,  and  Ipswich.^  Here  again  the  Priests  attempted  an  anti- 
dote, and  by  means  of  printing  §  too,  circulating  among  the  churches 

*  Strype,  Memorials,  vol.  i.,  chap.  22,  and  Appendix,  xlv. 

t  Leslie,  in  his  "  Short  and  easy  Method  with  the  Jews,"  gives  their  fahle  of  this 
Armillus  (Dlp'o^N).  Edition  of  1812,  page  124. 

t  Fose,  hook  viii'. 

§  Romanism  still  hates  this  modern  invention  of  printing,  \vhich  the  present  Pope 
calls  an  evil  art.  A  recent  illustration  of  this  hatred  is  furnished  from  an  official 


THOMAS    HARDING.  183 

a  book  of  Homilies,  to  be  read  on  Sundays.  It  contained  tales  as 
wild  and  foolish  as  any  that  were  ever  fabricated  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  taken  from  the  "  Golden  Legend."  But,  notwithstanding 
this  variation  of  the  tactic,  the  discipline  of  the  Church  proceeded 
with  unvarying  and  unrelenting  severity.  Abjurations  were  incessant, 
as  they  had  been  for  some  years,  and  executions  still  continued. 

One  day  in  Lent,  (A.D.  1532,)  while  the  people  of  Chesham,  in  Buck- 
inghamshire, were  crowding  their  church,  Thomas  Harding,  a  good 
man,  more  than  sixty  years  of  age,  walked  into  a  neighbouring  wood, 
with  a  book  of  English  prayers  in  his  pocket,  sat  on  a  stile  near  the 
edge  of  the  wood,  and  peacefully  communed  with  God,  aided  by  the 
manual.  For  twenty-six  years  he  had  borne  the  honourable  mark 
of  heresy,  having  been,  together  with  his  wife,  a  member  of  the 
persecuted  church  of  Amersham,  and,  until  latterly,  subject  to  peni- 
tential discipline, — walking  in  processions  with  the  faggot,  and 
performing  compulsory  pilgrimages.  A  zealous  townsman  passing 
by,  saw  Harding  absorbed  in  meditation,  and,  unseen  by  him,  ran 
into  Chesham,  and  told  some  of  the  officers  of  the  town  that  he  had 
just  seen  Harding  in  the  wood,  looking  on  a  book.  The  officers 
instantly  ran  to  his  house  to  search  for  books,  tore  up  the  boards 
of  a  floor,  and  found  copies  of  the  Bible,  or  of  some  parts  of  it, 
concealed.  To  have  been  seen  looking  on  a  book,  and  to  have  con- 
cealed the  Bible  in  his  dwelling,  was  criminality  deep  enough  for 
them.  They  took  him  and  his  books  to  Woburn,  where  was  Long- 
land,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  who  received  him  with  the  usual  expressions 
of  contemptuous  anger,  to  which  he  answered  in  very  few  words, 
putting  his  trust  in  God.  They  then  threw  him  into  the  well-known 
dungeon,  "  Little  Ease,"  *  where  he  suffered  pain  and  hunger  for  a 
time,  like  others  before  him,  until  brought  again  before  the  Bishop, 
who,  from  his  throne,  gave  sentence  that  the  relapsed  heretic  should 
be  burned  to  ashes ;  and  commanded  one  Rowland  Messenger, 

source.  When  the  Austrians  entered  Florence  in  the  spring  of  1849,  an  edition  of  six 
thousand  New  Testaments  was  passing  through  the  press,  by  permission  of  the  Govern- 
ment, on  the  application  of  Captain  Packenham,  an  Irish  gentleman.  The  police  seized 
the  whole  impression,  and,  after  an  interval  of  at  least  eight  months,  the  printer  waa 
prosecuted.  An  enlightened  advocate,  Signer  Marri,  pleaded  for  Benelli,  the  printer, 
that,  although  the  existing  law  prohibits  any  book  treating  of  religion,  ex  professo,  to  be 
printed  without  a  preventive  censure,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  New  Testament  treats 
esc  professo  of  religion.  The  Pandects  of  Justinian,  he  argued,  or  the  Code  Napoleon, 
do  not  treat  of  law,  they  are  the  law  ;  and  the  New  Testament  does  not  treat  of  Christian 
doctrine,  for  it  is  the  doctrine.  This  drove  the  venal  court  to  a  confession  of  the  truth  ; 
and  in  the  "  Monitore  Toscano,"  official  gazette  of  the  Tuscan  Government,  No.  XXI., 
January  25th,  1850,  we  find  a  summary  of  the  case,  with  sentence  on  Benelli  to  pay  a 
fine  of  50  scudi  and  costs,  and  forfeit  the  books.  The  court  says,  "  Non  sono  i 
dogmi  di  religione  che  si  sottopongono  a  censura,  ma  bensi  la  esposizione  tipografica  di 
quei  dogmi," — "  It  is  not  the  doctrines  of  religion  "  (as  contained  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment) "  that  are  subjected  to  censure,  but  the  typographical  exhibition  of  those  doc. 
trines."  The  typographical  exhibition,  then,  of  the  words  of  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles, 
is  at  this  day  condemned  by  a  tribunal  acting  in  Italy  under  the  direction  of  the  Cardi- 
nals. They  only  use  the  press  as  a  last  resort,  for  the  typographical  exhibition  of  their 
own  pleasure. 

*  Some  other  dungeons  were  known  by  the  same  name.  Until  the  time  of  Howard, 
it  was  a  part  of  English  penal  discipline  to  torment  prisoners ;  and  this  was  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  Bishops  gave  the  example. —  See  "  Life  of  Howard,"  and  "  the  Lon- 
don Prisons,"  by  Hepworth  Dixon. 


184  CHAPTER    III. 

Vicar  of  Great- Wycombe,  to  see  it  done.  Rowland  gladly  undertook 
the  charge,  brought  Harding  to  Chesham,  preached  the  usual  sermon 
in  the  church,  the  good  old  man  standing  before  him  in  the  accus- 
tomed manner,  and  next  day  led  a  party  of  armed  men,  who  took 
their  inoffensive  neighbour  outside  the  town,  chained  him  to  a  stake, 
and  would  have  burnt  him  alive.  But  the  offer  of  forty  days'  indul- 
gence to  all  who  would  throw  a  faggot  on  the  heap  had  attracted  a 
crowd  of  persons,  old  and  young,  all  bringing  faggots.  Little  child- 
ren, sent  by  their  parents,  tottered  to  the  place  with  wood  upon  their 
backs ;  and  one  man,  in  the  height  of  zeal  to  earn  forty  days,  flung  a 
heavy  block  at  his  head,  that  crushed  the  skull,  and  instantaneously 
deprived  him  of  life. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Henry  VIII.,  pleased  with  "  the  Sup- 
plication of  the  Beggars,"  received  the  author,  Simon  Fish,  with 
extraordinary  marks  of  kindness,  restored  him  to  his  home,  and 
charged  the  Lord  Chancellor  More  to  do  him  no  harm.  Fish  died 
soon  afterwards,  and  James  Bainham,  a  Knight  of  Gloucestershire, 
married  his  widow.  He  was  a  lawyer,  eminent  for  integrity  and 
benevolence,  a  Latin  and  Greek  scholar,  a  lover  of  the  Bible,  and  a 
man  of  prayer,  and  therefore  no  favourite  of  the  Priests ;  but  his 
marriage  with  this  lady,  whom  the  Chancellor  had  already  persecuted, 
drew  fresh  suspicion  on  him,  and  he  was  formally  accused  of  heresy. 
Sir  Thomas  sent  a  Serjeant-at-arms  to  arrest  him  in  his  chambers  in 
the  Middle  Temple,  and  bring  him  to  his  house  at  Chelsea,  where  he 
was  kept  in  free  prison  for  some  time,  until  persuasion  to  renounce 
his  faith  had  failed.  He  was  then  placed  in  close  confinement, 
brought  from  the  dungeon  into  the  garden,  tied  to  the  "  Tree  of 
Truth,"  and  whipped,  but  still  refused  to  submit.  Thence  Sir 
Thomas  conveyed  him  to  the  Tower,  and  stood  by  while  he  was 
racked ;  yet  he  would  neither  abjure,  nor  accuse  any  gentlemen  of  his 
acquaintance,  nor  tell  where  his  books  were  hidden.  Torture  failing, 
he  was  taken  to  Chelsea  again,  to  appear  before  Stokesley,  Bishop 
of  London,  (December  15th,  1531,)  and  undergo  examination.  From 
the  record  of  his  answers  it  is  evident  that  his  views  of  Christian 
doctrine  were  scriptural,  matured  by  study,  and  confirmed  by  personal 
experience.  He  gave  them  without  hesitation  or  reserve,  and  sub- 
scribed them  with  his  name.  On  the  day  following  he  was  brought 
again  into  More's  palace,  and  the  Bishop  would  have  accepted  a 
reluctant  and  ambiguous  submission,  made  under  the  pressure  of 
weariness  and  fear,  had  it  not  been  neutralized  by  many  limitations. 
He  therefore  committed  him  to  a  common  prison  until  further  trial, 
to  which  he  was  brought  after  two  months'  confinement,  and,  strug- 
gling hard  against  his  conscience,  abjured.  He  then  paid  a  fine 
of  twenty  pounds  to  the  King,  carried  a  faggot  at  St.  Paul's,  and 
returned  home.  But  shame  and  remorse  haunted  him,  he  bewailed 
his  fall,  implored  forgiveness  of  God,  and  could  have  no  peace  until 
he  had  professed  repentance  before  all  his  friends,  and  made  a 
public  confession  also.  First,  he  repaired  to  the  congregation  of 
brethren,  assembled  in  a  warehouse  in  Bow-lane,  and  uttered  fervent 
supplication  for  pardon  in  their  presence.  Then,  on  the  next  Sunday, 


THE     BODY    OF    TRACEY    EXHUMED.  185 

lie  weut  to  St.  Austin's  church,  carrying  Tyndale's  Testament  in  his 
hand,  and  the  "  Obedience  of  a  Christian  Man  "  in  his  bosom,  and, 
standing  up  in  his  pew,  and  weeping,  declared  aloud  to  the  congrega- 
tion that  he  had  denied  God,  prayed  the  people  to  forgive  him  the 
injury  done  to  them  by  his  weakness,  and  exhorted  them  not  to  follow 
his  example.  "  For,"  said  he,  holding  up  the  New  Testament,  "  if  I 
should  not  return  again  unto  the  truth,  this  word  of  God  would  damn 
me  both  body  and  soul  at  the  day  of  judgment."  He  prayed  the 
people  rather  to  die  than  do  as  he  had  done ;  and  assured  them,  that 
for  all  this  world's  wealth  he  would  not  suffer  again  such  a  hell  as  he 
had  felt  within  him.  Not  yet  satisfied,  he  made  his  repentance 
as  public  as  his  abjuration,  by  writing  letters  to  the  Bishop,  his 
brother,  and  others,  so  that  he  soon  found  himself  prisoner  a  second 
time,  and  lay  in  irons  for  a  fortnight  in  the  Bishop's  coal-house. 
Thence  they  took  him  to  my  Lord  Chancellor's  at  Chelsea,  where  he 
was  chained  to  a  post  during  two  nights  ;  from  Chelsea  to  the  Epis- 
copal palace  at  Fulham,  where,  in  various  ways,  they  tormented  him 
for  a  week.  All  this  he  suffered  joyfully,  and  then  was  scourged  with 
whips  every  day  during  a  fortnight  in  the  Tower  of  London.  A  brief 
examination  before  the  Bishop's  Vicar-General,  and  a  few  others, 
served  to  certify  the  fact  of  his  "relapse  ;"  the  same  officer  caused 
him  to  appear  once  more  in  the  church  of  All  Saints,  of  Barking,  read 
the  sentence  accustomed,  and  the  letter  of  his  Diocesan,  committing  the 
relapse  to  the  Mayor  and  Sheriffs  of  London.  Sir  Richard  Gresham, 
Sheriff,  was  in  attendance,  received  the  confessor,  took  him  to  New- 
gate, and  by  three  o'clock  of  the  same  day  saw  him  burning  in 
Smithfield  (April  31st,  1532).  The  Sheriff  used  gross  barbarity  in 
this  execution.  First  gunpowder  was  employed,  which  mangled  his 
body,  but  left  the  vital  organs  untouched.  Tlreu  they  set  fire  to  a 
tar-barrel,  in  which  he  was  placed ;  but  when  his  limbs  were 
half  consumed,  he  told  the  bystanders  that  as  they  looked  for  mira- 
cles they  might  see  one,  for  he  felt  no  pain.  Two  remarkable  cir- 
cumstances are  noted :  one  is,  that  he  made  a  bold  confession  of  the 
truth,  declaring  to  the  people  that  every  person  should  read  the 
Scriptures  in  English ;  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  is  Antichrist ;  that 
there  are  no  other  keys  of  heaven  than  the  Gospel,  nor  any  other 
purgatory  than  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  his  cross,  which  is  persecu- 
tion ;  and  that  Thomas  a  Becket  was  a  traitor  to  the  crown  and  realm 
of  England.  The  other  is,  that  Pave,  Town-Clerk  of  the  city,  who 
was  busiest  in  the  execution,  and  loaded  the  martyr  with  hard  words, 
hung  himself  in  his  garret  a  short  time  afterwards.* 

There  is  a  brief  record  of  two  others  burnt  in  the  same  year  :  John 
Bent,  in  Devizes,  for  denying  transubstantiation  ;  and  a  person  named 
Trapnel,  at  Bradford,  in  the  same  county  .f 

The  Church  of  Rome  pretends  to  have  power  over  the  dead  as  well 
as  the  living,  in  both  worlds,  invisible  and  visible.  The  Convocation 
of  the  province  of  Canterbury  attempted  to  exercise  this  jurisdiction. 
\\'illiam  Tracey,  a  gentleman  of  Gloucestershire,  had  presumed  to 
depart  from  the  usual  form  in  writing  his  will ;  for,  instead  of  saying, 

*  Fose,  book  viii.  f  1WJ- 

VOL.   in.  2  a 


186  CHAFFER    III. 

"  I  bequeath  my  soul  to  Almighty  God,  and  to  our  Lady  Saint  Mary, 
and  to  all  the  saints  in  heaven,"  he  began  thus,  "  First,  and  before 
all  other  things,  I  commit  myself  to  God  and  to  his  mercy,  believing, 
•without  any  doubt  or  mistrust,  that  by  his  grace,  and  the  merits 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  virtue  of  his  passion  and  resurrection,  I 
have  and  shall  have  remission  of  all  my  sins,  and  resurrection  of  body 
and  soul,  according  as  it  is  written  :  I  believe  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  that,  in  the  last  day,  I  shall  rise  out  of  the  earth,  and  in 
my  flesh  shall  see  my  Saviour.  This  my  hope  is  laid  up  in  my 
bosom."  As  touching  the  wealth  of  his  soul,  he  proceeded  to  write, 
that  he  believed  this  faith  sufficient,  without  any  other  man's  merits 
or  works  ;  and  that  he  accepted  no  other  Mediator  in  heaven  or  on 
earth  but  Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  promises  alone  trusting,  he  did  not 
bequeath  money  for  any  man  to  say  or  do  anything  for  his  soul. 
And  as  touching  his  temporal  goods,  he  did  not  believe  that  by  their 
means  he  could  acquire  any  merit,  his  sole  merit  being  "  the  faith 
of  Jesus  Christ  only,"  by  whom  alone  works  of  charity  are  good.  He 
left  nothing  to  the  Church,  but  all  to  his  family,  a  few  smaller  legacies 
excepted.  When  his  son  presented  this  will  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  to  be  proved,  the  Prelate  took  it  to  the  Convocation  and 
read  it  there,  demanding  their  judgment ;  which  was,  that  the  body 
of  the  deceased  should  be  taken  out  of  the  ground,  where  it  had  lain 
two  years.  This  commission  was  sent  to  Dr.  Parker,  Chancellor  of 
Worcester,  for  execution,  who  not  only  violated  the  grave,  but  burnt 
the  body.  The  King,  hearing  of  the  outrage,  which  had  caused 
general  disgust,  sent  for  the  Chancellor,  who  threw  the  blame  on  his 
Lord  of  Canterbury.  The  Archbishop  died  meanwhile,  and  the  living 
delinquent  had  to  purchase  pardon  by  paying  a  fine  of  three  hundred 
pounds  (A.D.  1532).  • 

Henry  VIII.  seems  to  have  been  absolute  on  all  points,  but  one. 
When  his  subjects  were  persecuted  for  heresy,  he  had  not  courage  to 
protect  them,  Anne  Boleyn  and  her  friends  excepted.  His  rebuke 
of  the  Priest  had  given  umbrage  to  the  Clergy,  whom  he  hastened 
to  placate,  and  an  opportunity  soon  occurred.  The  Bishop  of 
London,  observing  .the  utmost  formalities,*  sent  him  a  certificate 
of  having  conducted  an  inquisition  of  heresy  on  John  Frith 
and  Andrew  Hewet,  whom  he  had  judged  and  condemned  as  obsti- 
nate, impenitent,  and  incorrigible  heretics,  and,  by  his  sentence 
definitive,  delivered  to  the  Mayor  and  one  of  the  Sheriffs  of  Lon- 
don. Henry  did  not  interpose  to  save  them  ;  and  thus  two  of  his 
subjects,  one  of  them  no  ignoble  person,  were  burnt  the  next  day. 
Frith  was  a  young  man,  but  learned,  one  of  the  noble  company 
of  godly  men  at  Cambridge,  and  also  of  those  whom  Cardinal 
Wolsey  had  brought  to  his  new  College  in  Oxford,  but  who  were 
persecuted,  and,  after  imprisonment,  and  a  penance  mitigated  by 
favour  of  the  Cardinal,  forbidden  to  go  beyond  ten  miles  from 
Oxford.  Frith,  as  we  have  seen  that  some  o'thers  did,  secretly  left 
the  University,,  went  abroad,  and  was  associated  with  Tyndale  in  the 

*  Certificates  of  this  kind  were  generally  sent  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  (when  sent  ai 
a!'.)  who  issued  the  writ  De  Kirretico  comburendo. 


FRITH    AND    HF.WCT.  !87 

translation  of  the  New  Testament.      His  learning  was  amusingly  dis- 
played at  Reading,  just   after  his   return  to  England,  \vhen,  being  a 
stranger,  and,  no  doubt,  but  meanly  attired,  the  good   folk   mistook 
him  for  a  vagrant,  and  he  was  put  into  the  stocks.     To  some,  who 
deigned  to  bestow  a  word  on  the  vagrant  in  passing,  he  begged  that 
they  would  bring  him  the  schoolmaster  of  Reading,  a  learned  man  ; 
and  the  schoolmaster,  on  his  arrival,  thought  it  incumbent  on  him  to 
interject    a   sentence   of   Latin  with    his    salutation.      The    Oxonian 
answered     in     good    Latinity,     conversation     followed,     and,     after 
talking  in  Latin  of  universities,  schools,  and  languages,  Frith  quoted 
Greek  also,  promptly  rehearsing  verses  of  the  Iliad ;  and  the  enrap- 
tured  schoolmaster  hied   him,  like  a  hospitable   Englishman,  to  the 
authorities  of  the   town,   complaining   of   the   indignity  done  to  so 
learned  and  excellent  a  person.     Leonard  Cox  had  thus  the  happiness 
of  releasing  John  Frith,  and  the  honour  to  have  his  name  associated 
with  that  of  his  new  friend  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  England. 
But  Sir  Thomas  More  inexorably  pursued  him,  irritated  by  his  supe- 
rior power  in  controversy,  which  was  especially  displayed  in  a  book 
on  the  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  the  first  written  in  this  country 
against   transubstantiation.     He   wrote   also   against    purgatory,    and 
braved   More,  Fisher,  and   Rostal,   the   chosen   advocates  of  Popery. 
After  the  fashion  of  his  day  he  argued  in  syllogism  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing  the   rigour  of  that   form,  scarcely  succeeded  in   producing 
evidence  that  would  lead  our  reason  captive.      Some  of  the  premisses 
were  unsound.    But  the  textual  evidence  was  such  as  had  not  hitherto 
appeared   in  the  vernacular  ;  the   reasoning,  as  far  as  it  was  purely 
scriptural,  was  good,  and  to  this  work  Cranmer  was  afterwards  much 
indebted  for  attaining  to  a  right  understanding  of  the  subject.     More 
wrote  an  answer ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  could  seize  on  his  antagonist,  he 
had   him   imprisoned  in  the  Tower,  and  thence  brought  to  Lambeth, 
before  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  then    to  Croydon,    before   the 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  and,  lastly,  before  ah   assembly  of  Bishops  in 
London.     When  in  the  Tower  he  lay  in  irons  ;    but   even  in  that 
uneasy  position,  and  without  any  books  at  hand,  composed  an  unan- 
swerable refutation  of  Sir  Thomas  More's  book  against  himself.     In 
presence  of  the  Prelates  he  defended  his  doctrine  as  far  as  they  would 
allow  him  to  speak,  and  was  overpowered  by  force,  as  a  prisoner ;  but 
as  a  Christian  theologian  he  proved  himself  unsubdued,  and  when  a  copy 
of  his  answers  had  been  read,  subscribed  it  thus,  "  I,  Frith,  thus  do 
think  ;  and  as  I  think,  so  have  I  said,  written,  taught,  and  affirmed, 
and    in    my  books   have   published."     The   Judges  continued    their 
importunacy,  but  could  extract  nothing  more  from  his  lips  than,  Fiat 
judicium  et  justitia,  "  Let  judgment  and  justice  be  done."     Sentence, 
delivery  to  Mayor  and  Sheriffs,  and  burning,  ended  the  horrid  ritual 
(July  4th,  1533). 

Frith,  as  we  have  seen  by  the  Bishop's  letter  to  the  King,  was  not 
alone.  Andrew  Hewet,  apprentice  to  a  tailor  in  Watling-street,  had 
been  imprisoned  for  heresy,  but,  by  help  of  a  kind  brother,  filed  off 
his  fetters,  and  escaped.  Some  persons  of  his  own  class,  pretending 
to  be  friendly  to  the  Gospel,  inveigled  him  into  their  houses,  and 

2   B  2 


188  CHAPTER    III. 

gave  him  back  into  custody.  The  Bishops,  now  fairly  consti- 
tuted as  the  English  Inquisition,  but  without  the  name,  spent  little 
time  on  him  :  he  professed  to  believe  as  Frith  did,  plainly  denied  the 
"real  presence,"  but,  with  a  rustic  simplicity  that  provoked  their 
smiles,  told  them  that  he  was  quite  content  to  burn  with  Frith  ; 
and  although  he  might  have  saved  his  life  by  a  word  of  recantation, 
preferred  death  and  a  good  conscience.  When  the  two  were  bound 
to  the  same  stake  in  Smithfield,  one  Dr.  Cook,  a  Priest  of  London, 
admonished  the  people  that  they  should  not  pray  for  them,  any  more 
than  if  they  were  dogs.  Frith  smiled,  and  prayed  God  to  forgive 
him  ;  but  a  murmur  of  indignation  ran  through  the  crowd.*  It  is 
refreshing  to  observe  that  this  was  the  last  act  of  extreme  persecution 
in  England  for  the  space  of  about  five  years. 

Our  ecclesiastical  affairs  underwent  an  essential  change.  The  King 
was  determined  to  divorce  Catharine  ;  and  while  his  Ambassadors  at 
Rome  were  instructed  to  use  their  utmost  energy  in  negotiating  with 
the  Pontiff  and  the  court,  Cranmer  was  especially  intrusted  with  the 
important  service  of  disputing  with  canonists  and  theologians,  and 
engaging  the  favourable  opinions  of  learned  men.  We  are  far  less 
interested  in  their  judgment  on  a  question  which  can  as  well,  if  not 
as  easily,  be  decided  by  ourselves,  than  in  this  part  of  the  history 
of  Cranmer.  He  sustained  the  office  of  Ambassador,  was  called 
"  orator  to  his  Csesarean  Majesty,"  saw,  for  several  months,  the  court 
of  Rome,  with  its  licentiousness,  astute  policy,  and  the  extreme 
corruptibility  of  its  members.  In  Germany  he  obtained  a  near  view 
of  the  Imperial  Court,  with  which,  however,  he  had  little  personal 
intercourse  ;  but  derived  an  unspeakably  greater  benefit  from  corre- 
spondence with  some  of  the  leading  Reformers.  With  Osiander, 
especially,  that  correspondence  was  intimate ;  and  what  Cranmer 
then  thought  of  clerical  celibacy  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
he  secretly  married  Osiander's  niece.  A  married  Archbishop  presided 
at  Lambeth  for  the  first  time  ;  a  married  Archbishop-r— although  no 
one  at  his  consecration  might  be  presumed  to  know  it — began  to 
sway  the  royal  counsels  in  Church  affairs.  But  previously  to  his 
return  to  England  for  the  assumption  of  that  office,  he  was  in  com- 
munication with  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  first  of  Protestant  Princes, 
and  making  a  private  overture  to  Spalatinus,  the  Elector's  Secretary, 
and  an  attached  friend  of  Luther,  of  assistance  from  his  master,  the 
King  of  England,  to  the  Elector  and  confederates,  in  the  cause  of 
religion  (A.D.  1532).  His  master  would  have  confederated  with  any 
one  for  the  attainment  of  an  object ;  and  this  is  not  the  only  example 
of  a  Sovereign  who  persecuted  the  Reformed  in  his  own  dominions, 
and  patronised  them  abroad  where  they  were  powerful  enough  to  be 
respected  ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  enlargement  of  mind 
gained  to  Cranmer  by  intercourse  with  good  men,  and  the  influence 
of  a  Protestant  wife,  subsequently  gave  decision  to  his  religious 
character.  Henry  VIII.  might  have  separated  his  dominions  from 
the  See  of  Rome,  just  as  the  Czar  separated  his  from  the  See  of 
Constantinople,  without  the  slightest,  spiritual  advantage,  had  not  the 

*   Foxe,  tit  supra. 


CRANMER    MADE    ARCHBISHOP.  189 

good  providence  of  God  conducted  many  influential  Englishmen,  but 
especially  Cranmer,  into  something  better  than  a  rejection  of  the 
Bullary,  the  Decretals,  the  Clementines,  and  the  Extravagantes. 

Dr.  Cranmer  was  nothing  higher  in  the  Church  than  Archdeacon 
of  Taunton,  and  King's  Chaplain  ;  except  that  the  Pope  had  just 
conferred  on  him  the  dignity  of  Penitentiary-General  of  England. 
Strange  coincidence,  that  this  Penitentiary-General  should  be  wedded 
to  the  niece  of  the  Pastor  of  Nuremberg !  What  penance  could 
atone,  at  Rome,  for  such  a  lapse  ?  But  Cranmer  never  exercised  the 
functions  of  that  office.  While  he  was  in  Germany  Archbishop 
Warham  died  :  Henry  resolved  to  raise  his  Chaplain  to  the  vacated 
See  ;  and,  however  sudden  and  long  the  stride  of  preferment,  it  was 
modest,  indeed,  compared  with  the  career  of  Leo  X.,  who  had  sent 
over  the  title  "  Defender  of  the  Faith."  Cranmer  meditated  religious 
change,  while  Henry  meditated  political.  He  therefore  shrank  from  the 
perilous  dignity  of  Archbishop,  and,  whatever  Popish  writers  may 
say  to  the  contrary,  was  undoubtedly  sincere  in  wishing  to  avoid 
the  mitre.  But  the  King  commanded,  and  disobedience  to  his  com- 
mand, and  especially  at  such  a  time,  would  have  been  treated  as  a 
crime.  However,  he  still  expressed  great  reluctance  to  become  an  Arch- 
bishop, and,  at  last,  told  the  King  that  "  if  he  should  accept  it,  he 
must  receive  it  at  the  Pope's  hand,  which  he  neither  would  nor  could 
do  :  for  that  His  Highness  was  the  only  supreme  Governor  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  well  in  causes  ecclesiastical  as  temporal  ;  and 
that  the  full  right  of  donation  of  all  manner  of  benefices  and 
bishoprics,  as  well  as  any  other  temporal  dignities  and  promotions, 
appertained  to  him,  and  not  to  any  foreign  authority.  And,  there- 
fore, if  he  might  serve  God,  him,  and  his  country  in  that  vocation,  he 
would  accept  it  of  His  Majesty,  and  of  no  stranger,  who  had  no 
authority  within  this  realm."  To  create  an  Archbishop  was  more 
than  the  King  had  expected  to  do  when  assuming  the  supremacy :  he 
had  already  applied  to  Rome  for  Bulls,  according  to  custom  ;  and,  for 
the  moment,  he  hesitated  to  attempt  so  much,  and  desired  proof  of 
his  right  to  make  such  an  appointment.  Cranmer  produced  passages 
from  the  Bible  and  from  some  Fathers,  and,  to  strengthen  his  posi- 
tion, recounted  instances  of  Papal  usurpation,  all  tending  to  show 
that  Kings  have,  and  ought  to  have,  ecclesiastical  authority  within  their 
own  dominions.  The  King  appeared  unwilling  to  interfere  with  the 
Papal  authority  over  Bishops,  and  consulted  Dr.  Oliver,  a  canonist,  and 
some  civilians,  who  advised  that  Cranmer  should  take  his  oath  to  the 
Pope  under  protest.  He  acceded  to  their  proposal ;  and,  subsequently, 
at  his  consecration,  protested  "  that  he  did  not  admit  the  Pope's 
authority  any  further  than  it  agreed  with  the  express  word  of  God, 
and  that  it  might  be  lawful  for  him  at  all  times  to  speak  against  him, 
and  to  impugn  his  errors,  when  there  should  be  occasion."  Thus  he 
was  Archbishop  elect,  and  in  that  character  took  part  in  solemnizing 
a  private  marriage  of  the  King  with  Anne  Boleyn,  then  Marchioness 
of  Pembroke.  Application  had  been  made  to  the  Pope  for  Bulls 
to  authorize  the  consecration  of  the  new  Archbishop,  and  they  came 
— no  fewer  than  eleven  parchments,  each  to  give  validity  to  some- 


190  CHAPTER    III. 

thing  pertaining  to  the  appointment,  the  pardon  of  Cranmer' s  sins 
among  the  rest,  according  to  custom  in  such  cases.  But  Cranmer 
handed  the  silken-threaded  parchments*  to  the  King,  refusing  to 
acknowledge  auy  other  authority,  and,  when  consecrated,  caused  his 
protest  to  be  recorded  thrice  during  the  ceremonies  with  every  neces- 
sary circumstance  of  solemn  publicity.  By  way  of  complying  with  a 
formality,  he  said,  rather  than  in  reality,  (pro  forma  potius  quam  pro 
esse,)  or  as  deeming  it  to  be  a  necessary  condition,  he  would  recite 
the  usual  oath  to  the  Pope,  but  would  not  abide  by  it.f 

One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  publish  the  divorce  of  Queen  Catharine, — 
an  act  which,  if  done  at  all,  ought  to  have  preceded  the  marriage  with 
the  young  Marchioness ;  J  and  the  only  plea  under  which  Cranmer 
could  be  sheltered  from  the  charge  of  participation  in  the  immorality 
of  his  Sovereign  would  be,  that  he  regarded  the  union  with  Prince 
Arthur's  widow  as  incest,  not  marriage.  The  members  of  the  court 
of  Rome  were  indignant,  but  endeavoured,  at  first,  to  ignore  the 
marriage  and  other  acts  prejudicial  to  the  Pontifical  authority,  calling 
them  attempts  against  that  authority ;  until  the  Pope,  excited  by  his 
more  zealous  advisers,  issued  a  sentence  of  condemnation,  threatening 
to  excommunicate  the  King,  unless  he  immediately  restored  every 
thing  to  its  former  state,  abiding  by  his  sentence  as  to  the  lawfulness 
of  the  marriage  with  Catharine.  The  King,  on  hearing  this,  appealed 
from  the  Pope  to  a  General  Council ;  and  Cranmer,  who  had  openly 
cast  off  the  Papal  authority  at  his  consecration,  did  the  same.  Both 
these  appeals  were  presented  to  Clement  by  Dr.  Bonner,  the  King's 
Ambassador,  in  an  audience  obtained  at  Marseilles,  who  followed 
them  up  with  threats  so  vexatious  to  His  Holiness,  that  he  was  glad  to 
make  his  escape  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  the  wrath  he  had 
excited.  Some  ineffectual  efforts  were  then  made  by  the  more  wary 
Cardinals  to  appease  the  anger  of  their  chief,  and  to  encourage  the 
King  to  hope  for  a  favourable  decision,  after  all,  if  he  would  again 
submit  his  case  to  their  judgment ;  but,  happily  for  England,  the 
breach  was  too  wide  to  be  closed.  Indeed,  the  failure  to  effect  a 
reconciliation  aggravated  the  quarrel,  and  the  King  carried  his  cause 
into  Parliament,  where  several  Acts  were  passed,  (January  to  March, 
1534,)  releasing  subjects  from  all  dependence  on  the  court  of  Rome, 
making  unlawful  all  payments  to  Rome,  and  all  reception  or  publica- 
tion of  Bulls,  provisions,  or  dispensations,  coming  thence.  High 
ecclesiastical  functions  hitherto  discharged  by  the  Pope,  or  his  Legate, 
were  thenceforth  to  be  devolved  on  the  Archbishops  in  their  respective 

*  The  leaden  seals  of  Bulls  of  grace  are  attached  to  the  parchment  by  silken  threads  : 
and  those  of  justice,  by  hempen. 

t  No  honest  man  can  attempt  to  justify  this  trifling  with  an  oath.  But  it  is  easily 
.ccounted  for.  Every  Bishop  in  England  took  two  contrary  oaths.  This  was  an 
established  usage,  and  the  bands  of  conscience  were  universally  relaxed.  Abjuration, 
too,  became  so  common,  that  it  was  submitted  to  by  multitudes  as  a  necessary  formality. 
I  he  mass  of  society  was  so  corrupted  by  Popish  casuistry,  that  it  is  vain  to  look  for  pure 
integrity  anywhere,  except  in  those  few  noble  martyrs,  whom  the  Spirit  of  God  fully 
enlightened,  and  who  could  not  bow  to  customary  equivocation.  Craumer  was  not  yet  so 
taught  of  God. 

I  The  marriage  took  place  en  the  25th  of  January,  the  divorce  on  the  23d  of  Way, 


TRAVELLING  PREACHERS.  191 

provinces,  under  the  authority  and  sanction  of  the  King,  in  con- 
formity to  the  laws  of  Almighty  God.  The  Commons  received  an 
appeal  from  Thomas  Philips,  whom  the  Bishop  of  London  had 
imprisoned  in  the  Tower,  for  possessing  good  books,  and  refusing 
to  abjure  after  the  usual  form,  and,  although  he  appealed  to  the 
King,  as  head  of  the  Church,  had  kept  him  there.  They  sent  some 
of  their  number  to  the  Bishop,  requiring  him  to  answer  their  com- 
plaint of  his  contempt  of  royal  authority ;  but  the  House  of  Lords 
would  not  suffer  the  appearance  of  one  of  their  number  at  the  bar 
of  the  Lower  House.  The  Commons,  therefore,  passed  an  Act  con- 
cerning heretics,  which  abolished  the  inquisitorial  practices  hitherto 
permitted,  declared  that  none  should  be  troubled  for  speaking  against 
any  of  the  Pope's  canons  or  laws,  and  provided  the  advantage  of  bail 
for  persons  under  prosecution  for  heresy. 

But  the  Clergy,  notwithstanding  the  facility  with  which  the  Convoca- 
tions had  allowed  the  title  of  Head  of  the  Church  to  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, either  covertly  or  openly,  resisted  him  in  their  parishes  and  fratei'- 
nities  when  he  advanced,  as  in  the  appointment  of  Cranmer,  from  a 
temporal  to  a  spiritual  supremacy,  and  when  they  saw  the  kingdom 
separated  from  the  Roman  See.  Then  arose  hot  controversy  on  this 
question.  The  King — the  former  antagonist  of  Martin  Luther — 
wrote  a  book  against  the  Pope,  whom  he  attacked  in  no  mea- 
sured terms  as  Antichrist.  Many  others  wrote,  giving  an  unprece- 
dented activity  to  the  English  press ;  and  some  books  were  also 
printed  by  recusants  to  maintain  the  honours  of  their  old  spiritual 
head.  The  preachers  on  both  sides  were  vehement;  but,  in  the 
pulpit-battle,  Henry  would  certainly  have  been  worsted,  having  the 
warmest  and  most  genuine  zeal  arrayed  against  him.  No  stone  was 
left  unturned.  Travelling  preachers  were  sent  out  over  the  country, 
to  preach  Pope  versus  King.  Men  of  eccentric  habits  and  effrontery 
seem  to  have  been  preferred  for  that  papistical  apostleship.  One 
Hubbardine,  for  example,  was  "  a  great  strayer  about  the  realm  in  all 
quarters  to  deface  and  impeach  the  springing  of  Christ's  Gospel." 
His  circuit  was  the  west  of  England.  From  the  pulpits  he  poured 
forth  torrents  of  vituperation  against  Luther,  Melancthon,  Zuinglius, 
Frith,  Tyndale,  Latimer,  and  all  others  most  excellent.  He  prayed 
long — if  prayer  it-  were — over  his  rosary,  fasted  with  devout  publicity, 
rode  in  a  long  gown,  trailing  to  the  horse's  heels,  and  affected  con- 
templative abstraction.  But  the  intervals  of  public  devotion  were  not 
filled  up  by  private  penance.  He  wore  no  hair-shirt.  The  same 
populace  whom  he  harangued  so  fervidly,  he  entertained  with  merry 
episodes  after  the  labours  of  the  day  were  over,  and  conciliated  by 
alms,  a  means  of  proselytism  as  old  and  as  continual  as  Popery  itself. 
Wondrously  histrionic,  he  recited  astounding  legends,  stamped  and 
danced  in  the  pulpit  when  wrought  up  by  the  excitement  of  his 
mission,  and,  at  last,  using  excessive  energy  in  one  of  those  frail 
erections  that  had  endured  through  centuries  under  slumbering 
occupants,  shook  it  down,  broke  his  leg  in  the  descent,  and  finished 
at  the  same  time  his  priestly  perambulations  and  his  life.  He  died 
of  the  injury. 


192  CHAPTER    III. 

Visions,  too,  had  already  come  at  the  bidding  of  Priests.  The 
spirit  of  Becket  revisited  Canterbury.  Elizabeth  Barton,  otherwise 
called  "the  Maid  of  Kent,"  a  poor  sickly  servant-girl  of  the  parish 
of  Aldington,  fell  into  trances,  was  convulsed  often,  and  talked  inco- 
herently. The  parish  Priest,*  taking  advantage  of  the  girl's  weak- 
ness, aggravated  her  irritability,  and  fed  her  vanity  by  persuading  her 
that  she  was  the  subject  of  supernatural  influence,  or  suggesting  that 
she  should  profess  to  be,  and,  filling  her  head  with  the  prevailing 
subject,  got  her  to  prophesy,  and  denounce  terrible  punishments  on 
the  King,  if  he  persisted  in  divorcing  Catharine  of  Aragon.  By  this 
sort  of  revelation  she  declared  herself  bound  to  make  solemn  visita- 
tions to  a  chapel  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  exhibited  herself  there  under 
the  mysterious  influence,  and  uttered  oracles  breathing  sedition, 
amidst  congregated  thousands.  Archbishop  Warham  had  patronised 
her,  Sir  Thomas  More  encouraged  her,  dignified  Clergymen  paid  her 
visits,  some  solicited  private  interviews  in  order  to  consult  her,  as 
if  she  had  been  a  veritable  pythoness,  and  crowds  of  Monks  and  Nuns 
made  pilgrimage  to  her  cottage.  On  the  strength  of  a  special  revela- 
tion she  removed  to  Canterbury,  claimed  admission  into  a  nunnery, 
and,  responding  to  the  inspiration  of  one  Friar  Bocking,  chose  him, 
during  a  vision,  to  be  her  spiritual  father.  She  was  in  the  height 
of  her  glory,  when  the  Parliament  of  1 533  assembled,  where  the  affair 
was  examined,  her  Accomplices  being  subjected  to  a  searching  interro- 
gation in  the  Star-Chamber,  and,  on  their  own  confession,  pronounced 
guilty  of  treasonable  conspiracy.  She,  with  six  of  them,  was  executed 
at  Tyburn,  where,  from  the  scaffold,  she  confessed  the  imposture,  and 
asked  pardon  of  God  and  the  King  ;  and  six  others  were  imprisoned 
in  the  Tower,  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  being  among  them,  for 
misprision  of  treason.  The  Clergy  of  Yorkshire,  of  all  in  England 
the  most  ignorant,  and,  if  their  Archbishop  spoke  the  truth  when 
trying  to  palliate  their  conduct,  the  poorest,  received  the  King's  order 
in  sullen  discontent  or  with  open  murmuring.  They  would  not  preach 
any  other  supremacy  than  that  of  the  Pope,  and,  eventually,  broke  out 
into  rebellion.  The  Convocation  of  York  refused  to  advance  beyond  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  temporal  supremacy,  already  made.  In  the 
south,  More  and  Fisher  plainly  refused  to  take  the  oath  required ;  and 
although  the  latter  was  not  prosecuted  any  further  on  account  of-  the 
maid  of  Kent,  he  still  remained  a  state  prisoner,  and  they  were  both 
executed  with  an  unjustifiable  severity,  and  died  with  a  resignation 
that  we  might  admire,  but  for  the  recollection,  that  for  many  years 
they  had  been  sanguinary  and  pitiless  persecutors  of  the  children 
of  God,  had  racked  their  victims  in  the  very  prison  where  afterwards 
they  themselves  lay,  and  had  seen  them,  again  and  again,  brought  out 
thence  to  the  fire. 

The  contest  ran  high  between  the  supreme  authority  of  the  king- 
dom, and  the  discontented  portion  of  the  priesthood,  with  their 
adherents.  The  Lollards  and  their  friends,  rejoicing  in  the  rejection  of 
the  Pope,  hailed  the  improving  spirit  of  legislation,  and  began  to  hope 
that  they  might  soon  be  allowed  to  worship  God  without  peril  to  life 

*  Like  his  Italian  brother  in  our  day,  patron  of  the  "  Addolcrata." 


THE    BIBLE    TO    BE    TRANSLATED.  193 

or  liberty.     These  were  a  widely-spread  and  powerful  party.     While 
the  King  and  Parliament  stood  ready  to  suppress  rebellion,  not  only 
by   statutes,  but  by   the   sword,    Cranmer  resorted   to  a  legal,   yet 
extraordinary,  method  of  quashing   controversy.     He  placed  all  the 
pulpits  of  his  diocese  under  interdict,  and  advised  the  other  Bishops 
throughout  England  to  do  the  same,  in  order  that  political  preaching 
might  no  longer  keep  the  public  in  a  state  of  agitation  ;  but  promised 
to   permit   his  preachers  to   resume   their  vocation  as  soon  as  they 
should  be  furnished  with  an  authorized  manual  for  their  guidance. 
He  also  set  an  example  of  episcopal  diligence  by  visiting  his  diocese. 
The   orders  for   the  regulation   of  preaching   and    "  bidding  of  the 
beads "  *  were  published   in  due   time,  and  contained   a  prohibition 
of  "  the  General  Sentence,"  a  very   comprehensive  form   of   cursing 
that  had  been  read  in  all  the  churches  four  times  every  year,  for  the 
terror  of  those  who  might  have  interfered  with  the  functions  of  the 
Priests,  meddled  with  the  goods,  disputed  the  honours,  withheld  the 
revenues,  or  infringed  on  the  liberties  of  the  Church.     It  was  framed 
according  to  the  highest  ultramontane  notions  of  Papal  prerogative, 
and,    of  course,   included   heretics  in  the   heap    of  transgressors   to 
be  swept    away  into    perdition.     In    short,   it   was   a  punctual    and 
diffuse    counterpart    of   the    Papal    sentence    against   the    King   and 
Legislature  of  England  that  had  been  exhibited  at  Dunkirk,  followed 
by  a  solemn   excommunication   like   that   pronounced  and  acted   on 
account  of  Benet  in   the   cathedral  of  Exeter.     These  maledictions 
were  no   more   to  fall   upon   the  public  ear.     Bishops  were  strictly 
ordered  to  see  that  the   King  was  mentioned  in  the  bidding  and 
prayers    in    the    churches    every    Sunday    under    his    proper    style, 
"  supreme  head;"  and  for  one  year  some  specified  points  of  doctrine 
in  dispute   were  not  to   be  treated  of  in  sermons.     Peace  being  so 
far   attempted,    Cranmer    proceeded    to    a    greater    work.      He    had 
abolished  the  periodical  cursing  of  heretics  in  the  General  Sentence. 
Shaxton  and  Latimer  were  made  Queen's  Chaplains,  and,  on  the  vaca- 
tion of  two  sees  by  the  expulsion  of  Campeggio  and  Ghinucci,  promoted 
to  be  Bishops.     By  a  slight  exercise  of  prerogative,  he  had  exempted 
two   ladies   of  rank   from  the   necessity   of  frequenting    the    parish 
churches,  by  allowing  them  chapels,  anywhere  on  their  estates,  where 
worship   might    be    performed  with    some    degree   of   independence, 
imperceptibly  opening  the  way  for  a  reformed  service,  should  that  be 
found  necessary.     He   therefore   engaged  his  friends  to  support  him 
in  Convocation,  when  proposing  that  the  King  should  be  petitioned  to 
order  a   translation   of  the   Bible   into   English.     The    petition   was 
agreed  to  without  any  difficulty  ;  but,  by  way  of  counterpoise,  the 
Convocation  "  unanimously  did  consent  that  the  most  Reverend  Father, 
the  Archbishop,  should   make   instance   in  their  names  to  the  King, 
that  His  Majesty  would  vouchsafe,  for  the  increase  of  the  faith  of  his 
subjects,   to  decree  and    command    that    all   his    subjects    in  whose 
possession    any    books   of   suspect   doctrine   were,   especially  in    the 

*  Delivering  the  lidding  for  prayers  that  the  people  ought  to  offer.  It  is  used  now, 
but  rarely,  by  some  of  those  Ministers  who  cling  to  antiquated  usages.  Before  sermon 
they  say,  "  Let  us  pray  for,"  &o. 

VOL.    III.  2    C 


194  CHAPTER    III. 

vulgar  language,  imprinted  beyond,  or  on  this  side,  the  sea,  should  be 
warned,  within  three  months,  to  bring  them  in  before  persons  to  be 
appointed  by  the  King,  under  a  certain  pain  to  be  limited  by  the 
King."  The  futility  of  such  edicts  had  been  proved  abundantly  ;  and 
therefore  Cranmer  and  his  supporters  had  little  reason  to  be  dissatisfied, 
now  that  the  Convocation  had  committed  themselves  to  a  work  which 
their  own  Church  had  always  resisted,  for  which  so  many  faithful  men 
had  shed  their  blood,  and  which,  but  four  years  before,  they  had  solemnly 
declared  to  be  inexpedient.  The  law  of  the  Church,  too,  as  far  as 
ascertained,  was  absolutely  against  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  a  vulgar 
language;  and  the  indulgence  of  allowing  it,  when  accompanied  by 
notes  approved  of  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  was,  as  yet,  unknown 
in  Popery.  This  act  of  the  Convocation  of  Canterbury,  (December 
19th,  1534,)  may  therefore  be  marked  as  a  formal  commencement 
of  reformation  within  the  Anglican  Church.  And  as  for  the  petition 
to  the  King  to  call  in  Protestant  books,  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  acted  on  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  issued  a  proclamation  (A.D. 
1535)  against  "seditious  books,"  written,  to  his  prejudice,  in  favour 
of  the  Pope. 

The  execution  of  Queen  Anne  Boleyn  furnished  a  mournful  episode 
for  the  history  of  this  reign.  As  Henry  had  sacrificed  Catharine,  his  first 
wife,  to  a  guilty  passion  for  her  successor,  so  does  he  devote  his  second 
to  death,  when  he  had  become  enamoured  with  Jane  Seymour.  Impatient 
of  the  obligation  to  "  love,  honour,  keep,  and  protect  her  in  sickness 
and  in  health,"  (sanam  et  infirmam,*)  he  had  regarded  Catharine  with 
disgust,  on  account  of  some  infirmity ;  and  now  that  Anne  has  dis- 
appointed him  by  giving  birth  to  a  dead  child,  and  some  enemies 
of  religious  reformation,  and  therefore  her  enemies,  have  suggested 
that  this  is   a   mark  of  God's  displeasure,  his  morbid  conscience  is 
stirred    up    to    serve    his    unbridled    passion.      Knowing    that    the 
gravity  of  Catharine's  deportment  had  displeased  him,  Anne  Boleyn 
studied  to  be  gay.     He  suddenly  loathed  her  caresses  ;  and  wretches 
were  not  wanting  to  report  some  trifling  instances  of  girlish  levity, 
with  surmises,  and  even  affirmations,  of  a  criminality  that  was  never 
proved,  and  which,  considering  her  previous  conduct  when  Henry  him- 
self would  gladly  have  subdued  her  virtuous  self-command,  as  well  as  her 
reverence  of  religion,  and  knowledge  of  sacred  truth,  is  utterly  incre- 
dible.    The  only  witness  against   her  was  a  man  whom  she  was  not 
permitted  to  confront  on  trial,  and  who,  it  is  reported,  made  a  false 
confession  under  promise  of  pardon,  but  was  afterwards  hanged,  in 
order  to  conceal  the  plot.     While  she  was  in  the  Tower,  charged  with 
treason,  the  King  bethought  himself  of  an  expedient  for  evading  the 
odium  of  having  burnt  his  wife, — for,  according  to  the  letter  of  the  law 
in  such  a  case,  an  unfaithful  Queen  should  have  been  burnt.     As  it 
was  remembered  that  a  former  suitor,  the  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
had   made  her  a  promise  of  marriage,  he  caused  the  validity  of  his 
marriage  with  her  to  be  called  in  question.    That  fact  was  insufficient. 
But  the  afflicted  Queen,  hoping   that  her  doom  might   be  made  less 
dreadful  by  submitting  to  a  divorce,  and  persuaded,  in  her  simplicity, 

*  Thus  it  stands'  in  the  Manuals  of  Salisbury  and  York. 


ANNE    BOLEYN    BEHEADED.  195 

that  she  had  been  virtually  married  to  Northumberland,  said,  in 
general,  when  questioned  by  Craumer,  as  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
that  there  were  "just,  true,  and  lawful  impediments."  Cranmer 
could  not  avoid  proceeding  on  that  confession,  and,  to  his  grief,  was 
obliged  to  pronounce  the  King  and  Queen  divorced.  It  might  have 
been  enough  to  declare  that  the  marriage  itself  was  null  :  but  terror 
and  compulsion  set  aside  legal  accuracy,  and  Anne  Boleyn,  no  longer 
called  Queen  of  England,  was  beheaded,  two  days  afterwards,  on 
Tower-Hill,  instead  of  being  burnt,  and  the  very  day  after  the  execu- 
tion Henry  married  Jane  Seymour,  without  a  blush. 

Convocation  and  Parliament  soon  met,  (June,  1536,)  and,  as  far  as 
it  pertained  to  each,  gave  assent  and  confirmation  to  the  murderous 
transaction  ;  the  one  acknowledging  the  divorce  as  just,  the  other 
the  execution  as  legal.  As  supreme  head  of  the  Church,  under 
God  alone,  and  exercising  over  it  royal  prerogative,  which  with 
him  was  absolute,  the  King  sent  Cromwell,  his  Vicar- General,  who  sat 
beside  the  Archbishop,  and  saw  the  King's  pleasure  carried  into 
execution  by  the  Clergy.  It  was  well  that  Henry  allowed  himself  to 
be  governed  by  Cranmer,  except  when  wrought  up  by  the  more  crafty 
leaders  of  the  Popish  party,  particularly  Gardiner,  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester ;  and,  at  this  time,  Cranraer  in  reality  wielded  the  regal  as 
well  as  patriarchal  authority  over  the  subservient  Clergy,  and  having 
the  representative  of  the  Sovereign  beside  him,  and  supported  by  the 
piety  and  learning  of  Latimer,  and  the  zeal  of  Shaxton,  Bishops 
of  Worcester  and  Salisbury,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  effecting  a  large 
innovation  on  the  ancient  system.  A  long  catalogue  of  erroneous 
doctrines,  as  they  were  called,  was  sent  up  from  the  Lower  to  the 
Upper  House.  It  consisted  of  soundly  evangelical  propositions,  and 
absurd  perversions,  mere  individual  fancies,  or  popular  follies,  mingled 
therewith  in  order  to  discredit  them.  Cranmer  and  his  friends,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  cautiously  prepared  a  plan  of  partial  doctrinal 
reformation,  wherein  much  error  was  retained,  yet  such  essential 
truths  were  introduced  as  could  not  but  lead  to  an  eventual  change. 
It  was  accepted,  had  the  royal  sanction,  and  was  recorded  in  the  Acts 
of  Convocation.*  The  holy  Scriptures,  with  the  Apostolic,  Nicene, 
and  Athanasian  Creeds,  were  declared  to  be  the  standard  of  faith,  and 
the  four  Councils  of  Nice,  Constantinople,  Ephesus,  and  Chalcedon 
were  acknowledged  as  authoritative  interpreters.  Scholastic  authorities 
were  rejected.  Worship  of  images  was  declared  to  be  idolatry, 
although  the  images  themselves  remained,  and  might  be  honoured  as 
before,  the  preachers  instructing  the  people  that  such  honours  were 
but  non-essential  ceremonies.  Purgatory  was  declared  uncertain. 
Auricular  confession,  however,  was  to  be  retained,  and  transubstan- 
tiation  taught.  But  the  door  of  reformation  was  opened  yet  wider 
by  another  act.  The  Pope  had  summoned  a  Council  to  meet  at 
Mantua,  and  cited  the  King  to  appear  there,  he  having  previously 
appealed  to  a  General  Council.  The  King,  on  his  part,  was  indig- 
nant that  others  had  convened  a  Council  without  consulting  him  ; 
and  he  entertained,  in  common  with  the  Protestants,  many  well- 

*  Out  of  which  Fuller  copied  it. —  History,  book  v.,  cent,  xvi.,  sect.  34,  35. 

2  c   2 


196  CHAPTER    III. 

founded  objections  to  the  constitution  and  the  place  of  the  proposed 
assembly.  The  Convocation,  therefore,  gave  their  judgment  against 
it ;  and  Henry  himself  "  protested  against  any  Council  to  be  held  at 
Mantua,  or  anywhere  else,  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome's  authority  :  that 
he  would  not  acknowledge  it,  nor  receive  any  of  their  decrees."  The 
pens  of  both  parties  were  again  sharpened,  and  truths,  for  which 
many  had  been  put  to  death  in  this  very  reign,  were  insisted  on  both 
by  the  King  and  the  Reformers. 

Parliament  advanced  another  step.  By  one  enactment  every  emis- 
sary of  the  Pope  "  still  practising  up  and  down  the  kingdom,  and 
persuading  people  to  acknowledge  his  pretended  authority,"  was  to 
be  liable,  after  the  last  day  of  that  month,*  to  the  penalties  of  a 
preemunire.  The  preamble  of  the  Act  is  exceedingly,  but  justly, 
severe  on  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  who  "had  long  darkened  God's  word, 
that  it  might  serve  his  pomp,  glory,  avarice,  ambition,  and  tyranny, 
both  upon  the  souls,  bodies,  and  goods  of  all  Christians,  excluding 
Christ  out  of  the  rule  of  man's  soul,  and  Princes  out  of  their 
dominions."  By  another  Act,  passed  three  days  after  the  former,  all 
Papal  immunities,  privileges,  and  pluralities  were  abolished  ;  and  all 
persons  who  enjoyed  such  by  virtue  of  Bulls,  were  commanded  to 
deliver  those  documents  into  the  Chancery,  or  to  such  persons  as  the 
King  should  appoint.  But  it  should  be  lawful  for  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  to  grant  them  anew,  under  the  Great  Seal,  to  those  who 
had  held  them. 

All  this  time  the  visitation  of  the  province  of  Canterbury  was  going 
on  by  the  Archbishop,  or  under  his  direction  ;  and  it  became  necessary 
to  visit  that  of  York,  where  the  Convocation  openly  resisted  the  Acts 
of  Parliament,  and  desired  that  they  might  be  repealed.  But  the 
York  visitation  was  made  impracticable  by  a  simultaneous  insurrection 
of  the  Papists  in  several  counties,  which  it  required  a  little  army  to 
subdue,  having  almost  risen  into  civil  war.  The  visitation  of  monas- 
teries still  proceeded,  and  the  discovery  of  scandals,  as  the  Priests 
would  gently  designate  monastic  abominations,  called  forth  universal 
indignation.  We  blush  while  reading  the  authenticated  records  of 
licentiousness,  too  filthy  to  be  transcribed  on  pages  intended  for 
general  perusal ;  and  as  for  the  superstition  that  was  fostered  in  those 
"  dark  habitations,"  it  can  only  be  regarded  with  pity,  derision,  and 
contempt.f  A  few  monasteries  and  convents  merited  exemption  from 

*  The  bill  passed  its  last  reading  on  the  14th  of  July,  1536. 

t  Strype  gives  "  the  Inventory  of  the  Relics  of  the  house  of  Reading.  Imprimis, — 
Two  pieces  of  the  holy  cross.  S.  James's  hand.  S.  Philip's  stole.  A  bone  of  Mary 
Magdalene,  with  other  mo.  S.  Anastasius's  hand,  with  other  mo.  A  piece  of  S.  Pan- 
crate's  arme.  A  bone  of  S.  Quintin's  arme.  A  bone  of  S.  David's  arme.  A  bone 
of  Mary  Salome's  arme.  A  bone  of  S.  Edward  the.  Martyr's  arme.  A  bone  of  S. 
Hierom,  with  other  mo.  Bones  of  S.  Steven,  with  other  mo.  A  bone  of  S.  Blase, 
with  other  rao.  A  bone  of  S.  Osmund,  with  other  mo.  A  piece  of  S.  Ursula's  stole. 
A  jawbone  of  S.  Ethelmoln.  Bones  of  S.  Leodegary  and  of  S.  Herenei.  Bones  of  S. 
Margaret.  Bones  of  S.  Arnal.  A  bone  of  S.  Agas,  with  other  mo.  A  bone  of  S. 
Andrew,  and  two  pieces  of  his  cross.  A  bone  of  S.  Frideswyde.  A  bone  of  S.  Anne, 
with  many  other."  A  visitor,  writing  to  Cromwell  from  Bristow,  (Bristol,)  does  his 
jlics  greater  honour.  Instead  of  placing  them  in  inventory,  he  sets  forth  their  merits. 
"  By  this  bringer,  my  servant,  I  send  you  relics.  First,  two  flowers,  wrapped  in 
white  and  black  sarcenet,  that' on  Christen -Mass  even,  hurd  ipsd,  qud  Ctiristus  natvs 


PERSECUTION  IN  SCOTLAND.  197 

this  general  censure,  and  were  recommended  to  be  spared ;  but,  first, 
about  three  hundred  and  seventy,  and  eventually  all,  were  suppressed. 
Never  had  the  public  mind  been  so  powerfully  awakened  to  examine 
into  the  reasons  of  established  customs,  the  rights  of  ancient  institu- 
tions, and  the  verity  or  falsehood  of  doctrines  hitherto  commanded  to 
be  believed  on  peril  of  damnation.  Neither  the  King,  nor  even 
Cromwell  and  his  brethren,  could  reach  the  conclusions  avowed  by 
the  old  Lollards,  revived  by  the  continental  Reformers,  especially  the 
Sacramentarians,  so  called,  of  Switzerland,  and  now  maintained  by 
multitudes  in  England.  Injunctions  were  issued  to  the  Clergy,  who 
differed  widely  among  themselves,  to  bend  the  people  to  the  half-way 
doctrine  sanctioned  by  the  Convocation  and  its  royal  head,  and  some 
were  imprisoned  for  going  beyond  the  mark  prescribed  ;  but  as  well 
might  the  clouds  have  been  bidden  to  refrain  from  raining.* 

We  stay  again  to  look  beyond  the  Tweed.  The  King  of  Scotland 
was  in  utter  subjection  to  the  Priests,  and  flattered  by  the  tinsel  honours 
of  the  Roman  Bishop,  who  feared  lest  he  should  be  drawn  into  closer 
alliance  with  his  uncle,  Henry  VIII.  Yet  the  very  man  into  whose  ear  he 
had  committed  confession  of  sins, — and  they  were  many, — received  the 
truth  of  Christ  into  his  heart.  Alexander  Seyton,  his  Confessor,  was 
a  Dominican  Friar,  a  man  of  good  learning,  and  well  read  in  holy 
Scripture.  During  the  days  of  Lent,  (A.D.  1530,)  he  preached  in  St. 
Andrews,  affirming  that  the  law  of  God  had  not  for  many  years  been 
truly  taught,  because  men's  traditions  had  obscured  its  purity.  In 
his  sermons  were  reiterated  and  proved  the  following  propositions  : — 
"  Christ  Jesus  is  the  end  and  perfection  of  the  law.  There  is  no  sin 
where  God's  law  is  not  violated.  Man  cannot  make  satisfaction  for 
sins,  which  are  remitted  on  unfeigned  repentance,  with  faith,  appre- 
hending God  to  be  merciful  in  Jesus  Christ  his  Son."  The  devotees 
and  Priests  listened  to  hear  him  tell  of  purgatory,  indulgences,  pil- 
grimages, relics,  saintly  miracles,  and  such  like ;  but  he  passed  on, 
intent  on  preaching  Christ,  finished  the  sermons,  left  St.  Andrews,  and 
went  to  Dundee  without  having  honoured  Romish  mummery  with  so 
much  as  a  sentence  of  approbation  or  denial.  They  then  took  the 
pulpit,  and  endeavoured  to  preach  down  the  salutary  truths.  Hearing 
of  this,  he  hastened  back,  caused  the  bell  to  be  tolled,  and  sent 
round  the  town  a  notice  that  he  would  preach  once  more.  It 
was  an  earnest  sermon,  clearer  and  fuller  than  any  one  preceding,  and 
contained  such  sentences  as  these  :  "  Within  Scotland  there  are  no 
true  Bishops,  if  Bishops  are  to  be  known  by  such  notes  and  virtues  as 
St.  Paul  requires."  "  It  behoves  a  Bishop  to  be  a  preacher,  or  else 
he  is  but  a  dumb  dog,  and  feeds  not  the  flock,  but  his  own  belly." 
How  far  it  was  wise  and  right  for  him  to  preach  to  the  people  the 


chap.  35. 

*  Foxe,  book  viii.  j  Strype,  Memorials  of  Henry  VIII. ;  Biirnet,  and  Fuller. 


J98  CHAPTER    III. 

duty  of  the  Bishops,  may  be  a  question.  It  might  have  been  much 
better  for  him  to  keep  to  the  exposition  of  evangelical  doctrine,  and 
the  disproof  of  error,  for  the  benefit  of  his  congregation,  leaving  the 
Bishops  at  the  bar  of  God  ;  but  so  it  was.  He  had  caught  the  pre- 
vailing spirit  of  opposition  to  a  most  degraded  and  licentious  priest- 
hood, and  could  not  keep  silence.  Informers  ran  to  the  Bishop  of 
St.  Andrews,  and  the  same  hour  Seyton  stood  before  him  charged 
with  having  vilified  his  order.  The  preacher's  defence  was  wise,  and 
delivered  with  the  rude  wit  that  marked  the  old  Scotch  Reformers  : 
"  My  Lord,  the  reporters  of  such  things  are  manifest  liars."  The 
reporters  were  confronted  with  him,  and  they  insisted  that  he  had  so 
spoken,  which  he  steadily  denied,  to  the  amazement  of  all  the  com- 
pany, until,  addressing  the  Bishop,  he  concluded  thus  :  "  My  Lord, 
ye  may  hear  and  consider  what  ears  these  asses  have,  who  cannot 
discern  betwixt  Paul,  Isaiah,  Zachariah,  and  Malachi,  and  Friar 
Alexander  Seyton.  In  very  deed,  my  Lord,  I  said  that  Paul  says,  '  It 
behoves  a  Bishop  to  be  a  teacher;'  Isaiah  said,  '  that  they  that  feed 
not  the  flock  are  dumb  dogs  ; '  and  Zachariah  says,  '  they  are  idle 
Pastors.'  I,  of  my  own  head,  affirmed  nothing  ;  but  declared  what 
the  Spirit  of  God  before  had  pronounced."  The  Bishop  was  mortified 
by  this  unanswerable  sally,  and  sought  occasion  to  dislodge  him  from 
the  confidence  of  his  Sovereign.  Nor  was  it  difficult  to  do  so.  The 
Confessor  had  dealt  faithfully  with  James ;  his  counsels  were  unwel- 
come to  the  Prince  who  could  not  brook  any  restraint  on  the  indul- 
gence of  his  appetites,  and  to  whom  "  he  smelt,"  as  he  said,  "  of  the 
new  doctrine."  He  therefore  gave  ear  readily  to  the  courtiers  who 
were  engaged  to  speak  evil  of  so  uncourtly  a  Confessor,  and  gave 
such  clear  indications  of  displeasure,  that  Seyton,  foreseeing  its  effect, 
withdrew  into  England.  From  Berwick-upou-Tweed,  however,  he 
sent  a  letter  to  the  King,  offering  to  return,  meet  the  accusers  in  his 
presence,  and  bear  the  consequences,  even  unto  death,  if  he  might 
but  have  a  fair  hearing.  But  James  would  give  no  such  guarantee, 
the  messenger  did  not  return,  and  he  prosecuted  his  journey,  preached 
in  England,  suffered  persecution  from  Gardiner,  and  was  at  length 
compelled  to  make  some  kind  of  submission,  and  do  penance  at  Paul's- 
Cross.* 

The  legislators  of  Scotland — if  they  might  bear  that  honourable 
title — emulated  the  obedient  Parliament-men  of  the  south,  and  re- 
enacted  a  law  made  ten  years  before  against  them  that  should  hold, 
dispute,  or  rehearse  the  damnable  opinions  of  the  great  heretic, 
Luther,  ordaining  that,  as  that  realm  had  ever  been  clean  from  "all 
sic  filth  and  vice,"  no  native  or  foreigner  who  might  arrive  in  any 
sea-port  should  bring  Lutheran  books,  nor  should  any  one  receive  or 
conceal  the  same,  nor  countenance  their  doctrines  or  opinions.  The 
penalties  were  to  be  confiscation  of  the  ships  and  cargoes,  and  impri- 
sonment of  the  delinquents.  And  the  secular  authorities  were  also 
empowered  to  punish,  by  seizure  of  their  property,  persons  who  con- 
temned the  horrible  sentence  of  cursing,  and  had  at  the  same  time 
been  fined,  these  fines  being  now  legalized  as  recoverable  debts  (A.D. 

*   Knox,  Reformation  in  Scotland,  hook  i.,  an.  1534. 


POPISH    LAWS    IN    SCOTLAND.  199 

1535).*  But  the  word  of  God,  that  cannot  be  bound,  was  already 
within  the  realm,  and  Monks  read  it  in  their  cells.  John  Lin,  a 
Grey  Friar,  threw  off  his  habit.  John  Keiller,  a  Black  Friar,  and 
religious  dramatist,  represented  the  Priests  and  Bishops  under  the  cha- 
racters of  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  in  a  play  having  for  its  subject  our 
Lord's  passion.  Keiller  himself  appeared  on  the  stage  in  Stirling  on 
a  Good-Friday  morning :  the  King  was  present,  according  to  cus- 
tom, amidst  a  large  audience ;  and  the  satire  was  so  obvious, — pro- 
bably so  rude, — that  the  Clergy  and  their  followers  clamoured  for 
vengeance  on  the  author.  Friar  Beveridge,  of  whose  offence  there  is 
little  distinct  record,  and  Duncan  Simpson,  a  Priest,  with  Robert 
Forrester,  a  gentleman,  are  only  known  as  involved  in  the  same  perse- 
cution, for  eating  flesh  in  Lent,  and  assisting  at  the  secret  marriage 
of  a  Priest.  Dean  Thomas  Forrest,  a  Canon  regular,  and  Vicar  of 
Dollar,  obtains  a  more  conspicuous  position  in  the  party.  He 
preached  every  Sunday,  unveiled  the  mysteries  of  Christianity  by 
expounding  the  holy  Scriptures  to  his  congregation  in  the  vulgar 
tongue,  and  added  to  these  delinquencies  the  invidious  aggravation  of 
having  remitted  some  part  of  their  dues  to  his  parishioners.  Him  the 
Bishop  exhorted  to  refrain  from  practices  that  threw  a  shade  of  dis- 
credit on  Ecclesiastics  who  never  preached,  nor  ever  abstained  from 
receiving  the  accustomed  contributions,  and  to  content  himself  with 
merely  preaching  now  and  then  from  a  good  Epistle,  or  a  good 
Gospel,  if  perchance  he  found  one.  The  Vicar  replied  that,  "  to  him, 
all  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  were  good."  The  Bishop  thanked  God 
that  he  never  meddled  with  them,  nor  went  beyond  his  Portessef  and 
Pontifical,  and  dismissed  him  as  incorrigible.  They  were  all  burnt 
in  one  fire  on  the  Castle-Hill,  Edinburgh  (February  28th,  1538)4 

Either  to  supply  a  verbal  deficiency  in  the  existing  laws,  or,  more 
probably,  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  repudiation  of  the  Pope 
by  England,  the  Scotch  Parliament  further  enacted,  "That  na  maner 
of  Persoun  argou  nor  impugn  the  Papis  Auctorite,  under  the  Pane 
of  Deid,  and  Confiscatioun  of  all  thare  Gudis,  movable  and  unmov- 
able."  But  the  same  Parliament  acknowledged,  that  the  dishonesty 
and  misrule  of  kirkmen,  and  their  deficiency  of  wit,  knowledge,  and 
manners,  had  brought  them  into  contempt ;  and  therefore  the  King's^ 
Grace  exhorted  and  prayed  openly  all  Archbishops,  Bishops,  Ordi- 
naries, and  other  Prelates,  and  every  kirkman  in  his  own  degree,  to- 
reform  themselves  and  those  under  them  in  habit  and  manners  towards 
God  and  man ;  and  commanded  them  to  provide  due  administration 
of  sacraments,  and  celebration  of  divine  service.  On  the  other  hand, 
conventicles  were  forbidden,  and  private  meetings  to  converse  about 
religion,  unless  authorized  theologians,  approved  by  famous  univer- 
sities, were  present  to  instruct.  Every  abjured  heretic  was  required 
by  the  King  to  keep  utter  silence  touching  religion,  and  submit  withal 
to  live  in  poverty  and  disgrace,  holding  "  no  honest  estate,  degree, 

*  Keith,  Hist,  of  Church  and  State  in  Scotland,  book  i.,  chap.  1. 

t  Portesse,  porthose,  portass,  portuse,  portuese,  &e.,  is  the  Breviary,  or  daily 
Prayer- Book- 

I  Foxe,  book  viii. 


200  CHAPTER    III. 

office,  nor  judicature,  spiritual  nor  temporal,  in  burgh  nor  without, 
nor  in  any  wise  should  be  admitted  to  be  of  his  council."  Fugitives 
— and  many  of  the  worthiest  subjects  of  the  realm  were  then  fugi- 
tive— were  placed  beyond  possibility  of  restoration  to  their  homes  ; 
and  whoever  should  presume  to  solicit  anything  on  their  behalf,  was 
to  be  punished  as  a  favourer  and  assistant  of  heretics.  The  feeble- 
ness of  persecuting  laws,  however,  was  acknowledged  the  same  day,  in 
a  declaration  that  the  obnoxious  doctrine  was  taught  and  spread  in 
secret  congregations ;  and  a  moiety  of  the  property  confiscated  was 
offered  to  any  person  who  would  discover  the  members  or  frequenters 
of  such  conventicles,  even  though  he  had  himself  been  one  (A.D. 
1540).*  Low,  indeed,  must  have  been  the  national  standard  of  moral- 
ity and  honour ;  and  with  such  laws  before  us,  we  can  scarcely  refrain 
from  asking  those  who  complain  of  the  excesses  of  the  early  Scotch 
Reformers,  whether  the  prevalent  barbarism  and  impiety  of  Scotland 
in  the  sixteenth  century  is  not  equally  manifest  in  the  conduct  of  all 
parties.  A  contrast  with  England  can  scarcely  be  concealed  ;  but 
the  superiority  of  our  own  Legislature  in  those  times,  servile  as  it 
was,  and  cruel,  may  be  attributed  to  the  facts  that,  even  long  before 
Wycliffe,  the  Anglo-Saxon  Scriptures  were  known,  and  that  witnesses 
to  evangelical  truth  arose  from  time  to  time.  Such  an  one  wrote 
"  the  Ploughman's  Complaint." 

Emulating  the  zealots  of  Edinburgh,  those  of  Glasgow  proceeded 
to  destroy  Hieronymus  Russell,  a  Cordelier  Friar,  and  Kennedy,  a 
young  man  of  eighteen.  To  urge  the  Bishop  forwards,  three  persons 
were  sent,  probably  by  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  to  assist  at 
their  examination.  When  Kennedy  found  himself  in  the  presence 
of  his  persecutors,  his  courage  wavered,  and  he  would  have  recanted, 
had  not  the  Spirit  of  God  again  empowered  him  to  rise  above  dread 
of  death.  Then  he  knelt  down,  and  with  a  cheerful  countenance 
made  confession  thus  : — "  0  Eternal  God,  how  wondrous  is  that  love 
and  mercy  that  thou  bearest  unto  mankind,  and  unto  me,  the  most 
caitiff  and  miserable  wretch  above  all  others  ;  for,  even  now,  when  I 
would  have  denied  thee,  and  thy  Son  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my  only 
Saviour,  and  so  have  cast  myself  into  everlasting  damnation  ;  thou, 
by  thine  own  hand,  hast  pulled  me  from  the  very  bottom  of  hell,  and 
makest  me  to  feel  that  heavenly  comfort  which  takes  from  me  the 
ungodly  fear,  wherewith  before  I  was  oppressed.  Now  I  defy  death, 
do  what  ye  please.  I  praise  God,  I  am  ready."  His  elder  com- 
panion bore  meekly  the  scoffs  of  their  judges  ;  and  the  Bishop,  sub- 
dued by  the  spirit  that  sustained  them,  pleaded  against  putting  heretics 
to  death,  and  would  have  interposed  authority  to  spare  the  victims. 
But  in  such  a  case  he  had  no  authority  ;  and  when  he  expressed  his 
conviction  that  it  would  be  better  to  spare  those  men  than  to  put  them 
to  death,  the  emissaries  who  surrounded  him  threatened  to  proceed 
against  himself  for  heresy,  if  he  failed  to  execute  the  pleasure  of  the 
Cardinal.  He  then  pronounced  the  sentence,  and  the  two  brethren, 
comforting  each  other  in  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality,  triumphed 
over  death. f 

*  Keith,  book  i.,  chap.  1.  f  Knox,  book  i. 


BUCHANAN    AND    BORTHWIKE,    FUGITIVES.  201 

Historians  variously  characterize  James  V.  One  thing,  at  least,  is 
certain,  that  from  childhood  he  was  enslaved  to  the  Priests,  and  made, 
with  scarcely  any  intermission,  the  instrument  of  their  policy  and 
pleasure.  We  have  seen  how  he  cast  off  his  faithful  Confessor,  and 
sanctioned  an  Act  of  Parliament  that  made  it  criminal  for  any  one 
even  to  pronounce  a  word  in  favour  of  Alexander  Seyton  in  the  royal 
presence.  George  Buchanan,  whose  reputation  as  a  Christian  poet 
yet  lives,  was  employed  as  tutor  of  some  illegitimate  children  of  the 
King,  who  once,  when  out  of  humour  with  the  Monks,  and  afraid  to 
breathe  his  displeasure  openly,  bade  Buchanan  write  a  satire  on  them. 
He  wrote  "  the  Franciscan,"  a  short  piece  of  Latin  poetry,  and  presented 
it  to  his  royal  master,  who  had  the  vileness  to  give  him  xip  to  those 
very  Monks  on  their  demand  for  vengeance  on  the  writer.  He  was 
imprisoned,  and  eventually  fled  the  country. 

Sir  John  Borthwike  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  fugitives.  He 
had  spoken  well  of  the  English  Reformation,  declared  against  the 
Pope  and  ecclesiastical  abuses,  and  professed  some  points  of  evange- 
lical doctrine,  gathered  not  only  from  Erasmus,  but  from  the  New 
Testament,  and  the  writings  of  Luther,  Melancthon,  CEcolampadius, 
and  others.  A  numerous  company  of  Prelates  and  dignitaries  assem- 
bled to  pronounce  judgment  on  his  case  after  he  had  fled  into  Eng- 
land ;  condemned  a  series  of  articles  which  he  afterwards  maintained 
in  writing ;  and  sagely  determined,  that  for  the  terror  of  other 
heretics,  his  portrait,  a  true  likeness,  should  be  painted,  carried  round 
the  town,  and  burnt.  The  living  original  being  beyond  their  jurisdic- 
tion, his  picture  was  carried  through  St.  Andrew's  in  solemn  proces- 
sion, for  the  entertainment  of  the  King,  and  Mary  of  Lorraine  his 
consort,  recently  arrived  from  France.  Sir  John's  property  was  con- 
fiscated, as  of  course,  and  his  name  consigned  to  infamy,  by  a  sentence 
that,  in  reality,  confers  honour  on  them  who  suffer  it  (A.D.  1540).* 

While  the  Scottish  Parliament  was  framing  the  above-cited  laws 
against  heresy,  and  endeavouring  to  fence  round  Scotland  against 
the  irruption  of  "  new  doctrine  '*  from  England,  the  King  of 
England,  bent  on  counteracting  foreign  influence  on  the  island, 
and  anxious  to  unite  both  countries  under  one  crown,  held  much 
correspondence  with  James,  his  nephew,  and  proposed  to  meet  him 
for  the  purpose  of  conferring  on  measures  that  might  promote 
the  union.  It  was  agreed  that  they  should  meet  at  York,  and 
Henry  went  thither  at  the  appointed  time.  But  James  did  not 
make  his  appearance.  The  Priests  had  interfered,  dreading  inter- 
course with  a  heretic,  and  the  King  of  England,  not  of  a  nature 
to  brook  the  indignity,  became  hostile  to  Scotland.  An  irregular 
border-warfare  followed :  the  Scottish  nobility  were  cool ;  but  the 
Clergy,  who  had  promised  to  spend  their  wealth  on  a  war  with  this 
country,  in  order  to  keep  out  heresy,  and  had  obtained  their  King's 
promise  to  put  a  large  number  of  noblemen  to  death  on  charge 
of  heresy,  in  compensation  for  the  liberal  subsidy  promised  by  the 
Church,  collected  a  large  force,  and  crossed  the  Solway,  to  attempt  an 
invasion  of  England,  but  were  shamefully  dispersed  without  striking 

*  Foxe,  book  viii.  ;    Knox,  book  i. 
VOL.    III.  2    D 


202  CHAPTER    III. 

a  blow.  James  was  so  shocked  that  he  fled  into  the  country,  arid 
died  of  grief.  The  Cardinal  of  St.  Andrews  forged,  as  it  was  believed, 
a  document  bearing  the  King's  signature,  but  written  on  blank  paper, 
to  be  afterwards  filled  up,  appointing  himself  head  of  a  regency  during 
the  minority  of  a  Princess  newly  born.  The  Earl  of  Arran,  supported 
by  the  nobility  and  people,  successfully  disputed  the  validity  of  the 
paper,  and  was  appointed  Governor  of  Scotland.  A  political  change 
which  then  took  place  is  described  by  the  historians  of  both  countries  ; 
but  it  chiefly  concerns  us  to  notice  that,  during  a  temporary  reaction 
against  the  Cardinal  and  Clergy,  the  religious  Reformation  of  Scotland 
began  in  earnest. 

The  first  public  act  was  performed  by  the  same  authority  that  had 
so  recently  legalized  the  utmost  vengeance  upon  heretics.  James, 
Earl  of  Arran,  tutor  of  the  infant  Queen,  and  Governor  of  the  king- 
dom, presided.  Lord  Maxwell,  a  representative  of  that  party  of  the 
nobility  which  had  been  most  jealous  of  the  ascendancy  of  the  Clergy 
in  the  preceding  reign,  proposed  (March  loth,  1543)  that  it  should 
be  declared  *  lawful  to  read  the  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue.  The 
Bill  set  forth  that  it  was  statute  and  ordained  that  it  should  be  lawful 
to  all  the  Queen's  lieges  to  possess  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the 
vulgar  tongue,  in  English  or  Scottish,  iu  any  good  and  true  transla- 
tion, and  that  they  should  incur  no  crime  for  having  and  reading 
of  the  same ;  "  providing  always  that  no  man  dispute  or  hold 
opinions,-^  under  the  penalties  contained  in  Acts  of  Parliament." 
The  Lords  of  Articles  confirmed  the  Bill.  They  restored  suspended 
animation,  but  bade  their  patient  hold  his  breath.  The  Clergy  knew 
that  if  Scotland  lived  it  most  assuredly  would  breathe  ;  and  therefore 
the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  Chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  presented  a 
formal  "  disassent "  on  behalf  of  himself  and  all  the  Prelates 
present,  requesting  that  it  should  be  left  to  a  Provincial  Council  to 
determine  whether  "  the  same  were  necessary  to  be  had  in  the  vulgar 
tongue  or  not,"  and  thereafter  to  determine  whether  or  not  it  should 
be  allowed.  This  "  disassent  "  hindered  not  the  passing  of  the  Bill, 
probably,  without  debate  ;  the  sanction  was  annexed ;  and  two  days 
afterwards  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh  heard  it  proclaimed  at  me 
market-cross,  that  the  New  Testament  might  be  read,  and  that  a  sup- 
ply of  authenticated  copies  would  be  published.  Mr.  Sadler,  Ambas- 
sador from  Henry  VIII.,  at  the  request  of  the  Governor,  wrote  to 
England  for  Bibles,  and  asked  his  Sovereign  to  send  the  Earl  a  copy  of 
the  statutes  and  injunctions  issued  by  the  English  Parliament  for  the 
reformation  of  the  Church  and  abolition  of  the  Pope's  authority. 
Thomas  Williams  and  John  Rough,  both  members  of  the  Earl's  house- 
hold, preached  against  the  supremacy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and 
adoration  of  images.  Some  preachers  came  from  England,  and  the 
churches  resounded  with  doctrine  hitherto  unheard.  But  the  move- 
ment was  too  sudden,  and  depended  too  much  on  the  will  of  the  Earl 
of  Arran,  whose  caution  soon  overcame  his  political  zeal.  He 
renounced  the  opinions  so  impetuously  avowed,  reconciled  himself  with 

*  As  in  England,  nine  years  before. 

t  The  same  vain  restriction  was  also  attempted  in  England. 


CARDINAL    D.   BEATON    IN    SEARCH    OF    HKRETICS.  203 

Cardinal  Beaton  and  the  Church,  and  dismissed  his  Chaplains,  with 
every  servant  or  retainer  that  was  known  to  advocate  the  reformation 
of  either  discipline  or  doctrine. 

In  order  to  wash  away  the  stain  of  heresy  from  himself,  he  turned 
hotly  against  the  cause  he  had  espoused  ;  and  a  parliamentary  record 
(December  15th,  1543)  attests,  that  he  himself  caused  it  to  be  shown, 
and  proposed  to  the  assembled  states,  how  there  was  a  great  murmur 
that  heretics  more  and  more  arose  and  spread  within  the  realm,  sowing 
damnable  opinions  contrary  to  the  faith  and  laws  of  Church  and  State. 
He  exhorted  all  Prelates  to  institute  a  general  search  for  heretics,  and 
promised  his  help  at  all  times  "  to  do  therein  as  accorded  him  of  his 
office  ;"  that  is,  to  put  them  to  death,  which  was  all  that  the  Inqui- 
sitors left  for  the  secular  power  to  perform.  The  Pope's  Legate  in 
Scotland,  whose  business  was  to  deliver  money  for  sustaining  that 
country  against  England,  to  promote  the  interests  of  France,  and 
exhort  to  persecution,  fulfilled  his  mission,  and  returned  to  the  thresh- 
olds of  the  Apostles,  enraptured  with  the  orthodoxy  and  zeal  that 
he  had  witnessed.  Cardinal  Beaton,  after  some  months  had  elapsed, 
determined  to  make  a  progress,  or  visitation,  in  search  of  heretics. 
Accompanied  by  the  Earl  of  Argyle,  Lord  Justice  General,  Lord  Borth- 
wick,  the  Bishops  of  Dunblain  and  Orkney,  and  a  train  of  gentlemen, 
they  impressed  awe  on  the  trembling  lieges  in  their  course.  At  Perth 
they  were  gratified  by  the  delation  of  several  persons  who  had  dared 
to  "  hold  opinions"  contrary  to  Act  of  Parliament.  Three  or  four 
were  banished  ;  some  were  imprisoned.  Five  men  and  one  woman  * 
were  condemned  to  die.  Although  the  words  of  an  Act  cited  above 
might  have  been  interpreted  to  prohibit  intercession,  many  did  inter- 
cede for  these  good  people,  but  in  vain.  Beaton  was  inexorable,  and 
caused  the  men  to  be  hanged,  arid  the  woman  to  be  drowned  (A.D, 
1545).  Yet,  in  the  dialect  of  the  Inquisition,  they  would  hardly  have 
been  called  dogmatizing  heretics.  They  had  not  preached.  The 
worst  offence  consisted  in  contradicting  a  Friar  during  his  sermon, 
who  had  affirmed  that  without  prayer  to  saints  there  could  be  no 
salvation.  Another  had  treated  an  image  of  St.  Francis  with  disrespect, 
and  eaten  roast  goose  on  All  Saints'  eve.  Another  was  suspected 
of  keeping  company  with  heretics.  Another  had  carved  a  Papal  tiara 
on  the  staircase  .of  his  house,  which  was  considered  contemptuous. 
The  woman  had  refused  to  pray  to  the  Virgin,  when  in  child-bed,  but 
called  upon  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  the  divine  Mediator.  When 
about  to  suffer  for  this  offence,  she  took  her  infant  from  her  breast, 
and  begged  the  authorities  of  Perth  to  take  care  of  it.  She  then  saw 
her  husband  with  the  others  scourged,  then  hung,  and  was  herself,  at 
last,  plunged  into  the  flood. 

This  done,  and  the  visitation  ended,  Beaton  assembled  a  Provincial 
Council  at  Edinburgh,  to  consult  for  the  utter  suppression  of  heresy, 
and,  if  we  may  believe  them,  for  restraining  the  licentiousness  of 
Clergymen.  The  Bishops  had  congregated,  and  were  proceeding  to 

*  William  Anderson,  Robert  Lamb,  James  Ronald,  James  Hunter,  James  Finlayson. 
and  Helen  Stark,  his  wife.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  wife,  in  Popish  countries,  did 
not  usually  take  her  husband's  name.  Neither  does  she  now  in  Spain  and  Italy. 

2  D  2 


204  CHAPTER    III. 

deliberate,  when  a  piece  of  welcome  intelligence  called  them  from 
deliberation  to  immediate  action.  Master  George  Wishart,  a  zealous 
Gospel  preacher,  was  reported  to  be  in  the  castle  of  the  Laird 
of  Ormiston  ;  and  his  apprehension  was,  before  all  other  things,  to  be 
effected.  We  must  relate  his  history  somewhat  at  length. 

Many  years  before,  people  reported  to  the  elder  Cardinal  Beaton 
that  George  Wishart,  master  of  the  Grammar-school  at  Montrose,  was 
teaching  his  boys  to  read  the  Greek  Testament.  The  Cardinal,  or 
the  Bishop  of  Brechin,  acting  under  his  instructions,  dismissed  the 
innovator ;  and  it  is  even  said,  that  Wishart  was  banished  *  for 
this  offence.  He  left  Scotland,  and  travelled  on  the  Continent. 
The  next  notice  of  him  is  at  Cambridge.  He  was  known  there 
(A.D.  1543)  as  Master  George  of  Benet's  College,  a  tall  man, 
with  black  hair  trimmed  close,  a  full  black  beard,  a  mild  and 
thoughtful  countenance ;  wearing  a  "  round  French  cap  of  the 
best,"  attired  in  a  long  frieze  gown,  that  covered  plain  but 
good  apparel,  which  he  gave  away  to  the  poor  whenever  changed. 
His  accent  strongly  national,  his  manners  courteous.  He  abounded 
in  information  gathered  in  travel,  and  was  learned,  humble,  apt  to 
teach,  abstemious,  devout,  and  liberal  in  the  charitable  distribution 
of  his  private  property, — which  was  considerable,  he  being  member  of 
a  family  of  importance,  the  Wisharts  of  Pitarrow.f  When  Henry  VIII. 
sent  an  embassy  to  Scotland  after  the  death  of  James  V.,  Wishart 
went  with  it,  remained  there,  preached  during  the  short  period  of  the 
Earl  of  Arran's  favour  towards  the  Reformation,  and  continued  to  do 
so  after  his  desertion.  John  Knox,  who  received  much  benefit  from 
the  instruction  of  Wishart,  describes  his  ministrations  while  proclaim- 
ing the  Gospel  of  salvation,  and  endeavouring  to  evade  the  pursuit 
of  his  enemies.  First  at  Montrose,  among  his  earlier  friends,  he 
expounded  the  doctrine  of  Christianity;  and  then  proceeded  to  Dundee, 
where  he  occupied  the  pulpit,  until  one  Robert  Mill,  a  principal 
person  of  the  town,  and  formerly  a  professor  of  the  truth,  publicly 
inhibited  him,  in  the  name  of  the  Queen  and  Governor,  from  troubling 
their  town  any  more.  Wishart  paused,  raised  his  eyes  in  prayer,  and 
then,  looking  sorrowfully  at  the  speaker  and  the  people,  said,  in  few 
words,  that  he  never  intended  their  trouble,  which  would  be  far  more 
grievous  to  himself  than  to  them.  He  told  them  that  at  the  hazard 
of  his  life  he  had  remained  at  Dundee,  and  to  chase  him  away  would 
not  deliver  them  from  trouble,  but  rather  bring  them  into  it,  for  God 
would  send  them  messengers  that  would  neither  fear  burning  nor 
banishment.  But  he  would  leave  them,  confiding  the  defence  of  his 
innocence  to  God.  "  But,"  said  he,  "if  it  long  prosper  with  you, 
I  am  not  led  with  the  Spirit  of  truth:  if  trouble  unlooked  for 
apprehend  you,  acknowledge  the  cause,  and  turn  .to  God,  for  he  is 
merciful ;  but  if  ye  turn  not  at  the  first,  he  will  visit  you  with  fire 

*  Of  the  dismissal  there  can  be  no  doubt;  but  that  Wishart  was  baniahed,  or,  if 
banished,  by  what  authority,  is  not  so  certain. 

t  Of  French  extraction.  Gerdes  gives  the  name  Guiacard.  In  a  Scottish  document 
cited  below,  it  is  spelt  /fist-hart.  Was  there  any  Waldeusian  tradition  iu  that  family  ? 
His  "  French  cap  never  changed,"  and  his  urbane  manners,  distinguish  him  remarkably. 


GEORGE    WISHART.  205 

and  sword."  Having  thus  spoken,  he  came  down  from  the  pul- 
pit, and  was  surrounded  by  the  Lord  Marshal  and  many  other  noble- 
men, who  begged  him  to  remain,  and  offered  shelter  in  their  houses, 
and  protection  from  violence  ;  but  he  would  not  consent,  and  forth- 
Avith  left  Dundee,  crossed  the  Tay,  and,  after  preaching  from  place  to 
place,  "offered  God's  word"  to  the  inhabitants  of  Ayr,  who  received 
it  gladly.  The  Cardinal  then  desired  Dunbar,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  to 
proceed  to  Ayr  with  his  retinue,  take  possession  of  the  church,  and 
try  to  preach  down  the  innovation.  The  Bishop  obeyed  ;  and  as  he 
entered  the  town,  a  strong  party  of  nobility  and  gentry  entered  also,  and 
would  have  retained  the  pulpit  by  force  ;  but  Wishart  refused  to  enter 
into  so  unseemly  a  conflict  with  an  ecclesiastical  superior,  and  took 
his  station  at  the  market-cross,  where  he  delivered  a  sermon  that  con- 
founded even  his  enemies.  The  Bishop,  failing  to  get  any  better 
congregation  than  his  own  train,  and  a  few  poor  dependents,  with- 
drew after  one  brief  attempt.  Supported  by  men  of  influence,  he 
preached  in  a  church  in  Kyle,  among  the  children  of  the  old  Lollards 
of  Kyle,  at  Galston,  Bar,  and  elsewhere,  where  the  lay-patrons  were 
favourable  ;  but  the  sacred  edifices  were  often  closed  against  him.  At 
Mauchlin,  where  the  patrons  shut  the  doors,  some  zealous  parishioners 
would  have  opened  them,  led  by  one  Hugh  Campbell ;  but  Master 
George  would  not  be  thus  introduced  to  any  pulpit.  "  Brother," 
said  he,  "  Christ  Jesus  is  as  potent  in  the  fields  as  in  the  kirk  ;  and  I 
find  that  himself  oftener  preached  in  the  desert,  at  the  sea-side,  and 
other  places  judged  profane,  than  he  did  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 
It  is  the  word  of  peace  which  God  sends  by  me  :  the  blood  of  no 
man  shall  be  shed  this  day  for  the  preaching  of  it."  Taking  Christ 
as  his  ensample,  he  walked  out  of  the  town,  the  multitude  following, 
and,  ascending  a  gentle  eminence,  «oon  saw  thousands  sitting  or 
standing  around.  There  he  spoke  from  the  fulness  of  his  heart  for 
more  than  three  hours,  was  heard  without  weariness ;  and  in  that 
congregation  Lawrence  Ranken,  Laird  of  Shell,  a  notoriously  wicked 
man,  yielded  to  the  demonstration  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Tears  flowed  down  his  cheeks,  to  the  amazement  of  all,  and  the  reality 
of  his  conversion  was  afterwards  attested  by  a  godly  life.  God 
honoured  this  wandering  preacher  as  he  never  had  mere  court 
Reformers. 

When  Wishart  had  last  preached  in  Dundee,  and  was  forbidden,  in  the 
name  of  the  Queen  and  Governor,  to  trouble  that  place  any  longer,  he 
predicted  *  that  God  would  send  some  judgment  on  the  town  for  having 

*  Knox  and  others  affirm  that  he  possessed  the  gift  of  prophecy.  To  deny  that  God 
has  ever  enabled  any  of  his  servants,  since  the  apostolic  times,  to  utter  a  prediction 
of  events  that  He  only  could  foresee,  would  be  to  encounter  facts  that  many  of  the  wisest 
and  best  of  men  believe  to  prove  the  contrary.  But  to  pronounce  on  any  of  those  facts 
until  after  the  most  searching  investigation,  such  an  investigation  as  is  in  many  instances 
impracticable,  would  be  foolish.  We  are  beset  with  error  on  either  hand.  Popery  and 
fanaticism  have  their  false  prophets.  Rationalism,  too,  has  its  prophets,  its  men 
of  "insight,"  enjoying,  as  they  boast,  a  perpetual  inspiration,  supplementary  to,  and 
perfective  of,  the  inspiration  of  holy  Scripture.  That  inspiration  this  sect  reduces 
to  a  level  with  the  pseudo-inspiration  of  Mohammed,  Confucius,  Milton,  Byron,  New- 
man, Froude,  Carlyle,  aud  any  dreamer  that  may  fancy  himself  under  the  afflatus,  or 
taught  by  the  inner  light.  If  Savonarola,  Wishart,  and  other  good  men  did  utter  super- 


206  CHAPTER    III. 

rejected  the  Gospel.  Four  days  after  his  departure  the  plague  broke 
out,  and  carried  off  a  very  great  number  of  persons  daily.  Reports 
of  this  visitation  became,  in  succession,  more  and  more  alarming  ;  until 
he,  bearing  no  hinderance,  resolved  to  hasten  back  and  preach  Christ 
to  the  smitten  population,  trusting  that  God  would  "  make  them  now  to 
magnify  and  reverence  that  word,  which  before,  for  the  fear  of  men, 
they  set  at  light  part."  No  sooner  did  he  reach  Dundee  than  he  gave 
notice  for  his  first  sermon  at  the  east  gate  of  the  town,  the  healthy 
standing  within,  and  the  convalescent  and  suspected  on  the  outside. 
The  text  was,  "  He  sent  his  word,  and  healed  them."  The  opening 
sentence,  "  It  is  neither  herb  nor  plaster,  0  Lord,  but  thy  word,  that 
heals  all."  He  told  the  people  of  the  dignity  and  power  of  God's 
word  ;  the  punishment  of  contempt  thereof ;  the  promptitude  of  God's 
mercy  to  such  as  truly  turn  to  him  ;  the  happiness  of  those  whom 
God  takes  to  himself.  From  the  preaching-station  he  proceeded  to 
visit  the  sick  and  the  dying,  and  all  his  energies  were  spent  in  minis- 
tering the  word  of  life,  and  guiding  the  distribution  of  temporal 
charity,  afforded  by  the  more  affluent  inhabitants.  The  force  of  Dun- 
dee was  with  him,  and  no  common  Inquisitor  of  heresy  would  then 
have  dared  to  apprehend  the  honoured  benefactor.  Yet  a  desperate 
ruffian  was  found,  John  Wighton,  a  Priest,  bribed  by  the  Cardinal,  as 
it  was  reported,  to  assassinate  him.  The  man  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  steps  within  the  east  gate,  his  gown  hanging  loosely,  and  a 
knife  or  dagger  concealed  under  it,  ready  to  strike.  Wishart  had 
eyed  him  closely  during  sermon,  came  down  directly  on  him,  and  sud- 
denly grasped  his  arm,  exclaiming,  "My  friend,  what  would  ye  do  ?" 
The  weapon  was  surrendered  ;  the  Priest  fell  on  his  knees,  imploring 
pardon  ;  the  people  rushed  on  him  with  vengeance  ;  but  Wishart 
embraced  the  intending  murderer,  and  cried :  "  Whosoever  troubles 
him  shall  trouble  me  ;  for  he  has  hurt  me  in  nothing,  but  has  done 
great  comfort  both  to  you  and  me.  He  has  led  us  to  understand  what 
we  may  fear.  In  times  to  come  we  will  watch  belter"  Thenceforth 
a  sword  was  always  carried  before  him  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remem- 
brance, that  the  sword-bearer  of  Wishart  was  John  Knox. 

The  plague  had  abated,  and  some  gentlemen  of  the  west  wrote  to  him, 
requesting  that  he  would  meet  them  at  Edinburgh,  where  they  would 
invite  the  assembled  Bishops  to  refute  him,  if  they  could,  in  order  that 
he  might  be  heard  in  public  disputation.  Willing  to  confess  Christ  any 
where,  he  consented,  and  prepared  to  set  out  on  the  journey.  First, 
however,  he  determined  to  revisit  the  church  at  Moutrose,  where  he 
remained  for  some  time,  occasionally  preaching ;  but  chiefly  occupied 
in  study,  meditation,  and  prayer,  as  if  girding  himself  for  the  last 

natural  predictions,  their  gift  will  be  distinguishable  from  the  Popish  and  rationalistic 
counterfeit ;  but  this  is  the  very  question  to  be  decided.  On  the  other  hand,  brutish 
and  sensual  infidelity  scoffs  at  supernatural  influence,  and  denies  the  reality  of  extraor- 
dinary spiritual  gifts.  This  is  the  common  expression  of  human  unbelief,  and  against 
this  every  "  spiritual  man  "  most  earnestly  protests.  The  writer  of  this  note  believes 
that  there  have  been  a  few  instances  of  supernatural  prediction,—  a  very  few.  But  he 
does  not  commit  himself  to  any  judgment  of  such  instances  in  the  present  work,  since 
judgment  must  be  sustained  by  facts,  as  well  as  arguments,  adduced  at  far  greater 
length  than  is  here  admissible. 


GEORGE    WISHART.  207 

battle.  The  Cardinal  was  also  meditating — how  to  evade  the  public 
disputation.  One  day  a  letter  was  brought  to  Wishart,  written,  as  it 
seemed,  by  his  most  familiar  friend,  the  Laird  of  Kinneir,  stating  that 
he  was  seized  with  sudden  sickness,  and  wished  to  see  him  imme- 
diately. The  bearer  brought  a  horse,  Wishart  mounted,  and,  attended 
by  some  friends,  had  ridden  a  short  distance,  when  he  abruptly  drew 
up,  sat  silent  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  turned  the  horse's  head, 
saying,  "  I  will  not  go.  I  am  forbidden  of  God.  I  am  assured  there 
is  treason.  Let  some  of  you  go  to  yon  place,  and  tell  me  what  they 
find."  They  went,  and  found  sixty  spearmen,  lying  in  ambush  within 
a  mile  and  a  half  of  Montrose,  waiting  to  murder  him.  The  Cardinal 
had  sent  a  forged  letter,  and  prepared  for  murder,  but  failed  this 
second  time. 

The  time  to  proceed  towards  Edinburgh  for  a  public  disputation 
with  the  Bishops  was  come,  and,  resisting  the  entreaties  of  the  Laird 
of  Dun,  who  foreboded  evil,  he  left  Montrose.  Passing  through  Dun- 
dee, he  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  faithful  brother,  about  two  miles 
further  on,  and  there  passed  a  night  of  anguish.  Stealing  from  his 
chamber  when  all  seemed  to  be  asleep,  he  went  beyond  hearing  of  the 
house,  fell  on  his  knees  and  prayed,  and  then,  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
lay  groaning.  His  host,  with  another,  had  heard  him  rise,  followed 
unperceived,  and  listened,  at  some  distance,  to  his  groans  and  prayer, 
interrupted  and  made  indistinct  with  weeping.  Pressed  by  them, 
next  morning,  for  an  explanation  of  the  incident,  he  told  them  that 
he  was  assured  that  his  work  was  nearly  finished,  and  bade  them 
pray  that  he  might  not  shrink  when  the  battle  should  wax  hot. 
This  betrayed  the  conflict ;  but  he  strove  to  comfort  them  by  an 
assurance  that,  after  he  and  many  more  had  suffered,  God  would . 
enlighten  the  realm  with  Christ's  Gospel,  as  clearly  as  was  ever  any 
land  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles  ;  and  that,  despite  Satan,  the 
house  of  God  should  be  built,  and  the  very  top-stone  brought  on  with 
perfection.  Thence,  by  way  of  St.  Johnston,  (Perth,)  and  Fife,  he 
reached  Leith,  expecting  intelligence  from  Edinburgh.  But  no  word 
came.  His  friends  were  not  there,  and  he  kept  himself  secret,  suffer- 
ing great  perplexity.  It  was  determined,  however,  that  on  the 
Sunday  following  he  should  preach  at  Leith.  He  did  so,  expounding 
the  parable  of  the  sower  to  a  great  congregation.  To  avoid  danger, 
as  the  Cardinal  and  Governor  were  expected  at  Edinburgh,  he  left 
Leith,  and  lodged  with  several  friends  in  succession,  to  elude  pursuit, 
in  Brownston,  Long  Niddry,  and  Ormiston.  The  next  Sunday  he 
preached  twice  in  the  church  at  Inveresk,  beside  Musselburgh,  to  a 
great  concourse  of  people  ;  and,  at  the  close  of  the  afternoon  sermon, 
Sir  George  Douglas  addressed  the  congregation,  desiring  that  the 
Governor  and  Cardinal,  who  had  then  reached  Edinburgh,  might 
know  that  he  had  not  only  attended  at  the  sermon,  but  would  main- 
tain the  doctrine  he  had  heard,  and  the  person  of  the  preacher,  to 
the  uttermost  of  his  power.  On  two  more  Sundays  he  preached  in 
Tranent  to  multitudes,  and  alluded  to  the  probable  nearness  of 
death.  Lastly,  he  reached  Haddington,  and  there  it  became  evident 
that  his  career  was  nearly  ended.  The  people  feared  to  attend,  and 


208  CHAPTER    III. 

each  congregation  was  smaller  than  the  one  preceding.  Then  came  a 
letter  to  inform  him  that  his  friends  had  relinquished  the  purpose 
of  meeting  him  in  Edinburgh.  It  reached  him  just  before  going  into 
the  pulpit  for  the  last  time  ;  when  he  found  but  about  a  hundred 
hearers,  denounced,  under  very  strong  feeling,  the  indifference  of 
Haddington,  then  recalled  his  thoughts,  gave  a  brief  exhortation 
respecting  the  precepts  of  the  second  table  of  the  Decalogue,  and 
closed  his  ministrations  by  declaring  that  the  spirit  of  truth  was  not 
only  on  his  lips,  but  in  his  heart.  Bidding  farewell  to  his  friends, 
and  causing  the  sword  to  be  taken  from  John  Knox,  as  no  longer 
needed,  he  took  leave  of  Haddington.  Knox  begged  permission  still 
to  follow  him  ;  but  he  said,  "  Nay,  return  to  your  bairns,"  (his 
pupils,)  "  one  is  sufficient  for  a  sacrifice.  God  bless  you."  Attended 
by  a  strong  company  of  Lairds,  and  their  servants,  he  walked  to 
Ormiston.  The  Laird  of  Ormiston  entertained  them.  After  supper 
he  discoursed  concerning  the  death  of  God's  children,  and,  in  pros- 
pect of  that  eternal  repose,  his  pensive  countenance  brightened  into  a 
sweet  and  elevated  smile,  as  he  ended  with,  "  Methinks  that  I  desire 
earnestly  to  sleep  :  we'll  sing  a  psalm."  The  friendly  company  rose, 
devotions  being  ended,  to  go  to  their  apartments.  "  God  grant  quiet 
rest,"  said  Wishart,  and  hastened  to  his.  Before  midnight  a  large 
body  of  armed  men  surrounded  the  place,  that  none  might  escape  to 
call  for  help.  The  Earl  of  Bothwell  demanded  admission.  He  came 
by  authority  of  Arran  and  the  Lords  of  Council,  to  whom  he  had 
obliged  himself  to  deliver  up  "  Maister  George  Wischart  "  before  the 
end  of  the  month  (January,  1546).  The  Earl  told  the  Laird,  that  it 
was  useless  for  him  to  hold  out,  as  both  Governor  and  Cardinal  were 
close  at  hand  with  a  resistless  force  ;  but  "  if  he  would  deliver  the 
man  unto  him,  he  would  promise,  upon  his  honour,  that  he  should  be 
safe,  and  that  it  should  pass  the  power  of  the  Cardinal  to  do  him  any 
harm  or  scathe."  Yet  the  Earl  had  already  bound  himself  to  give  him 
up  to  the  Governor,  "  under  all  the  hiest  pane  and  charge  that  he 
mai  incur,  giff  he  falzies  herintill."  Alas  !  we  know  that  neither  words 
of  honour  nor  oaths  are  valid  when  they  serve  not  the  pleasure  of  the 
Church.  Under  the  -verbal  assurance,  the  Laird  submitted  the  matter 
to  Wishart  himself,  who  instantly  decided  :  "  Open  the  gates  :  the 
blessed  will  of  my  God  be  done."  With  heavy  heart  the  hospitable 
Laird  saw  the  gates  opened.  Bothwell  entered  with  his  train,  and  the 
Earl's  prisoner  saluted  him  thus  :  "  I  praise  my  God  that  so  honour- 
able a  man  as  you,  my  Lord,  receives  me  this  night  in  the  presence  of 
these  noblemen  ;  for  now  I  am  assured  that,  for  your  honour's  sake, 
ye  will  suffer  nothing  to  be  done  unto  me  besides  the  order  of  the 
law.  /  am  not  ignorant  that  their  law  is  nothing  but  corruption,  and 
a  cloak  to  shed  the  blood  of  saints  :  but  yet  I  less  fear  to  die  openly, 
than  secretly  to  be  murdered."  Bothwell  answered  with  a  promise, 
not  only  to  preserve  his  body  from  illegal  violence,  but  to  retain  him 
in  his  own  hands  and  in  his  own  place,  until  either  he  should  make 
him  free,  or  restore  him  to  that  place  again ;  and  called  on  all 
present  to  witness.  The  delighted  Lairds  volunteered  that,  on  the 
fulfilment  of  that  promise,  they  themselves  would  serve  the  Earl 


GEORGE    WISHART.  209 

all  the  days  of  their  life,  and  procure  all  the  professors  within  Lothian 
to  do  the  same,  and  that,  when  that  "  servant  of  God  "  should  be 
delivered  to  them  again,  they  would  deliver  to  his  Lordship  their 
"  band  of  man-rent  in  the  manner  aforesaid."  Bothwell  was  not  a 
Jesuit ;  but  neither  was  the  darkest  craft  of  Machiavelli,  nor  is  that  of 
"  the  Society,"  a  shade  worse  than  the  everlasting  spirit  of  Romanism 
itself.  Bothwell  took  his  prey  from  Ormiston  to  the  Cardinal,  who 
was  waiting  at  Elphinston,  but  one  mile  distant,  and  so,  within  a  few 
minutes,  flung  his  honour  to  the  winds.  To  crown  the  perfidy,  the 
Cardinal  instantly  sent  back  a  stronger  force,  who  brought  the  Lairds 
of  Ormiston  and  Brownston,  and  the  son  of  the  Laird  of  Calder,  and 
confined  them  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.  There  was  Wishart  also 
immured,  until  returned,  for  form's  sake,  to  Bothwell,  who,  having 
been  bribed  by  both  Cardinal  and  Queen,  sent  him,  bound,  to  the 
Castle  of  St.  Andrews. 

Many  days  had  not  elapsed,  when  the  Dean  of  St.  Andrews  entered 
the  prison,  and,  with  unmeaning  formality,  summoned  him  to  appear 
before  the  Cardinal  and  Bishops  in  tbe  abbey  church  on  the  next 
morning.  The  Prelates  were  conducted  to  the  abbey  by  the  Cardi- 
nal's servants,  armed  to  the  teeth,  with  his  Eminence  at  their  head  ; 
and  Wishart,  in  custody  of  the  Captain  of  the  Castle,  and  a  hundred 
soldiers,  was  taken  thither  to  undergo  interrogation.  But  he  dis- 
played no  fear.  Entering  the  church-door,  he  observed  a  poor  man, 
impotent,  like  him  who  waited  for  alms  at  the  Beautiful  gate  of  the 
Temple,  threw  him  his  purse,  now  no  longer  needed  for  himself,  and 
walked  into  the  presence  of  the  Lord  Cardinal  and  Bishops,  where  he 
stood  while  the  Sub-Prior  pronounced  an  oration  on  the  parable  of 
the  tares  and  the  wheat,  affirming,  in  contradiction  to  the  sacred  text, 
that  both  ought  not  to  grow  together  until  the  harvest,  but  that 
heretics  should  be  burned  forthwith.  The  confessor  was  then  caused 
to  ascend  the  pulpit,  where,  without  betraying  the  least  emotion,  he 
heard  a  Priest  read,  with  excessive  vehemence,  a  paper  full  of  accusa- 
tions, mingled  with  cursings.  After  reading  that  document,  the 
Priest,  covered  with  perspiration,  and  red  with  rage,  spat  in  his  face, 
and  cried,  "  What  answerest  thou  to  these  sayings  ?  thou  renegade ! 
traitor!  thief!"  Remembering  Him  who  answered  not  a  word, 
Wishart  knelt  dpwn  in  the  pulpit,  offered  a  short  prayer  in  silence, 
and  then,  in  the  strength  of  God,  gave  his  answer,  begging  to  be 
allowed  a  hearing,  and  professing  faith  in  all  the  fundamental  truths 
of  Christianity.  Eighteen  articles,  each  prefaced  by  "  thou  heretic, 
traitor,  and  thief,"  or  some  such  form  of  vituperation,  were  read,  and 
to  each  of  them  he  briefly  answered ;  but  no  heed  was  given  to  reason 
or  expostulation  ;  and  the  Bishops,  be  it  observed,  passing  by  the 
secular  power,  and  in  contempt  of  an  injunction  of  the  Governor, 
who,  jealous  of  their  interference  in  a  question  of  life,  had  desired  that 
he  should  be  reserved  to  the  civil  jurisdiction,  condemned  him  to  be 
burnt.  But  before  pronouncing  the  sentence,  they  caused  the  people 
to  leave  the  church ;  it  was  then  read,  and  the  Cardinal  sent  him  back  to 
the  Castle  until  fire  should  be  ready.  The  fire  was  prepared  on  the  west 
side  of  that  building  ;  and,  to  guard  against  any  attempt  at  rescue  by 

VOL.    III.  2    E 


210  CHAPTKR    IIT. 

the  friendly  Lairds,  the  Castle  guns  were  pointed  towards  the  spot,  a 
gunner  standing  with  a  lighted  brand  by  each.  A  party  of  soldiers 
then  brought  him  out,  having  his  hands  bound,  with  an  iron  chain 
passed  round  his  body,  and  a  rope  round  his  neck.  Some  Friars 
officiously  wearied  him,  at  every  step,  with  exhortations  to  pray  to  the 
Virgin ;  but  he  answered  meekly,  "  Tempt  me  not,  my  brethren." 
Being  rid  of  them,  he  first  knelt  down  and  prayed ;  then  addressed 
the  crowd,  firmly,  but  with  Christlike  gentleness ;  forgave  the  execu- 
tioner, according  to  custom,  and  bade  him  "  do  his  office."  He  was 
swung  on  the  gibbet,  and  his  body  consumed.  No  sooner  did  the 
people  of  St.  Andrews  see  his  noble  frame  suspended  and  quivering, 
than  they  burst  into  wailing,  and  dispersed,  terror-stricken,  and  medi- 
tating retribution  (March  1st,  1546). 

Not  only  the  multitude,  but  persons  of  rank,  declared  that  they 
would  avenge  the  death  of  Wishart  on  the  Cardinal.  A  few  weeks 
afterwards  a  party  of  sixteen  broke  into  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews,  and 
murdered  him, — the  last  Cardinal  that  ever  was  in  Scotland.  The 
murderers  fancied  themselves  justified  in  shedding  his  blood  ;  and 
James  Melvin,  described  by  Knox  as  "  a  man  of  nature  most  gentle 
and  most  modest,"  after  bidding  the  others  do  the  work  and  judg- 
ment of  God  with  greater  gravity,  exhorted  the  wounded  Cardinal,  as 
he  sat  pale  and  bleeding  in  his  chair,  to  repent  of  his  wicked  life  ; 
but  especially  of  the  blood-shedding  of  that  notable  instrument  of 
God,  Master  George  Wishart,  which  they  were  sent  of  God  to  revenge. 
He  further  told  him,  that  he  was  not  moved  to  take  his  life  by  any 
personal  resentment  or  fear,  but  only  because  he  had  been  an  obsti- 
nate enemy  of  Christ  and  his  holy  Gospel ;  and  then  transfixed  him, 
with  a  short  sword,  twice  or  thrice.  Thus  perished  Cardinal  Beaton, 
breathing  out,  as  he  sank  on  the  floor,  only  these  pitiable  words,  "  I 
am  a  Priest — I  am  a  Priest — Fie  !  Fie  ! — All  is  gone  !  "  (May  29th, 
1546.)  His  death  was  not  worse  than  his  demerit;  but  the  cool 
vengeance,  the  impious  atrocity  of  the  murderer,  preaching,  as  he 
held  a  drawn  sword  to  the  breast  of  the  Cardinal,  must  awaken  an 
emotion  of  horror  in  every  well-instructed  mind.  The  wrath  of  man 
worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God ;  and  George  Wishart,  could  he 
have  spoken  from  his  ashes,  would  have  unsparingly  declared  the 
guilt,  which  no  lecture  on  the  lawfulness  of  tyrannicide  can  palliate.* 
"  The  blood  of  no  man,"  he  had  said,  "  shall  be  shed  for  the  preaching 
of  the  word  of  peace." 

Those  were  dark,  unhappy  times.  Good  and  evil  were  strangely 
mingled,  even  in  the  same  persons,  and  the  historian  mourns  as  he 
pursues  the  current  of  events.  While  idolatry  was  partially  discou- 
raged, and  Papal  authority  utterly  set  aside,  in  England,  laws  against 
heresy  were  multiplied.  The  supremacy  of  the  King  over  the  Church 
was  preached  up  zealously,  even  by  such  bigots  as  Longland,  Bishop 
of  Lincoln  ;  but  royalists  and  Papists  alike  hated  Him  who  is  head, 
in  all  things,  over  the  Church.  The  history  of  John  Lambert  brings 
a  humiliating  illustration  of  the  state  of  our  country  in  this  reign. 

*  Knox,  History  of  Reformation  in  Scotland,  book  i. ;  Keith,  History  of  Church  and 
State  in  Scotland,  book  i.,  chapters  1—  4  ;  Foxe,  book  viii. 


JOHN    LAMBERT.  211 

When  Bilney  was  at  Cambridge,  his  instructions  and  example  were 
instrumeptal,  as  we  have  seen,  in  conveying  light  to  the  hearts  of 
many,    among    whom    was    John   Lambert,    a   native    of     Norfolk, 
then  making   great   proficiency  in  the  learned  languages.     To  avoid 
persecution,  he  went  over  to  Antwerp,  joined  Tyndale  and  Frith,  and 
officiated  as  Chaplain  to  the  English  merchants  ;   Antwerp  being  then 
the  first  commercial  city  of  Europe.     Sir  Thomas  More,  availing  him- 
self of  the  power  allowed  to  England  over  English  subjects  there,  in 
the  Intercursus  Magnus,  or  "  Great  Treaty,"  had  him  brought  over  to 
London,   on  the  accusation   of  one  Thomas  Barlow,  and  examined, 
first  at  Lambeth,  then   at   Warham' s  house   at  Otford,  before  Arch- 
bishop Warham.  Forty-five  articles  were  collected  against  him,  reduced 
to  a  written  document,  and  placed  in  his  hands,  with  the  intention,  no 
doubt,  of  engaging  the  prisoner  himself  to  supply  further  materials  for 
condemnation.     Shut  up  in  the  Archbishop's  house,  without  books, 
and  entirely  dependent  on  the  resources  of  his  memory,  he  produced 
a  copious  answer  to  those  articles,  replete  with  learning  and  evangeli- 
cal  truth.     He  would  probably  have  been  burnt  then,  but  Warham 
died,  and  the  prisoner  was  released.     He  then  enjoyed  liberty  under 
the  influence   of  Anne   Boleyn,  Cranmer,  and  Cromwell,  and,  laying 
aside   his  priestly  character,  obtained  a  livelihood   by  teaching  Latin 
and  Greek.     Not  apprehending  any  danger,  he  took  the  liberty,  one 
day,  after   sermon   in  St.  Peter's  church,   of  soliciting  conversation 
with  Dr.   Taylor,  the  preacher,  on  some  points  of  doctrine.     Dr. 
Taylor  desired   him  to   set   down    his   arguments    in   writing.     The 
subject  was   the  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,    and 
Lambert  gave  ten  reasons  to  prove  that  they  were  not  really  present 
on  the  altar.     Dr.  Taylor  entered  fully  into  the  controversy,  conferred 
with  his  friends  thereon,  and,  among  others,  with  Dr.  Barnes,  a  man 
deeply  engaged  in   the  advancing  Reformation,  but  no   less  zealous 
against   the  Sacramentarians,  as  they  who   denied  transubstantiation 
were  called  in  England.     Dr.  Barnes  advised  his  friend  to  consult 
Cranmer,  who   had  not  yet  quite   cast  off  the  prevailing  error,  but 
adopted  the  middle  notion  of  Luther,  and,  intent  on  repressing  what 
he  conceived  to  be  erroneous,  sent  for  the  new  opponent,  and  required 
him   to   defend   his   cause  in  the  Consistory.     Impatient  of  the  dog- 
matism of  the  Bishops,  and   imagining  that  the  King  would  be   an 
impartial  judge,  or  would,  at  least,   protect  him  from   violence,   he 
appealed  to  His   Majesty   from   the   ecclesiastical  Judges,  and,  after 
returning   home,   wrote   a   treatise,   addressed    to   Henry,    whom    he 
regarded  with  entire  confidence,  and  whom  he  trusted  to  bring  over 
to  his  more  reasonable  and  scriptural  opinion.     And  he  might   have 
succeeded,  if  Anne  Boleyn  had  been  there  to  interpose  her  influence ; 
but  she  was  beheaded,  and  Gardiner,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  bent  on 
restoring   Popery,  suggested   that,   in   order  to   disabuse    those  who 
thought  the  King  to  be  an  abettor  of  heresy,  and  to  recover  the  confi- 
dence of  those  of  his  subjects  who  were  still  zealous  in  favour  of  the 
Church,    Henry   should   punish   the    Sacramentarian,   and,   with    his 
blood,  satisfy  multitudes  of  disaffected.     The  King  caught  the  idea, 
and    instantly  prepared   to   carry  it    into  execution.     Lambert    had 

2  E  2 


212  CHAPTER    III. 

appealed  to  him  as  head  of  the  Church ;  and  in  that  character  he 
determined  to  give  judgment,  and  to  do  so  with  all  possible  solemnity. 
A  royal  commission  summoned  all  the  nobles  and  Bishops  of  the 
realm  to  assemble  at  Whitehall,  to  assist  the  King  against  heretics  and 
heresies,  on  a  day  appointed  (November  10th,  1538). 

Thither  came  the  hierarchy  of  Church,  and  the  aristocracy  of  State. 
Eminent  above  all,  the  King,  supreme  theologian,  attended  by  a 
numerous  guard,  all  clothed  in  white,  symbolizing  the  purity  of  the 
doctrine  they  were  that  day  to  defend !  On  his  right  hand  sat  the 
Bishops,  robed  in  full  splendour ;  and,  behind  them,  a  large  company 
of  the  chief  lawyers  in  the  kingdom,  clad  in  purple.  Left  of  the 
throne,  were  the  Peers  of  the  realm,  Justices,  and  other  nobles  in 
their  order ;  and,  behind  these,  the  gentlemen  of  the  King's  privy 
chamber.  John  Lambert,  tainted  with  the  infamy  of  a  former  perse- 
cution, a  poor  schoolmaster,  who  had  dared  to  tread  on  ground  that 
even  Priests  were  scarcely  authorized  to  occupy,  was  confronted  with  the 
royal  Defender  of  the  Faith, — dread  Sovereign,  in  whose  presence  the 
highest  orders  of  both  estates,  the  secular  and  ecclesiastical,  crouched 
in  mute  submission.  When  Henry  had  seated  himself  on  the  throne,  he 
cast  a  contemptuous  frown  on  the  heretic,  unsupported,  except  by  the 
Omnipotent,  and  then  commanded  Dr.  Day,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  to 
declare  to  the  people  the  cause  of  the  present  assemblage.  The 
Bishop,  in  a  brief  oration,  interpreted  His  Majesty's  design  to  let  all 
states  and  degrees  of  men  see  that  the  sinister  opinion  should  not  be 
conceived  of  him,  that  now,  the  authority  and  name  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  being  utterly  abolished,  he  would  also  extinguish  all  religion, 
or  give  liberty  to  heretics  to  perturb  and  trouble  the  churches  of 
England,  of  which  he  was  head,  without  punishment.  "  Neither," 
said  the  Bishop,  "  should  any  think  that  they  were  assembled  there 
to  dispute,  but  only  to  refute,  and  openly  to  condemn,  the  heresies 
of  that  man,  and  of  others  like  him." 

Next  the  King,  standing  erect,  and  leaning  forward  on  a  "  cushion 
of  white  cloth  of  tissue,"  turned  towards  Lambert  with  gathered 
brow,  and  after  an  awful  pause,  all  eyes  being  fixed  upon  himself,  he 
gruffly  addressed  the  culprit.  "  Ho  !  good  fellow,  what  is  thy  name?" 
Dropping  on  his  knee,  he  gave  answer  :  "  My  name  is  John  Nichol- 
son, though  of  many  I  be  called  Lambert."  "  What,  have  you  two 
names  ?  I  would  not  trust  you,  having  two  names,  although  you 
were  my  brother."  "0  most  noble  Prince  !  your  Bishops  forced  me 
of  necessity  to  change  my  name."  Henry  questioned  him,  after 
many  irrelevant  questions  and  rejoinders,  as  to  his  doctrine  of  the 
sacrament,  and  heard  him  say  explicitly,  "  I  deny  it  to  be  the  body 
of  Christ."  He  then  commanded  Cranmer  to  refute  him,  which  the 
Archbishop  essayed  to  do,  but  with  characteristic  gentleness  :  "  Brother 
Lambert,  let  this  matter  be  handled  between  us  indifferently,  that  if  I 
do  convince  this  your  argument  to  be  false,  by  the  Scriptures,  you 
will  willingly  refuse  the  same  ;  but  if  you  shall  prove  it  true  by  the 
manifest  testimonies  of  the  Scripture,  I  do  promise,  1  will  willingly 
embrace  the  same."  Cranmer  was,  no  doubt,  sincere.  He  could  not 
but  have  felt  the  force  of-  the  very  arguments  he  was  commanded  to 


JOHN    LAMBERT.  213 

refute  ;  and  perhaps  was  not  unwilling  to  see  the  Bishops  of  England 
drawn  into  a  controversy  that  might  shake  their  confidence  in  the 
doctrine  of  real  presence,  as  his  was  already  shaken.  Ten  Bishops 
were  ready,  each  to  combat  one  of  Lambert's  ten  reasons ;  but  they 
were  incontinent  of  zeal,  and  could  not  wait  their  turn.  They  raged 
and  scoffed.  The  King  sustained  the  credit  of  his  headship  by  excel- 
ling virulence  ;  and  at  the  end  of  five  hours,  the  persecuted  man  stood 
weary,  as  a  lamb  marked  for  slaughter,  and  half  worried  by  dogs. 
Now  and  then  a  quotation  from  holy  Scripture,  or  a  brief  sentence 
from  St.  Augustine,  was  all  that  he  could  utter.  To  argue,  to  plead,  to 
remonstrate,  was  impossible.  The  farce  of  disputation  had  lasted  from 
mid-day  until  five  o'clock.  It  fell  dusk,  torches  were  lit,  and  even  the 
King's  vanity  was  sated  after  the  protracted  exhibition  of  his  powers : 
so  he  brought  the  matter  to  a  close,  by  addressing  Lambert  thus  : 
"  What  sayest  thou  now,  after  all  these  great  labours  which  thou  hast 
taken  upon  thee,  and  all  the  reasons  and  instructions  of  these  learned 
men  ?  Art  thou  not  yet  satisfied  ?  Wilt  thou  live  or  die  ?  What 
sayest  thou  ?  Thou  hast  yet  free  choice." 

Lambert. — "  I  yield  and  submit  myself  wholly  unto  the  will  of  your 
Majesty." 

King. — "  Commit  thyself  unto  the  hands  of  God,  and  not  unto 
mine." 

L. — "  I  commend  my  soul  unto  the  hands  of  God,  but  my  body  I 
wholly  yield  and  submit  unto  your  clemency." 

K. — "  If  you  do  commit  yourself  unto  my  judgment,  you  must  die  ; 
for  I  will  not  be  a  patron  unto  heretics.  Cromwell,  read  the  sentence 
of  condemnation  against  him."  Cromwell  shuddered.  To  disobey 
the  King  would  but  have  involved  him  in  the  certain  death  of  Lam- 
bert. He  took  the  schedule  of  condemnation,  ready  written  as  it 
was,  read  it,  and  saw  him  dragged  away  to  prison. 

On  the  day  appointed  for  his  execution,  he  was  brought,  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  Cromwell's  house,  taken  to  an  inner  room, 
and  from  the  same  lips  that  had  pronounced  his  condemnation, 
received  a  sincere  prayer  for  pardon.  Thence  he  was  conducted  to  the 
hall,  sat  at  breakfast  with  several  gentlemen,  and  conversed  with  solemn 
cheerfulness  as  one  to  whom  death  had  no  longer  any  sting.  Thence  to 
the  fire.  There  his  sufferings  were  extreme.  First,  they  contrived  to 
burn  off  his  legs,  leaving  the  body  untouched,  and  then,  raising  him 
on  the  points  of  pikes,  held  him  over  the  fire,  until,  driven  away  by 
the  heat,  they  let  him  fall  into  it.  His  dying  sentence  was,  "  None 
but  Christ!  None  but  Christ!"  * 

Encouraged  by  the  King's  anxiety  to  discountenance  heresy,  the 
Clergy  immolated  other  victims.  Robert  Packington,  a  mercer  in 
Cheapside,  brother  of  Austin  Packington,  who  had  aided  Tyndale  by 
selling  his  Testament  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  when  he  burnt  the 

*  Foxe,  book  viii.  Burnet  differs  in  some  particulars  from  Foxe,  whose  narrative  is 
full,  and  apparently  more  exact.  Fuller  and  others  show  no  mercy  to  Cranmer,  because 
he  argued  against  Lambert,  and  used  no  means  to  save  him.  They  forget  that  Cranmer 
then  differed  from  Lambert,  and  that  his  credit  at  that  time  with  the  King  was  muck 
diminished.  Gardiner  and  others  had  almost  supplanted  him. 


21-1  CHAPTER    III. 

copies,  leaving  Tyndale  to  print  an  improved  edition  with  the  money  he 
had  paid,  was  shot,  early  one  morning,  on  his  way  to  church.  Dr. 
lucent,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  confessed,  when  on  his  death-bed,  that  he  had 
paid  an  Italian  to  commit  the  murder.  One  Collins,  a  madman,  was 
burnt  in  Smithfield  because  he  had,  unconscious  of  offence,  imitated 
the  gesture  of  a  Priest  in  elevating  the  host,  by  holding  a  little  dog 
over  his  head.  Cowbridge,  another  madman,  was  burnt  at  Oxford  for 
some  harmless  eccentricities.  Three  others,  at  least,  were  burnt  in 
Suffolk  on  trifling  accusations.* 

The  enemies  of  reformation  redoubled  their  diligence  to  counteract 
the  labour  of  its  friends.  In  the  Convocation  assembled  nine  months 
before  the  burning  of  Lambert,  six  articles  of  religion,  all  Popish, 
had  been  sharply  discussed,  and  affirmed  by  the  majority.  Severe 
injunctions  against  Lutheran  books  had  again  been  published  ;  and 
Sacramentarians,  who  denied  transubstantiation,  were  also  marked  as 
heretics.  Anabaptism,  an  effect  of  extreme  reaction  against  the 
sacramentalism  of  the  dominant  Church,  was  included  in  the  con- 
demnation. When  the  Convocation  next  met,  (April,  1539,)  the  Six 
Articles  were  again  discussed,  finally  adopted,  and  sent  to  Parliament 
for  acceptance  into  the  body  of  English  law.  Cranmer  opposed  them 
strenuously,  arguing  against  them  for  three  successive  clays  ;  but  his 
opposition  could  not  prevail  against  the  pleasure  of  the  King,  whom 
the  Convocation  and  Parliament  presumed  not  to  disobey.  Persuaded 
of  his  integrity,  and  needing  his  services,  Henry  indulged  him  in 
dissent,  and  sent  him  permission  to  withdraw  from  Parliament  during 
the  vote ;  but  he  excused  himself  for  non-compliance  with  that  sug- 
gestion, and  acquitted  his  conscience  by  remaining  there,  at  all 
hazards,  to  vote  against  them.  After  the  close  of  Parliament,  the 
King  commanded  Cromwell,  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  and 
other  Lords,  to  go  and  dine  with  the  Archbishop  at  Lambeth,  com- 
mend him  for  his  sincerity  and  perseverance  in  maintaining  what  he 
conceived  to  be  the  truth,  and  bid  him  not  to  be  discouraged  l;y  any 
thing  that  had  passed  in  Parliament  contrary  to  his  allegations.  The 
terrible  Six  Articles  affirmed,  1.  Transubstautiation  ;  2.  Communion  in 
one  kind;  3.  Celibacy  of  Priests ;  4.  Vows  of  "chastity"  or  widowhood; 
5.  Private  masses;  and,  6.  Auricular  confession.  Offenders  against  the 
first  article  were  to  be  burnt,  as  heretics  and  traitors,  without  permission 
to  abjure,  with  forfeiture  of  goods,  and  other  penalties  of  treason. 
Denial  of  the  other  five  was  to  be  treated  as  felony.  Nor  did  the 
Papists  fail  to  see  the  law  enforced.  Latimer  and  Shaxton  would 
have  been  among  the  first  victims,  but  for  the  interest  of  Cromwell, 
who  himself  soon  fell.  They  both  resigned  their  bishoprics,  and  were 
both  imprisoned  :  Latimer  was  afterwards  released,  but  martyred  in 
the  reign  of  Mary  ;  Shaxtou  recanted,  and,  like  some  other  renegades, 
became  distinguished  as  a  persecutor  of  his  former  brethren.  Many 
were  burnt,  as  we  shall  presently  relate  ;  the  German  Reformers  with- 
drew in  disgust  from  negotiation  for  union  with  England  ;  Melancthon, 
whom  the  King  had  treated  with  constant  marks  of  esteem,  wrote 
him  a  long  and  earnest  letter  of  expostulation,  but  ineffectual  to 

'  *   Foxe,  iit  supra. 


LORD    CROMWEI.t,    BEHEADED.  215 

obtain  any  mitigation  of  the  Act  ;  and  had  the  Pope  established  his 
throne  in  Westminster,  more  terrible  persecution  could  scarcely  have 
been  apprehended  than  that  which  now  seemed  imminent.  Many 
fled  from  England.  Yet  the  Bible,  perhaps  because  it  had  served  the 
King  in  argument  against  Rome,  was  treated  with  some  reverence. 
Lord  Cromwell  obtained  letters  patent  from  him,  wherein  he  professed 
to  believe  that  "  by  the  better  knowledge  of  God's  word  the  people 
would  better  honour  God,  and  observe  and  keep  his  commandments, 
and  do  their  duty  to  their  Prince"  He  therefore  allowed  them  to 
read  the  Bible  in  English ;  and  appointed  Cromwell  to  see  that  certain 
restrictions,  protective  of  Grafton,  printer  of  the  Large  Bible,  were 
observed.  But  no  one  was  to  presume  to  utter  his  private  judgment 
as  to  the  sacred  text,  that  being  reserved  to  the  Clergy. 

We  shall  not  pursue  the  wearisome  relation  of  Acts  of  Convocation 
and  Parliament,  intended  to  coerce  England  into  a  special  mode 
of  belief  and  worship,  to  adopt,  without  any  freedom  of  judgment, 
the  single  conception  of  the  supreme  head  then  upon  the  throne  ; 
nor  stay  to  recount  the  sorry  tale  of  his  marriage  and  divorce  from 
his  fourth  wife,  Anne  of  Cleves,  and  marriage  of  a  fifth,  Catharine 
Howard.  Lord  Cromwell,  his  most  faithful  servant,  and  a  sincere  pro- 
moter of  the  Reformation,  had  been  a  principal  agent  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  monasteries  ;  and  in  a  multitude  of  acts  had  excited  the  greater 
number  of  the  Clergy  to  a  state  of  exasperation  that  threatened  to  over- 
turn the  throne.  To  escape  the  odium  of  those  measures  as  far  as 
possible,  the  King  sacrificed  his  Vicar-General.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
uncle  of  Catharine  Howard,  whom  he  now  wished  to  marry,  challenged 
Cromwell,  at  the  Council-table,  with  treason  ;  in  the  King's  name, 
arrested  him  instantly,  and  sent  him  to  the  Tower.  In  the  act  of 
attainder  we  find  him  charged  with  all  sorts  of  misdemeanours  ;  but 
the  greatest  prominence  is  given  to  his  leniency  towards  heretics,  and 
participation  in  their  proceedings.  This  was  undoubtedly  true,  but  was 
not  unknown  to  his  master,  whom  Rome  would  have  dethroned  for  the 
same  offence  :  for  he  was  at  the  same  time  courting  Lutherans  abroad, 
and  burning  them  at  home.  Lord  Cromwell  was  beheaded  on  Tower- 
Hill  (July  28th,  1540). 

Two  days  after  his  death  there  was  a  great  burning  and  hanging  in 
Smithfield.  Three  Papists,*  for  denying  the  King's  supremacy,  were 
hung,  drawn,  and  quartered.  Three  Protestants,  Robert  Barnes,. 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  Thomas  Garret,  and  William  Jerome,  were  burnt. 
Dr.  Barnes  owed  his  conversion  to  Bilney,  at  Cambridge,  where  he 
sustained  the  charge  of  Prior  of  the  Augustine  monastery,  and 
laboured  hard  and  successfully  for  the  revival  of  learning  in  the  Uni- 
versity ;  and  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  spiritual  church,  whose- 
members,  as  yet  undistinguished  by  any  distinct  form  of  discipline, 
were  united  in  secret  study  and  prayer,  under  a  strong  bond  of  bro- 
therly confidence.  Often  did  one  of  those  brethren  hazard  his  life  to 
save  another.  Dr.  Barnes  had  been  forced  to  abjure  several  years 
before,  but  subsequently  rose  into  favour,  and  honourably  served  the 
King  on  an  embassy  in  Germany.  But  when  Gardiner  rose  into 

*  Edward  Powell,  Thomas  Abley,  Richard  Fetherston. 


216  CHAPTER    III. 

power,  he  was,  by  his  contrivance,  entangled  in  controversy,  and  sent 
to  prison.  Thomas  Garret,  Curate  of  Honey-lane,  in  London,  had 
gone  down  to  Oxford  about  fourteen  years  before,  laden  with  good 
books,  which  he  sold  to  the  "  Gospellers  "  there,  and  himself  entered 
the  University.  After  some  time  he  was  apprehended,  then  broke 
prison,  and  wandered  about  the  country  in  disguise,  until  discovered 
and  taken  again.  The  sole  offence  of  William  Jerome,  Vicar  of  Stepney, 
was  that  he  had  preached  justification  by  faith  in  a  sermon  at  Paul's- 
Cross  on  the  fourth  Sunday  of  the  Lent  preceding  ;  not  attacking 
Romish  errors,  but  passing  over  them  in  silence.  Three  hurdles  were 
drawn  to  the  fire,  a  Papist  traitor  and  a  Protestant  heretic  on  each. 
The  martyrs  wondered  at  the  suddenness  of  their  execution,  it  being 
without  any  previous  notice  or  form  of  trial.  Their  fellow-sufferers 
were  in  equal  ignorance.  "  Know  ye  wherefore  I  die?"  Dr.  Barnes 
asked  the  Priest,  his  mate,  after  they  were  taken  from  the  hurdle  : 
"  I  was  never  examined,  nor  called  to  judgment."  "  No,"  said  the 
other,  "  I  know  nothing,  but  thus  we  are  commanded."  People  were 
astounded  at  seeing  the  sword  of  justice  cut  both  ways  ;  and  a 
foreigner,  standing  in  the  crowd,  and  seeing  Priests  and  heretics  so 
strangely  coupled,  asked  what  religion  the  King  was  of,  supposing — 
and  with  reason — that  he  was  of  neither,  or  of  none. 

All  persons  in  authority,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  were  bound  by 
oath  to  enforce  the  Six  Articles  throughout  the  kingdom.  The  Bishop 
of  London  headed  a  body  of  Commissioners  for  inquisition  in  the 
metropolis.  Delinquents  were  brought  over  from  Calais  to  suffer  the 
intended  penalty  ;  and  through  all  England  it  was  found  that  the 
articles,  the  King's  religion,  were  habitually  violated.  Imprisonments 
were  therefore  shortened,  and  penances  lightened,  to  avoid  encounter- 
ing graver  inconveniences  by  attempting  to  enforce  an  impracticable 
law.  It  need  scarcely  be  said,  that  the  proceedings  of  the  Popish 
party  were  excessively  capricious  and  vexatious.  The  Bible  had  been 
published  under  royal  authority,  and  the  printer,  Graf  ton,  was  pro- 
tected, commercially,  by  a  patent.  But,  spiritually,  there  could  be  no 
protection  for  any  man  ;  and  he  and  his  colleague,  under  whose  eyes 
the  proofs  had, passed,  and  whose  understanding,  at  least,  must  have 
been  enlightened  by  the  important  labour,  were  punished  for  not 
observing  ceremonies  that  it  pleased  Henry  VIII.  to  declare  necessary 
for  salvation.  The  Bible  was  permitted  to  be  read,  but  the  readers 
were  forbidden  to  dispute,  or  to  entertain  new  opinions.  Six  copies 
of  the  sacred  volume  were  chained  to  pillars  in  St.  Paul's  cathe- 
dral, that  all  who  chose,  or  were  able,  might  read.  But  few  of  the 
laity  could  read,  fewer  could  read  well ;  and  these  very  few  were  often 
requested  to  read  aloud,  that  the  blind  multitude  might  hear.  Then 
the  readers  were  formally  persecuted.  Perhaps  the  most  conspicuous 
of  those  readers  was  John  Porter,  a  fine  young  man,  of  noble  bearing, 
clear  voice,  and  great  intelligence.  He  not  only  read  the  text,  but 
sometimes  answered  questions,  or  interspersed  brief  explanatory  sen- 
tences with  the  reading.  He  devoted  himself  to  studying,  as  well  as 
to  the  occupation  of  reading,  the  book  of  God  ;  and  delivered  to  mul- 
titudes truths  gathered  from  the  first  source  of  truth,  and  gleaned 


PRONUNCIATION    OF    GREEK.  217 

from  the  sermons  of  those  who  were  also  learning  at  the  feet  of  Christ. 
Bonner,  although  the  volumes  were  exhibited  in  St.  Paul's,  at  his  own 
reluctant  command,  sent  for  the  young  man,  angrily  rebuked  him  for 
presuming  to  expound  Scripture,  and  raise  tumult.  Nothing  could 
be  more  untrue  than  the  latter  part  of  the  accusation,  but  it  was 
then  alleged  hourly  against  good  men  :  John  Porter  was  sent  to  New- 
gate, and  laid  in  irons.  By  the  entreaty  of  a  relative,  the  gaoler 
released  him  from  the  fetters  that  had  become  insufferable,  removed 
him  from  the  cell,  and  placed  him  among  the  other  prisoners,  felons 
and  murderers.  In  that  vile  society  the  good  Scripture-reader  could 
not  keep  silence,  but  exhorted  them  to  repentance ;  for  which  offence 
Bonner  had  him  thrown  into  a  dungeon,  and  put  into  an  iron  machine 
invented  to  get  rid  of  incorrigible  prisoners.  His  head  and  limbs 
were  stretched,  and  his  body  pressed  ;  at  every  throe  of  agony  the 
distention  and  pressure  increased ;  and  after  the  torture  of  a  night, 
his  body  was  found  crushed  and  lifeless.  This  may  prepare  us  to 
read  more  of  Bouner  in  the  next  chapter.  Longland,  Bishop  of  Lin- 
coln, burnt  two  in  one  day ;  Thomas  Bernard,  for  teaching  the  Lord's 
prayer  in  English,  and  James  Morton,  for  having  an  English  trans- 
lation of  the  Epistle  of  St.  James ;  and  this  he  did  when  the  whole 
Bible  was  printed,  published,  and  set  out  in  all  the  churches,  by  the 
King's  command. 

Could  men  have  refrained  from  speech  in  those  days,  they  might 
have  avoided  much  pain ;  unless  a  new  Act  of  Parliament  had  made 
gesture  criminal.  Mr.  Cheke,  Greek  Lecturer  in  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  presumed  to  breathe  a  literary  heresy.  Vowels  and 
diphthongs,  long  (>])  and  short  (e),  and  consonants  of  different 
organs,  were  in  those  days  confused.  The  breach  of  orthoepy  was  in 
effect  a  breach  of  grammar,  and  Mr.  Cheke  laudably  taught  his 
learners  how  to  speak.  The  Bishop  of  Winchester,  being  Chancellor, 
forbade  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  an  innovation,  and  would  listen 
to  no  remonstrance.  Pestilence  (AOJJU.OJ)  and  famine  (AJJU.OJ)  were  all 
one  to  him  ;  and  could  he  have  sent  forth  destroying  angels,  Cam- 
bridge and  Oxford  would  soon  have  been  void  of  Grecians  as  well 
as  Gospellers.  In  a  barbarous  parody  he  declared  at  once  against 
grammar  and  Christianity  ;  and  likened  thirsting  after  truth  to  the 
accursed  thirst  of 'gold.* 

Thus  classic  innovation  troubled  Cambridge ;  and  the  zealous 
Bishop  issued  an  edict  against  distinguishing  on  and  e,  01  and  st  from 
j  in  sound,  graciously  suffering  them  to  be  distinguished  by  the  pen. 
And  his  pastoral  fidelity  shone  with  equal  lustre  in  an  admonition  to 
the  University,  through  his  Vice-Chancellor,  concerning  diet.  Some 
Regents  of  the  University  had  "  very  dissolutely  used  themselves  in 
eating  of  flesh  "  in  the  last  Lent :  some  courtiers  had  done  the  same ; 
but  "  the  King's  Majesty,  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  as 
Gardiner  profanely  said,  had  set  them  in  order ;  and  my  Lord 
commanded  the  dissolute  flesh-eaters  of  Cambridge  to  be  fined,  and 

*  Virgil,  too  truly,  says  : — "  Quid  non  mortalia  pectora  cogit  Auri  sacra  fames  ?  " 
The  stubborn  Chancellor  wrote,  "  Sed  quid  nou  mortalia  pectora  cogit  Veri  quau-eudi 
fumes  ?  " 

VOL.    III.  2    F 


218  CHAPTER    III. 

subjected  to  private  penance  for  their  transgression,  under  threat  of  a 
public  inquisition.  He  would  "  withstand  fancies  even  in  pronunci- 
ation, and  fight  with  the  enemies  of  quiet  at  the  first  entry"  (May 
15th,  1543).  Oxford  was  also  visited,  at  his  instigation,  with  an  inqui- 
sition of  heresy,  several  Gospellers  were  detected  and  punished,  and 
one  of  them,  named  Quinby,  was  imprisoned  in  the  tower  of  his  college, 
until  he  died  of  cold  and  hunger. 

The  law  of  the  Six  Articles  having  been  enforced  so  rigidly  in  Lon- 
don and  the  Universities,  it  was  thought  desirable  to  visit  royal 
Windsor  also,  before  making  inquisition  throughout  the  king- 
dom. One  Dr.  London,  who  had  served  Cromwell  very  actively  in 
the  sequestration  of  property  found  in  suppressed  monasteries, 
managed  to  ingratiate  himself  with  Gardiner  after  the  death  of  his 
former  master,  and  became  no  less  diligent  in  doing  the  services 
of  an  inquisitorial  spy.  In  the  college  and  town  of  Windsor  there 
was  a  society  of  persons  who  favoured  "  the  new  learning,"  and, 
leaving  the  idolatries  of  the  Church,  endeavoured  to  serve  God  accord- 
ing to  his  word.  Anthony  Peerson,  a  Priest,  Robert  Testwood,  and 
John  Marbeck,  Choristers,  and  Henry  Filmer,  a  Churchwarden,  were 
marked  as  suspected  men  ;  and  Dr.  London  succeeded  in  collecting 
information  against  them.  Gardiner  obtained  a  commission  from  the 
King  in  Council  for  searching  suspected  houses  in  the  town  of  Wind- 
sor :  the  Castle,  however,  was  not  thrown  open  to  them  by  His 
Majesty.  Search  was  made,  books  found,  and  these  four  persons, 
with  Dr.  Hains,  Dean  of  Exeter  and  Prebendary  of  Windsor,  and  Sir 
Philip  Hoby,  were  thrown  into  prison.  By  a  recent  Act  of  Parliament, 
intended  as  a  mitigation  of  the  terrible  Act  then  in  force,  persons 
accused  of  heresy  were  allowed  the  privilege  of  jury,  and  were  not  to  be 
convicted  on  the  testimony  of  a  single  witness  ;  but  the  Windsor  jury 
was  packed  with  farmers,  tenants  of  the  chapel,  who  were  sure  to 
bring  in  any  verdict  that  would  satisfy  their  masters,  the  landlords  ;  and 
when  one  of  the  prisoners  remonstrated  against  the  court  proceeding 
against  him  without  a  second  witness,  his  objection  was  treated  with 
derision.  All  four  were  condemned  to  die  :  although  no  more  could 
be  proved  against  Marbeck  *  than  that  he  had  copied  a  writing 
of  Calvin's,  containing  Sacramentarian  sentences.  The  ingenuity  and 
frankness  of  the  man  had  won  the  good-will  of  some  of  his  Judges, 
while  others  entertained  a  hope  that,  if  overcome  by  mercy,  he  would 
disclose  some  of  his  brethren  ;  but  this  he  constantly  refused  to  do  ;  so 
that,  on  the  petition  of  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  who  had  assured  him 
during  the  examination  that  he  should  not  die,  Gardiner  himself  went 
to  the  King  and  obtained  his  pardon.  The  pardon  reached  Windsor 
on  the  morning  of  the  day  of  execution,  and  Marbeck  was  released  ; 
but  Peerson,  Testwood,  and  Filmer  went  joyfully  to  the  pyre,  where 

*  The  ingenuity  of  Marbeck  was  indeed  remarkable.  He  was  an  uneducated,  but 
inquisitive,  man  ;  and,  as  such  persons  are  apt  to  do,  was  wasting  his  strength  in  useless 
labour,  by  copying  the  newly-printed  Bible.  An  intelligent  Priest  suggested  that  he 
might  more  usefully  employ  himself  in  preparing  an  English  Concordance  He  did  so ; 
and  his  work  was  printed  in  folio  by  Grafton,  1550,  being  the  first  Concordance  to  the 
English  Bible.  One  for  the  New  Testament  had  preceded  it. 


GARDINER'S  PLOTS.  219 

they  embraced  the  stake,  and  heaped  the  straw  and  brushwood  upon 
their  own  heads,  rejoicing  in  martyrdom  (July,  1543). 

But  Gardiner  pushed  his  purposes  too  far.  Several  gentlemen 
of  the  privy-chamber,  and  two  of  their  wives,  were  included  in  a  long 
list  of  persons  to  be  examined  on  suspicion  of  heresy  ;  and  the  King, 
seeing  that  the  zeal  of  this  Bishop  had  outrun  his  prudence,  sponta- 
neously caused  an  act  of  pardon  to  be  certified  to  them  all.  The  same 
day,  after  he  had  given  this  unexpected  check,  he  met  the  Sheriff,  and 
Sir  Humphrey  Foster,  riding  in  Guildford  Park,  and  inquired  how  his 
laws  were  executed  at  Windsor.  They  replied,  that  they  had  never 
sat  on  any  matter,  under  His  Grace's  authority,  that  went  so  much 
against  their  conscience  as  did  the  death  of  those  men ;  and  gave  so 
touching  a  description  of  the  trial  and  burning,  that  he  could  bear  it 
no  longer,  but  turned  away,  saying,  as  he  rode  off,  "Alas,  poor 
innocents ! "  Next  came  to  light  a  conspiracy  of  Dr.  London,  with 
Simons  and  Ockam,  his  accomplices,  to  ruin  some  of  the  first  men  in 
the  kingdom,  under  pretext  of  a  prosecution  for  heresy.  Their  papers 
were  seized,  and  they  convicted  of  perjury,  and  made  to  ride  through 
Windsor,  Reading,  and  Newbury,  with  their  faces  to  the  horses' 
tails,  and  then  endure  pelting  in  the  pillory.  The  King  saw  that  his 
confidence  was  abused,  and  determined  to  detect,  if  possible,  the 
actors  in  a  combination  that  was  evidently  formed  to  overthrow  his 
best  supporters  against  the  Papacy.  To  this  end  he  pretended  to 
listen  with  readiness  to  every  complaint  against  them,  until  the  com- 
plainants grew  bold,  and  charged  Cranmer  himself  with  heresy. 
Cranmer,  undoubtedly,  was  almost  the  only  visible  stay  that  the 
friends  of  true  religion  could  hope  to  find  in  the  counsels  of  the  King, 
and  the  plot  would  have  been  consummated  in  his  death.  They  were 
delighted  in  the  persuasion  that  Henry  would  be  pleased  to  receive 
their  charges,  hastily  drew  up  a  series  of  written  accusations,  and  put  it 
into  his  hands.  A  day  or  two  afterwards  he  chose  to  go  on  the  river, 
and  commanded  the  bargemen  to  row  towards  Lambeth.  Cranmer, 
hearing  that  the  royal  barge  was  coming,  ran  down  to  the  water-side 
to  pay  his  respects  to  the  King,  who  bade  him  come  on  board,  and, 
when  they  were  alone,  lamented  the  growth  of  heresy,  with  the  dis- 
sensions and  confusions  arising  from  it ;  said  that  he  intended  to  find 
out  their  chief  promoter,  and  make  him  an  example  to  the  rest, 
and  asked  his  opinion  on  the  matter.  The  Archbishop  commended 
so  good  a  resolution  ;  but  entreated  the  King  to  consider  well  what 
heresy  was,  and  not  condemn  those  who  stood  for  the  word  of  God 
against  human  inventions.  Producing  a  written  paper,  the  King  told 
him  that  he,  and  no  other,  was,  as  he  had  understood,  the  chief  pro- 
moter of  heresy,  and  showed  him  the  articles  alleged  against  him,  and 
his  Chaplains,  by  some  Prebendaries  of  Canterbury,  and  Justices  of 
the  Peace  in  Kent.  Cranmer  read  the  articles,  knelt  before  the  King, 
and  begged  that  he  might  be  put  upon  his  trial.  Still,  he  said,  he 
was  of  the  same  mind  as  when  he  opposed  the  "  Six  Articles,"  but  he 
had  done  nothing  against  them  ;  and,  in  reply  to  a  question  about  his 
marriage,  frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  a  wife,  but  said  that,  on 
the  passing  of  an  Act  against  Priests  having  wives,  he  had  sent  her  to 

2  F  2 


220  CHAPTER    III. 

Germany,  her  native  country.  The  King  knew  Cranmer  too  well  to  sus- 
pect him  of  dissimulation,  and  therefore  instantly  discovered  the  plot, 
and  advised  him,  instead  of  submitting  himself  to  a  trial,  to  prosecute 
the  accusers.  He  objected  to  be  judge  in  his  own  cause,  but  the  King 
overruled  the  objection  ;  and  Cranmer  having  named  his  Chancellor 
and  Registrar,  he  added  one  more,  and,  without  delay,  gave  them  a 
commission  to  search  for  the  contrivers  of  the  defamation.  They 
went  into  Kent  ;  but  every  one  disowned  participation  in  the  affair, 
and  Cranmer  rose  higher  than  ever  in  the  eyes  of  England.  But  his 
friends,  observing  that  the  Commissioners  were  not  equal  to  the  work, 
proposed  that  Dr.  Lee,*  Dean  of  York,  should  be  added  to  their 
number,  as  one  who  had  had  much  practice  in  unravelling  monkish 
intrigues.  The  Doctor  was  sent  for,  proceeded  to  the  seat  of  inquiry, 
made  a  thorough  search,  and  found  papers  from  the  hands  of 
Gardiner,  London,  and  some  other  persons,  even  from  some  on  whom 
Cranmer  had  long  bestowed  confidence  and  favour,  quite  sufficient  to 
establish  their  complicity  in  the  conspiracy  to  ruin  him.  Henry  was 
indignant,  and  would  have  sanctioned  a  rigorous  retribution ;  but 
Cranmer  thanked  God  for  his  deliverance,  could  not  be  persuaded 
even  to  administer  a  verbal  rebuke,  and  freely  forgave  his  enemies, 
who  were  effectually  disarmed  by  his  magnanimity.  Gardiner  thence- 
forth lost  all  influence  in  the  counsels  of  his  Sovereign,  who  had 
made  him  one  of  his  executors,  but  shortly  after  this  erased  his  name, 
and  was  more  than  once  on  the  point  of  sending  him  to  the  Tower. 

But  the  persecutions  of  this  reign  are  not  yet  ended.  Calais  was 
still  an  English  town,  and  is  honoured  in  the  memory  of  martyrs. 
George  Bucker,  alias  Adam  Damlip,  once  Chaplain  to  Fisher,  Bishop 
of  Rochester,  and  conspicuous  for  Papistical  bigotry,  left  England 
after  the  death  of  his  master,  and  travelled  in  France,  Germany, 
and  Italy,  conferring  with  learned  men  on  matters  of  religion.  Lastly, 
at  Rome,  where  he  expected  to  find  religion  in  a  state  of  normal 
perfection,  the  prevalent  blasphemy  of  God,  contempt  of  Christianity, 
and  profligacy  in  every  imaginable  form,  filled  him  with  disgust,  and 
the  truth,  against  which  he  had  hitherto  contended,  suddenly  com- 
mended itself  to  his  conscience  with  a  resistless  power.  Cardinal 
Pole  would  have  retained  him  in  his  household  ;  but  he  hastened 
away  from  Rome,  glad,  like  Luther,  to  escape  from  such  a  region 
of  impurity,  and  proceeded  to  return  to  England.  While  waiting  at 
the  gate  of  Calais  for  permission  to  enter  the  town,  two  inhabit- 
ants, William  Stevens  and  Thomas  Lancaster,  who  had  previously 
known  the  traveller  as  a  zealous  Papist,  fell  into  conversation  with 
him,  and,  delighted  to  find  that  his  mind  was  completely  changed, 
invited  him  to  stay  for  a  little  at  Calais,  and  give  the  people  the 
benefit  of  his  experience  at  Rome,  in  order  to  disabuse  them  of  their 
superstitious  veneration  of  that  city.  Under  condition  of  obtaining 
the  necessary  licence,  he  acceded  to  their  request.  As  soon  as  the 
gates  were  opened,  Stevens  accompanied  him  to  the  Lord  Lisle,  Deputy 
for  the  town  and  marches  of  Calais,  who  instantly  desired  him  to 
remain,  and  officiate  as  an  auti- Romish  preacher,  in  order  to  serve  the 

*  Or  Leighton. 


ADAM    DAMLIP    AT    CALAIS.  221 

cause  of  English  loyalty  against  the  Pope.  After  the  delivery 
of  three  or  four  sermons,  his  learning  and  earnest  eloquence  had 
gained  him  general  admiration.  Both  soldiers  and  commoners 
crowded  to  hear  ;  and  the  Lord  Deputy  himself,  with  great  part 
of  his  Council,  were  frequent  in  attendance.  He  declined  the  offer 
of  apartments  in  the  Viceroy's  house,  with  splendid  entertainment, 
and  servants  at  command,  and  requested  only  a  private  dwelling,  with 
necessary  sustenance.  For  at  least  twenty  days  the  stranger-convert 
preached  at  seven  o'clock  every  evening,  enforcing  "  the  truth  of  the 
blessed  sacrament  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,"  and  inveighing  against 
the  idolatry  of  the  mass,  and  the  superstitions  and  abominations 
of  Papistry  in  general.  The  chapter-house  in  which  he  gave  those 
discourses  becoming  too  small,  he  was  requested  to  occupy  the  pul- 
pit of  a  spacious  church,  that  was  crowded  with  most  attentive 
listeners,  to  whom  he  descanted  against  some  idolatrous  practices  with 
which  the  population  of  Calais  had  been  deluded.  Just  then,  (A.D. 
1539,)  Henry  being  warmly  engaged  in  the  suppression  of  the  greater 
monasteries  in  England,  he  sent  to  the  Deputy,  Commissary,  and 
royal  mason  and  smith,  a  command  to  investigate  the  genuineness  or 
the  deception  of  three  wafers,  which  were  declared,  in  a  Papal  Bull,  to 
be  existent  in  one  of  the  churches  of  Calais,  constantly  exuding  blood. 
Examination  was  made,  and  the  bleeding  hosts  turned  out  to  be  three 
painted  counters.  On  the  following  Sunday,  Damlip  exhibited  the 
cheat  to  the  people  from  the  pulpit ;  and,  that  being  done,  the  coun- 
terfeit hosts  were  sent  to  England  for  the  entertainment  of  the  King. 
But  this  excited  controversy ;  the  Prior  of  the  monastery  where  he 
preached,  and  his  patron's  Chaplain,  secretly  wrote  to  some  of  the 
English  Clergy,  who  had  him  summoned  to  appear  before  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of  Winchester  and  Chichester,  and 
others,  to  answer  for  his  Sacramentarian  doctrine.  Cranmer  could 
not  have  forgotten  the  pleadings  of  Lambert,  and  seemed  to  give  way 
before  the  arguments  of  Damlip,  who  was  remanded  until  the  next 
day ;  but  the  good  Archbishop  secretly  intimated  to  him,  that  if  he 
appeared  again,  nothing  could  save  him  from  a  cruel  death  ;  and,  being 
provided  with  money  by  his  friends,  he  fled  into  the  west  of  England, 
and  remained  there  in  concealment.  Meanwhile  Henry,  hearing  that  his 
lieges  in  Calais  were  disturbed  with  diversity  of  doctrine,  sent  over 
Dr.  Champion  and  Master  Garrett,  to  instruct  and  quiet  the  people, 
which  they  did,  not  by  preaching  what  the  King  intended,  but  by 
confirming  the  testimony  of  their  persecuted  predecessor.  And  that 
the  people  might  not  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge,  it  pleased  God  to 
raise  up  another  witness  to  the  truth,  William  Smith,  a  Curate,  who 
surpassed  all  former  preachers  in  vehemence  of  invective  against  idola- 
try and  contempt  of  God's  holy  word.  Some  members  of  the  Council 
wished  him  to  speak  more  gently ;  but  he  could  not  temporise. 
One  of  them,  Sir  Nicholas  Carew,  was  afterwards  beheaded  on  Tower- 
Hill  for  treason,  as  it  was  said,  and  realised,  while  imprisoned  in  the 
adjacent  fortress,  the  faith  which  had  been  advocated  in  his  hearing 
with  an  earnestness  that,  at  the  time,  seemed  excessive.  Smith,  in 
turn,  was  summoned  to  England  as  a  heretic.  So  was  Thomas  Brook, 


222  CHAPTER    III. 

an  Alderman,  and  burgess  of  Parliament,  a  fearless  man,  who,  in 
Parliament,  had  pleaded  against  the  "  Six  Articles,"  and  who  pre- 
sumed to  lecture  Gardiner  on  Greek,  while  standing  at  his  bar.  And 
so  were  several  others  ;  for  the  very  Deputy  who  had  supported 
Damlip  and  others,  politically,  now  declared  against  the  Gospel,  for- 
warded complaints  to  England,  and  a  company  of  Calais  Reformers 
were  soon  on  their  trial  before  the  Prelates  in  London,  and  subjected 
to  the  usual  discipline  of  imprisonment  and  penance. 

Evangelical  doctrine  spread  in  Calais,  and  the  adversaries  sought  to 
prevent  it  by  reporting  to  the  King  that  it  caused  a  division,  and,  by 
disuniting  the  inhabitants,  endangered  the  safety  of  the  town  and 
territory.  He  therefore  sent  over  a  Commission,  consisting  of  the 
Earl  of  Sussex,  Lord  Great  Chamberlain,  and  others,  to  examine  into 
the  state  of  affairs.  In  order  to  obtain  intelligence  of  heretics,  which 
seems  to  have  been  their  only  method  for  quieting  the  alleged  dissen- 
sion, they  allowed  tipstaves  to  collect  about  eighty  men  of  the  lowest 
class,  who  were  employed  to  act  as  common  informers,  and,  being  brought 
before  them  for  that  purpose,  were  commanded,  on  their  allegiance,  to 
present  all  heretics,  schismatics,  and  seditious  persons  whom  they  knew, 
with  promise  that  they  should  be  rewarded  with  the  confiscated  pro- 
perty or  offices  of  such  persons,  and  with  friendship  that  the  Council 
would  thereafter  show  them.  Mistrust  and  terror  pervaded  the  entire 
population.  About  a  hundred  persons  were  forthwith  delated,  and 
thrown  into  prison.  Thomas  Brook,  who  had  mortified  Gardiner  by 
some  freedom  of  speech  when  pleading  for  Ralph  Hare,  a  poor  towns- 
man, and  William  Stevens,  who  had  taken  Damlip  to  the  Lord 
Deputy,  were  of  the  number.  But  Mrs.  Brook  sent  a  messenger  to 
Cromwell,  disclosing  the  dishonesty  of  the  Commissioners  :  Cromwell, 
by  the  King's  authority,  commanded  "  the  errant  traitor  and  heretic, 
Brook,  with  a  dozen  or  twenty  accomplices,  and  their  accusers,  to  be 
sent  over,"  that  they  might  receive  their  judgment,  and  suffer  at 
Calais,  according  to  their  demerits.  By  this  contrivance  Brook,  and 
twelve  others,  were  brought  to  London,  when  the  Vicar-General  caused 
them  to  be  relieved  of  their  irons  and  brought  into  his  presence. 
Stevens  was  already  in  the  Tower ;  and  he  committed  them  to  the 
Fleet,  as  if  to  await  their  doom  ;  but  sent  a  message,  assuring  them 
that  they  should  shortly  "  go  home  with  as  much  honesty  as  they 
came  with  shame."  But  scarcely  had  Cromwell  undertaken  this  work 
of  mercy,  when  he  was  attainted  of  treason,  sent  to  the  Tower, 
and  soon  beheaded.  The  Calais  Christians  in  the  Fleet,  therefore, 
expected  nothing  but  death,  when  Audeley,  Lord  Chancellor,  went  to 
the  prison,  and  set  them  all  at  liberty.  *  His  language  was  remark- 
able. "  Sirs,  pray  for  the  King's  Majesty  :  his  pleasure  is,  that  you 
shall  all  be  presently  discharged.  And  though  your  livings  be  taken 
from  you,  yet  despair  not,  God  will  not  see  you  lack.  But,  for  God's 
sake,  Sirs,  beware  how  you  deal  with  Popish  Priests  ;  for,  so  God  save 
my  soul,  some  of  them  be  knaves  all."  The  King  had  issued  a  general 
pardon  of  the  Calais  heretics,  saving  his  own  theology  by  excepting 
Sacramentarians  from  the  amnesty ;  but  he  winked  at  their  guilt  in 
this  respect,  and  by  commanding  their  liberation  cleared  himself  of  the 


DAMLIP    MARTYRED.  223 

infamy  that  had  fallen  on  his  Commissioners.  Stevens  appears  to 
have  been  accused  of  treason,  and  remained  two  years  in  the  Tower, 
but  was  then  dismissed  also. 

Adam  Damlip  having  secreted  himself  in  the  country,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Cromwell,  the  agents  of  Gardiner  discovered  him,  and  he 
was  committed  to  the  Marshalsea,  for  breach  of  the  "  Six  Articles." 
Marbeck,  of  Windsor,  was  there  at  the  same  time ;  and  as  it  was  a 
custom  of  prisons  that  the  inmates  should  all  confess  at  Easter, 
Damlip  officiated,  and  heard  the  confession — a  confession  of  Christ — 
from  the  lips  of  that  most  honest  and  industrious  man,  and  from  his 
martyr-brethren.  When  long  time  had  passed  away,  and  he  was 
not  brought  to  trial,  he  resolved  to  break  silence,  whatever  might  be 
the  consequence,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Gardiner,  which  no  doubt  con- 
tained sufficient  material  for  condemnation.  One  Saturday  morning, 
the  keeper  of  the  prison  carried  it  to  the  Bishop,  was  detained  until 
late  at  night,  and  then  returned  with  the  sorrowful  intelligence  that, 
without  any  more  formality,  the  writer  would  be  shipped  off  to  Calais 
on  the  following  Monday,  there  to  die.  His  friend,  the  keeper,  with  every 
inmate  of  the  prison,  mourned  for  the  good  man  whose  benevolence 
and  piety  had  won  the  esteem  of  all ;  but  Damlip  showed  no  sign 
of  either  grief  or  fear.  He  ate  his  meat  with  gladness  ;  and  when  they 
expressed  surprise  that  one  so  near  execution  could  be  so  cheerful,  he 
replied,  "  Ah,  masters  !  do  you  think  that  I  have  been  God's  prisoner 
so  long  in  the  Marshalsea,  and  have  not  yet  learned  to  die  ?  Yes, 
yes  ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  God  will  strengthen  me  therein."  Before 
day-break  on  the  Monday  morning  the  keeper,  and  three  others,  took 
him  on  board,  and  went  with  him  to  Calais.  For  heresy  he  could  not 
be  burnt,  because  the  King  had  pardoned  all  the  heretics  of  Calais  ; 
but,  perhaps,  he  had  unguardedly  mentioned  in  the  letter  a  trifling 
passage  of  his  history,  that  Gardiner  could  interpret  as  an  overt  act 
of  treason.  When  he  left  Rome,  refusing  to  remain  in  the  service 
of  Reginald  Pole,  the  Cardinal  gave  him  a  French  crown-piece  towards 
the  expenses  of  the  journey  homeward.  He  was,  therefore,  convicted 
of  treason,  on  evidence  of  having  taken  money  at  Rome  from  Cardinal 
Pole,  and  was  not  burnt  as  a  heretic,  but  hung,  drawn,  and  quartered 
as  a  traitor.  To  hide  the  trick,  the  Knight-Marshal  forbade  him  the 
usual  indulgence,  of  speaking  to  the  people  from  under  the  gallows, 
and  said  to  the  executioner,  "  Dispatch  the  knave  ;  have  done."  The 
four  quarters  of  this  "  knave  "  were  hung  up  in  four  parts  of  Calais, 
and  his  head  exhibited  on  the  Lantern-Gate  ;  but  the  praying  people 
understood  that  from  that  dishonoured  body  a  spirit  had  ascended  to 
the  altar  of  their  Lord  (A.D.  1543).  About  a  year  afterwards,  a 
Scotchman,  named  Dodd,  who  had  been  travelling  in  Germany  and 
France,  was  returning  homeward  by  way  of  Calais.  Some  German 
books  were  found  in  his  possession,  he  was  examined  as  to  their  con- 
tents, confessed  himself  a  Lutheran,  stood  fast  in  his  confession,  and 
suffered  death  by  fire  (A.D.  1544). 

Persecution,  open  and  secret,  continued  in  England,  yet  subsiding 
towards  a  pause.  At  the  gate  of  Gardiner's  porter's  lodge,  Saxy, 
a  Priest,  suspected  of  new  doctrine,  was  found  hanging  dead. 


224  CHAPTER    III. 

A  gentleman  and  his  servant  were  burnt  in  Colchester.  Lord  Went- 
worth,  and  other  Commissioners,  were  sent  into  Suffolk  to  search  out 
heretics.  Roger  Clarke,  of  Mendelsham,  and  a  man  named  Kerby, 
were  tried  in  their  presence  at  Ipswich,  and  condemned,  as  usual. 
Kerby  was  burnt  in  the  market-place  ;  where  he  boldly  denied  the 
real  presence  ;  then  offered  prayer  devoutly,  as  the  executioner  stood 
waiting  to  set  fire  to  the  faggots,  and  the  Lord  Wentworth  "  shrouded 
himself"  behind  one  of  the  posts  of  the  gallery,  and  wept,  and  so  did 
many  others.  Roger  Clarke  underwent  his  last  suffering  at  Bury, 
crying,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,"  tortured  with  pitch,  and  a  slow  fire,  while  his  undaunted  soul 
rose  high  above  the  terrors  and  the  pains  of  death  (A.D.  1545). 

The  final  strokes  of  Romish  vengeance  in  this  reign  were  now 
levelled.  Anne  Askew,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Askew,  of  Kelsey,* 
in  Lincolnshire,  was  married,  against  her  inclination,  to  a  Mr.  Kyme, 
a  rich  man,  with  whom  she  lived  long  enough  to  bear  two  children, 
and  was  exemplary  in  discharging  the  duties  of  a  wife  and  mother. 
By  constant  reading  of  the  Bible,  she  became  converted  to  the  faith 
of  Christ ;  and  her  husband,  enraged  at  her  defection  from  Popery, 
and  instigated  by  some  Priests,  drove  her  from  his  house.  She  went 
to  London,  and  became  known  to  the  ladies  of  the  Court,  some 
of  whom  treated  her  with  marked  kindness  and  respect,  acknowledg- 
ing her  undoubted  piety.  She  was  but  twenty-four  years  of  age 
when  her  "  heresy  "  became  publicly  known,  and  she  was  thrown  into 
prison  (March,  1545).  A  jury  was  appointed  for  inquisition  ;  and 
persons  were  sent  to  elicit  direct  evidence  of  disaffection  to  Popery,  or 
to  subdue  her  faith  by  arguments,  threatenings,  or  persuasions.  But 
they  appear  to  have  been  as  deficient  in  intelligence  as  she  was 
abundant  both  in  scriptural  knowledge  and  Christian  confidence :  for 

*  Whether  North  or  South  Kelsey,  is  not  specified.    It  is  often  impracticable  to  attain 
to  accuracy  in  the  designation  of  parishes.     An  instance  of  this  frequently-recurring 
difficulty  is  the  parish  where  Sautre  underwent  his  first  examination  before  the  Bishop 
of  Norwich.  (Martyrologia,  vol.  ii.,  p.  598.)     Foxe  says  that  this  took  place  "  in  a  cer- 
tain chamber  within  the  manor-house  of  the  said  Bishop  at  South  Helingham,  where 
the  register  of  the  said  Bishop  is  kept,  &c.,  in  the  presence  of  John  de  Derliugton,  Arch- 
deacon of  Norwich,  &c."     Anxious  to  ascertain  the  scene  of  that  transaction,  the  author 
consulted  a  clerical  friend  in  Norfolk,  well  known  in  that  county  as  an  antiquarian,  who, 
after  much  inquiry,  kindly  communicated  the  result  in  nearly  the  following  words  : — "  It 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  Foxe  should  hare  mistaken  the  name  of  the  parish,  con- 
sidering how  difficult  the  writing  of  a  date  nearly  two  centuries  before  his  own  was  to 
decipher.     It  is  pretty  certain  that  the  Bishops  of  Norwich  had  never  anything  to  do 
with  either  of  the  two  Ellinghams,  more  than  as  Diocesans  ;  but  we  know  that  at  a  very 
early^period  the  present  diocese  of  Norwich  consisted  of  two,  Dunwich  and  Elmham. 
In  870  these  sees  were  united,  and  Bishop  Wilfred  had  his  residence  at  North  Klmham. 
In  the  latter  end  of  the  tenth  century  the  see  was  changed  to  Thetford,  and  about  a 
century  afterwards  to  Norwich  by  Bishop  Herbert.     But  the  Bishops  were  long  accus- 
tomed to  reside  at  their  manor-house  of  North  Elmham,"  (South   Klmham  is  not  now 
found  in  the  county  as  given  by  Dugdale,)  "  that  being  considered  the  head  of  their 
barony.     Since  Henry  VIII.,  Elmham  has  been  in  other  hands,  and  is  at  present  in 
those  of  Lord   Londes,  whose  brother-in-law  is  now  the  Vicar  of  the  parish  :  and  he,  as 
you  see  by  his  note,  states  that  he  is  the  successor  of  a  long   line   of  Bishops,  and  is 
living  upon  the  site  of  their  castle.   In  confirmation  of  which  Foxe  states,  that  the  exami- 
nation took  place  in  the  presence  of  John  de  Derlington,  archdeacon  of  Norwich.    Now 
the  Ellinghams  are  not  in  this   archdeaconry,  and  he  would  have  been  out  of  his  juris- 
diction in  them."      Sautre,  therefore,  was  first  examined  where   the  parsonage-house 
of  Elmham  now  stands. 


ANNE    ASKEW.  225 

when  she  was  brought  before  the  Council,  or  Commission,  and  the 
Lord  Mayor  undertook  to  vanquish  her  firmness,  hoping,  perhaps,  to 
save  the  life  of  a  lady  for  whom  common  humanity  must  have  pleaded, 
the  following  amusing  dialogue  exhibited  his  inability  to  deal  with 
matters  so  profound  : — 

Lord  Mayor. — "  Thou  foolish  woman,  sayest  thou  that  the  Priests 
cannot  make  the  body  of  Christ  ?  " 

A.  Askew. — "  I  say  so,  my  Lord :  for  I  have  read  that  God  made 
man  ;  but  that  man  can  make  God,  I  never  yet  read,  nor,  I  suppose, 
ever  shall  read  it." 

L.  M. — "  No,  thou  foolish  woman  !  After  the  words  of  consecra- 
tion, is  it  not  the  Lord's  body?" 

A.  A. — "  No,  it  is  but  consecrated  bread,  or  sacramental  bread." 
L.  M. — "  What  if  a  mouse  eat  it  after  the  consecration  ?     What 
shall  become  of  the  mouse?  What  sayest  thou,  thou  foolish  woman?" 
A.  A. — "  What  shall  become  of  her,  say  you,  my  Lord  ?" 
L.  M. — "  I  say,  that  that  mouse  is  damned." 
A.  A. — "Alack,  poor  mouse  !" 

Their  Lordships  painfully  suppressed  a  titter,  and,  leaVing  my 
Lord  Mayor  to  meditate  upon  his  mouse,  proceeded  to  deal  with  the 
"  foolish  woman,"  whom  they  sent  back  to  the  gaol  again.  The 
Mayor,  however,  did  serve  her  by  assisting  to  overcome  the  reluct- 
ance, or  to  counterwork  the  trickery,  of  Bonner  against  admitting  her 
to  bail,  on  the  application  of  a  relative.  The  Bishop  first  presented 
her  with  a  paper  containing  a  form  of  "confession  and  belief"  in 
transubstantiation,  and  bade  her  sign  it,  as  a  condition  of  release. 
She  did  sign  it,  but  thus  : — "  I,  Anne  Askew,  do  believe  all  manner 
of  things  contained  in  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church."  Bonner 
grew  furious  at  the  sight  of  this  manifest  defiance,  and  would  have 
consumed  the  lady  forthwith,  had  not  some  gentlemen  pacified  him, 
and  effected  her  liberation  on  bail.  A  copy  of  that  paper  was,  not- 
withstanding, circulated  afterwards,  without  this  reservation,  in  order 
that  she  might  be  thought  to  have  recanted. 

She  was  soon  imprisoned  again,  in  Newgate,  and  subjected  anew  to 
several  examinations.  From  prison  she  wrote  to  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
and  then  to  the  King ;  but  for  one  so  openly  convicted  of  denying 
transubstantiation,  mercy  would  have  been  deemed  illegal,  and  she  was 
doomed  to  die.  Yet  Bonner  and  his  brethren  were  not  satisfied  with- 
out endeavouring  to  extort  some  disclosure  of  other  violators  of  the 
Six  Articles.  From  Newgate  she  was  taken  to  Bonner  and  another,* 
who,  by  fair  words,  endeavoured  to  elicit  some  intelligence,  and  to 
induce  her  to  recant.  This  failing,  Shaxton,  once  a  Bishop,  zealous 
with  Cranmer  and  Latimer  in  the  cause  of  reformation,  came  to  New- 
gate, and  exhorted  her  to  recant,  as  he  had  done.  Unable  to  prevail, 
they  sent  her  instantly  to  the  Tower.  About  three  o'clock  on  the  same 
day,  Rich  and  Sir  John  Baker  came  to  the  Tower,  demanded  inform- 
ation of  men  or  women  of  her  sect,  and  questioned  her  respecting 
some  ladies  of  the  court ;  but  she  would  betray  none.  Lord  Wri- 
othesley,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  was  present,  and  commanded  her  to  be 

*  Richard  Rich,  afterwards  Lord  Chancellor. 
VOL.    III.  2    G 


226  CHAPTER    IIT. 

put  to  the  question.  The  rack  extorted  no  confession,  nor  even  any 
cry ;  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Rich,  impatient  at  her  silence,  laid 
hold  on  the  instrument  of  torture,  and  racked  her  with  their  own 
hands  until  she  was  nearly  dead.*  The  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  then 
caused  her  to  be  loosed  :  she  fainted,  and,  when  recovered,  sat  on  the 
floor,  reasoning  with  the  Chancellor  for  two  hours,  until  he  gave  over 
interrogation  and  departed.  The  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  whom 
they  had  threatened  to  report  to  the  King  because  he  would  not  rack 
her  to  their  satisfaction,  hastened  away  to  the  King  before  them,  and 
begged  his  Grace's  pardon  for  deficiency  of  obedience,  pleading  com- 
passion towards  a  woman.  Henry  half  commended  his  manliness,  and 
dismissed  him.  But  the  zealots  were  not  thwarted.  They  had  her 
brought  to  Smithfield  in  a  chair ;  for  after  the  torture  she  could  not 
stand.  From  a  portable  pulpit,  Shaxton,  the  apostate  Bishop,  preached 
the  sermon  of  ceremony.  She  was  attached  to  the  stake,  her  en- 
feebled frame  being  supported  by  the  chains.  Three  others,  Nicholas 
Belenian,  a  Priest  of  Shropshire,  John  Adams,  a  tailor,  and  John 
Lacells,  a  gentleman  of  the  royal  household,  were  burnt  at  the  same 
time,  not  a  little  sustained  by  the  triumphant  faith  of  Anne  Askew. 
Before  the  faggots  were  lighted,  some  one  put  a  letter  from  the  Lord 
Chancellor  into  her  hand,  containing  an  offer  of  pardon  if  she  would 
recant ;  but  she  would  not  look  at  it.  Similar  letters  were  also  given 
to  the  others,  who,  fellowing  her  example,  refused  to  read  them.  The 
last  martyr-fire  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  was  kindled,  (A.D.  1546,) 
and  with  this  the  present  chapter  might  conclude. 

Persecution,  however,  did  not  slumber.  Having  burnt  one  of  the 
King's  household,  Wriothesley,  Bonner,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and 
their  friends,  resolved  to  make  another  effort  for  the  overthrow  of 
Cranmer.  They  told  the  King  that  there  were  ample  proofs  that  the 
Archbishop  was  a  heretic,  but  that  no  one  would  venture  to  appear  as 
witness  against  him  as  long  as  he  enjoyed  the  royal  favour  ;  and  sug- 
gested that  they  should  have  permission  to  send  him  to  the  Tower, 
that  witnesses  might  be  thus  encouraged  to  produce  their  testimony. 
The  King  consented  ;  and  with  great  glee  they  prepared,  under  his 
sanction,  to  have  the  Primate  before  the  Council  next  day,  and  to 
send  him  to  that  receptacle  of  state  criminals.  But,  in  the  night, 
the  King  sent  privately  for  Cranmer,  told  him  of  their  application  and 
his  own  consent,  and  asked  what  he  had  to  answer.  Cranmer  acknow- 
ledged the  King's  kindness  and  equity,  and  merely  desired  that  he 
might  be  allowed  to  state  his  opinions  before  competent  judges.  The 
King  was  amazed  at  his  coolness  in  such  .circumstances,  and  plea- 
santly told  him  that  if  he  did  not  look  to  his  own  safety,  nor  consider 
that  if  once  in  prison,  false  witnesses  would  certainly  be  suborned 
against  him,  it  must  remain  with  himself  to  do  so  for  him.  He 
therefore  directed  him  to  appear  at  the  Council  next  day,  on  their 
summons,  and  there  to  insist  on  his  privilege,  as  Privy  Councillor,  to 

*  Bishop  Burnet  endeavours  to  discredit  thia  part  of  the  narrative,  thinking  it  impos- 
sible that  the  Chancellor  could  have  been  guilty  of  so  great  brutality,  and  say*,  that 
Foxe  has  not  given  any  authority  for  it.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  Foxe  gives  the  narra- 
tive from  a  paper  in  his  possession,  written  by  Anne  Askew's  own  hand. 


CRANMER  AND  THE  QUEEN  IN  DANGER.          227 

have  his  accusers  face  to  face,  before  being  sent  to  the  Tower ;  and 
then,  taking  the  royal  signet  from  his  finger,  desired  him  to  show 
them  that,  if  they  should  refuse  to  accede  to  his  request.  The  cita- 
tion came  as  expected.  He  hastened  to  the  Council-chamber,  and 
was  kept  waiting  outside  the  door  among  the  footmen,  until  the  King, 
informed  by  his  Physician  of  the  unwonted  position  of  the  Primate 
of  all  England,  sent  to  require  the  Privy  Councillors  to  admit  him 
without  delay.  They  accused  him  of  being,  with  his  Chaplain,  the 
source  of  all  heresy  in  the  kingdom  ;  scorned  his  remonstrances,  and 
were  proceeding  to  send  him  to  the  Tower,  when  he  appealed  to  the 
King,  and  showed  the  signet,  on  which  they  rose  in  haste,  and  went  to 
their  master,  who  told  them  that  he  would  not  suffer  men  so  dear  to 
him  to  be  thus  handled,  and  threatened  to  extinguish  their  malice  or 
punish  it  speedily.  After  receiving  this  sharp  rebuke,  they  were 
obliged  to  shake  hands  with  Cranmer,  and  lost  not  a  moment  iu 
escaping  from  the  royal  presence. 

Yet  their  audacity  was  not  exhausted.  Having  failed  to  overthrow 
the  Archbishop,  they  ventured  to  attack  no  less  a  personage  than  the 
Queen.  Catharine  Parr  had  been  three  years  *  consort  of  Henry 
VIII.,  favoured  the  professors  of  evangelical  religion,  and  even  heard 
sermons  from  some  of  their  preachers.  All  this  was  known  to  the 
King,  who  never  interfered  with  her  religious  conduct ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  frequently  allowed  her  to  dispute  with  him  on  points 
of  doctrine.  However,  as  his  health  declined,  his  temper  became 
more  impatient ;  and  those  conversations  were  sometimes  more  than 
he  could  well  endure,  pressed,  as  he  was,  both  by  the  earnestness 
of  the  Queen,  and  the  force  of  her  arguments.  One  evening,  after 
such  a  conversation,  when  the  Queen  had  left  him,  he  let  fall  some 
angry  words  to  Gardiner,  who  was  standing  by,  and  who  craftily 
caught  the  moment  of  irritation  to  fan  the  flame  of  his  displeasure. 
Wriothesley  joined  him  in  bringing  tales  of  heretical  practices  of  the 
Queen  and  her  ladies,  of  the  sermons,  the  Lutheran  books,  and  encou- 
ragement given  to  Anne  Askew  and  the  Gospellers  in  general.  From 
day  to  day  they  prosecuted  the  intrigue,  until  the  King's  signature 
was  obtained  to  a  set  of  articles  drawn  up  against  her;  and  little  more 
was  wanting  to  bring  the  Queen  of  England  to  the  stake.  Wriothes- 
ley, in  the  hurry  of  delight,  let  fall  the  paper.  The  hand  that  had 
racked  Anne  Askew  could  not  hold  the  death-warrant  of  Catharine 
Parr.  Some  one  picked  up  the  paper,  and  took  it  to  the  Queen, 
who,  for  a  moment,  gave  herself  up  for  lost.  But,  by  the  advice 
of  a  friend,  she  immediately  went  to  the  King,  disguised  her  trepida- 
tion, and  renewed  conversation  on  religion.  Women,  she  said,  by 
their  first  creation,  were  made  subject  to  men  ;  and  they,  made  after 
the  image  of  God,  ought  to  instruct  their  wives,  who  were  made  in 
their  image,  and  ought  to  learn  of  them.  And  she,  of  all  others, 
should  be  taught  by  her  husband,  a  Prince  of  such  excellent  learning 
and  wisdom.  "  Not  so,  by  St.  Mary,"  said  the  King :  "  you  are 
become  a  doctor  to  instruct  us,  and  not  to  be  instructed  by  us."  She 

*  Her  predecessor,  Catharine  Howard,  a  really  immodest  woman,  was  beheaded  on 
proof  of  a  criminality  that  the  law  regards  as  treason  in  an  Kuglish  Queen. 

2  G  2 


22S  CHAPTER    IV. 

disclaimed  the  ironical  compliment,  and  assured  His  Majesty  that  she 
had  taken  so  great  freedom  only  in  order  to  engage  him  to  conversa- 
tion, and  help  him  to  beguile  his  pain  ;  as  well  as  to  receive 
instruction,  by  which  she  so  much  profited.  "And  is  it  even  so?" 
said  Henry  :  "  then  we  are  friends  again"  The  pettish  tyrant  was 
soothed.  He  tenderly  embraced  her  ;  and  thus  the  good  providence 
of  God  plucked  her  from  the  jaws  of  death.  On  the  very  next  day 
she  was  to  have  been  taken  to  the  Tower.  The  King  and  she  were 
walking  together  in  the  garden  when  the  Lord  Chancellor  made  his 
appearance,  with  about  forty  of  the  guard,  to  arrest  the  Queen.  But 
the  King  left  her  arm  ;  and,  after  a  few  inaudible  words,  she  heard 
him  say  aloud,  "Knave!  fool!  beast!"  and  saw  the  persecutor 
shrink  away  crest-fallen,  followed  by  the  train.  The  Papists  were 
disheartened  :  the  King  now  hated  them  as  bitterly  as  ever  he  had 
hated  either  Pope,  traitor,  or  heretic ;  and,  during  the  short  remnant 
of  his  life,  vented  his  displeasure  on  the  very  party  whose  counsels  he 
had  followed.* 

But  his  reign  soon  ended.  He  died  January  28th,  1547.  The 
Council  of  Trent  was  then  assembled,  and  on  the  intelligence  cf  his 
death,  the  fathers  gave  thanks  to  God  for  the  deliverance  of  Rome 
from  its  worst  enemy,  and  went  in  a  body  to  congratulate  an 
English  Bishop,  who  was  there,  on  the  deliverance  of  England  from 
the  power  of  a  schismatic  Sovereign.  They  rejoiced  that  the  heir  to 
the  crown  was  but  a  child,  too  young  to  have  imbibed  his  father's 
principles. \  But  they  saw  not  the  hand  of  God,  that  had  been  so 
long  guiding  our  country  into  a  state  of  perfect  freedom  from  Papal 
tyranny  ;  and  had  prepared  for  Edward  VI.  guardians  and  tutors, 
under  whose  influence  he  was  prepared,  even  in  early  youth,  to  employ 
the  sanctions  of  the  crown  for  promoting  a  reformation,  not  only 
of  discipline,  but  of  doctrine  also. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ENGLAND  in  the  Reign  of  Edward  VI. — SCOTLAND  during  the  Reigns  of  Edward  VI. 
and  Mary. —  The  Persecution  in  England  under  Mary  I. 

OCTOBER  15th,  1537,  was  a  high  day  at  Hampton-Court.  An 
infant  Prince,  undoubted  heir  to  the  throne  of  England,  received,  in 
baptism,  the  name  of  Edward.  His  father  had  summoned  the  high 
officers  of  state,  with  a  crowd  of  nobles,  knights,  gentlemen,  and 
clergy,  to  repair  thither  and  do  appointed  service.  The  chapel  was 
fitted  up  magnificently,  and  the  babe  of  three  days  was  carried  to  the 
font  in  state  ;  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk 
being  sponsors.  As  soon  as  the  baptismal  name  was  given,  Garter 

*  Foxe,  Burnet,  Strype,  and  Fuller,  are  the  principal  authorities. 

t   Fra  Paolo  Sarpi,  Hist.  Cone.  Triil.,  par  Courayer,  livre  ii.,  sec.   92. 


nrit     ' 


Jt  X  - 


EDWARD    VI.  229 

King  at  Arms  proclaimed  :  "  God,  of  his  infinite  grace  and  goodness, 
give  and  grant  good  life  and  long  to  the  right  high,  excellent,  and 
noble  Prince,  Prince  Edward,  Duke  of  Cornwall  and  Earl  of  Chester, 
most  dear  and  most  entirely  beloved  son  to  our  most  dread  and  gra- 
cious Lord,  King  Henry  VIII."  The  Lady  Mary,  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  daughter  of  the  first  Catharine,  took  part  in  the  ceremonies ; 
and  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  a  child  of  four  years,  daughter  of  Anne 
Boleyn,  carried  in  the  arms  of  the  Viscount  Beauchamp,  held  the 
chrism  for  anointing.  His  mother,  no  doubt,  rejoiced  in  having 
given  birth  to  an  heir  to  the  throne,  and  might  reasonably  hope  to 
witness  his  elevation  at  some  future  day ;  but  she  died  on  the  24th 
of  the  same  month.* 

The  King  provided  all  his  children  with  the  best  means  of  educa- 
tion ;  and  this  Prince  was  early  taken  from  the  nursery,  and  placed 
under  the  care  of  Sir  Anthony  Cook,  whose  exemplary  parental  faith- 
fulness was  honoured  by  five  learned  daughters,  one  of  them  married 
to  Peter  Martyr,  an  eminent  Protestant.  Dr.  Richard  Cox  instructed 
him  in  Christian  manners  and  religion,  and  general  literature.  Sir 
John  Cheke,  whom  we  have  marked  as  a  reformer  of  Greek  pronunci- 
ation in  Cambridge,  taught  him  Latin  and  Greek.  Other  masters 
instructed  him  in  living  languages.  His  Chaplains,  too,  were  honour- 
ably distinguished  as  favourers  of  evangelical  doctrine ;  and  we  might 
almost  say  that  Prince  Edward's  court  was  Protestant.  The  concur- 
rent testimony  of  many  witnesses  describes  him  as  an  extraordinary 
child,  not  more  remarkable  for  a  power  of  intellect  too  great  for  child- 
hood than  for  genuine  piety,  and  good  common  sense.  When  the 
child  was  little  more  than  nine  years  old,  Henry  died,  and  Edward 
Seymour,  Earl  of  Hertford,  with  a  number  of  noblemen  and  others, 
instantly  proceeded  to  render  him  their  acknowledgment  of  allegiance 
(January  28th,  1547).  The  Earl,  by  consent  and  appointment  of  the 
executors  of  Henry's  will,  being  Edward's  uncle,  became  his  protector, 
and,  \initedly  with  Cranmer  and  others,  encouraged  him  to  promote 
and  maintain  a  reformation  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  history 
of  this  royal  child  abounds  in  incidents  that  equally  distinguish  him 
from  all  other  occupants  of  the  British  throne,  and  point  out  his 
court  and  government  as  having  a  character  exclusively  their  own  ;  but 
we  can  only  stay  to  glance  at  one  or  two.  On  the  day  of  his  pro- 
clamation they  took  him,  according  to  custom,  to  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don, and  there,  surrounded  by  veteran  courtiers  and  ecclesiastics,  he 
stood  among  them  with  man-like  dignity,  and,  having  heard  them 
all  cry,  "  God  save  the  noble  King  Edward,"  most  gracefully  put  off 
his  cap,  and,  speaking  like  a  King  that  he  was,  said,  "  We  heartily 
thank  you,  my  Lords  all ;  and  hereafter,  in  all  that  ye  shall  have  to 
do  with  us  for  any  suit  or  causes,  ye  shall  be  heartily  welcome  to  us." 
It  was  then  that  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  henceforth  to  be  styled  Duke 
of  Somerset,  solemnly  assumed  the  office  of  Governor  and  Protector 

*  This  fact  of  her  living  twelve  days  after  the  birth  of  Edward,  sufficiently  answers 
the  calumny  of  some  Popish  writers,  who  repeat  that,  to  save  the  child,  Henry  caused 
the  mother  to  be  sacrificed. — See  Strype,  Memorials  of  Edward  VI.,  book  i.,  chap.  1. 


230  CHAPTER    IV. 

of  the  King  during  his  minority,  and,  having  withdrawn  from  the 
pageantry  of  court,  besought  help  of  God,  and  composed  a  prayer, 
afterwards  found  in  his  own  hand-writing,  as  prepared  for  daily  use.  To 
those  who  would  estimate  the  character  of  the  man  to  whom  Divine 
Providence  committed  the  chief  direction  of  this  admirable  Prince, 
and,  thus,  a  chief  part  of  the  conduct  of  the  Reformation  in  Eng- 
land for  some  years,  the  prayer  is  too  important  to  be  omitted.  It  is 
therefore  printed  below ;  *  and  although  the  good  Duke,  as  he  was 
familiarly  called,  afterwards  suffered  death  as  a  felon,  (for  the  utmost 
ingenuity  could  not  make  him  out  to  be  a  traitor,)  it  must  be  evi- 
dent to  every  impartial  reader  of  the  history,  that  he  was  but  the  vic- 
tim of  a  conspiracy.  Another  incident  worthy  of  mention  here  is  an 
act  of  Edward  at  his  coronation.  Three  swords  were  brought,  to  be 
carried  before  him,  signifying  the  three  kingdoms  of  which  the  King 
of  England  was  then  said  to  be  Sovereign, — England,  France,  and 
Ireland  ;  but  he  remarked  that  there  was  yet  one  wanting,  the  Bible, 
which  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  to  be  preferred,  as  an  instrument 
and  standard  of  government,  before  all  swords  ;  and  to  be  submitted 
to  by  Governors,  who,  without  it,  can  do  nothing.  A  Bible  was 
brought,  and  carried  before  him  with  the  greatest  reverence. 

On  his  accession  to  the  throne,  England  was  on  the  point  of  waging 
war  with  Scotland,  to  enforce  a  union  of  the  two  kingdoms  by  the 
marriage  of  the  respective  Sovereigns.  The  project  and  the  war  ended 

*  "  Lord  God  of  hosts,  in  whose  only  hand  is  life  and  death,  victory  and  confusion, 
rule  and  subjection  ;  receive  me  thy  humble  creature  into  thy  mercy,  and  direct  me  in 
my  requests,  that  I  offend  not  thy  high  Majesty.  O  my  Lord  and  my  God,  I  am  the 
work  of  thy  hands  :  thy  goodness  cannot  reject  me.  I  am  the  price  of  thy  Son's  death, 
Jesus  Christ ;  for  thy  Son's  sake  thou  wiit  not  lese"  (deceive,  or  disappoint)  "me.  I  am 
a  vessel  for  thy  mercy,  thy  justice  will  not  condemn  me.  I  am  recorded  in  the  book  of 
life,  I  am  written  with  the  very  blood  of  Jesus ;  thy  inestimable  love  will  not  cancel  then 
my  name.  For  this  cause,  Lord  God,  I  am  bold  to  speak  to  thy  Majesty.  Thou,  Lord, 
by  thy  providence,  hast  called  me  to  rule  ;  make  me,  therefore,  able  to  follow  thy  call- 
ing. Thou,  Lord,  by  thine  order,  hast  committed  an  anointed  King  to  my  governance  ; 
direct  me,  therefore,  with  thy  hand,  that  I  err  not  from  thy  good  pleasure.  Finish  in 
me,  Lord,  thy  beginning,  and  begin  in  me  that  thou  wilt  finish.  By  thee  do  Kings  reign, 
and  from  thee  all  power  is  derived.  Govern  me,  Lord,  as  I  shall  govern  ;  rule  me  as  I 
shall  rule.  I  am  ready  for  thy  governance,  make  thy  people  ready  for  mine.  I  seek  thy 
only  honour  in  my  vocation  ;  amplify  it,  Lord,  with  thy  might.  If  it  be  thy  will  I  shall 
rule,  make  thy  congregation  subject  to  my  rule.  Give  me  power,  Lord,  to  suppress 
•whom  thou  wilt  have  obey. 

"  I  am  by  appointment  thy  Minister  for  thy  King,  a  shepherd  for  thy  people,  a  sword- 
bearer  for  thy  justice  :  prosper  the  King,  save  thy  people,  direct  thy  justice.  I  am 
ready,  Lord,  to  do  that  thou  commandest ;  command  that  thou  wilt.  Remember,  O  God, 
thine  old  mercies  ;  remember  thy  benefits  showed  heretofore.  Remember,  Lord,  me 
thy  servant,  and  make  me  worthy  to  ask.  Teach  me  what  to  ask,  and  then  give  me 
that  I  ask.  None  other  I  seek  to,  Lord,  but  thee  ;  because  none  other  can  give  it  me. 
And  that  I  seek  is  thine  honour  and  glory.  I  ask  victory,  but  to  show  thy  power  upon 
the  wicked.  I  ask  prosperity,  but  for  to  rule  in  peace  thy  congregation.  I  ask  wisdom, 
but  by  my  counsel  to  set  forth  thy  cause.  And  as  I  ask  for  myself,  so,  Lord,  pour  thy 
knowledge  upon  all  them  which  shall  counsel  me.  And  forgive  them,  that  in  their  offence 
I  suffer  not  the  reward  of  their  evil.  If  I  have  erred,  Lord,  forgive  me  ;  for  so  thou  hast 
promised  me.  if  I  shall  not  err,  direct  me  ;  for  that  only  is  thy  property.  Great 
things,  O  my  God,  hast  thou  begun  in  my  hand;  let  me  then,  Lord,  be  thy  Minister  to 
defend  them.  Thus.  I  conclude,  Lord,  by  the  name  of  thy  Sou  Jesus  Christ.  Faithfully 
I  commit  all  my  cause  to  thy  high  providence,  and  so  rest  to  advance  all  human  strength 
under  the  standard  of  thy  omiiipoteucy." — Strype,  Memorials  of  Edward  VI.,  book  i. 
Repository  of  Originals,  B. 


ADAM    WALLACE.  231 

together  ;  but  this  may  lead  us  to  observe  the  religious  state  of  Scot- 
land at  the  time.  Cardinal  Beaton  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  hatred 
of  his  countrymen  ;  and  St.  Andrews  Castle,  occupied  by  insurgents, 
held  out  for  about  fourteen  months  against  the  royal  forces,  while 
English  ships  supplied  the  inmates  with  stores,  in  order  to  protract 
the  siege.  The  Bishops  and  Clergy,  dreading  well-deserved  vengeance, 
expected  nothing  less  than  a  general  insurrection,  and  sought  shelter 
in  the  government.  They  saw,  or  seemed  to  see,  enraged  multitudes 
invading  the  monastic  sanctuaries,  and  desecrating  churches,  and 
indignant  Lairds  avenging  their  captive  and  banished  brethren  by  tak- 
ing forcible  possession  of  abbeys  and  friaries.  Nor  were  those  appre- 
hensions groundless.  The  Council  afforded  the  help  desired,  and  the 
Governor  issued  a  proclamation  (June  llth,  1546)  commanding  all 
Sheriffs,  Stewards,  Bailies,  or  other  officers  of  boroughs,  to  proceed  to 
their  respective  market-places,  and  there  prohibit  the  demolition  or 
forcible  occupation  of  churches  and  other  buildings,  under  penalty 
of  forfeiting  "life  and  goods."*  Those  buildings  stood  uninjured; 
but  the  people  readily  received  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation ;  and 
in  remote  parts  of  Scotland,  hitherto  unvisited  by  the  spreading  inno- 
vation, the  doctrine  of  Luther  as  to  justification  by  faith,  and  that 
of  Zuinglius  respecting  the  eucharist,  found  general  acceptance. 
Many  whom  persecution  had  put  to  silence,  many  who  had  been 
terrified  into  abjuration,  cast  away  fear,  broke  secresy,  and  not  only 
maintained  their  first  positions,  but  echoed  the  bold,  nay,  fierce, 
denunciations  that  John  Knox  launched  forth  against  Rome  from 
within  the  precinct  of  St.  Andrews.  Even  in  Edinburgh,  undaunted 
by  the  frowns  of  those  in  supreme  authority,  new  preachers  used  an 
alarming  freedom  of  speech  ;  and  a  large  body  of  Ecclesiastics,  con- 
sisting of  Bishops,  with  other  Prelates,  and  Clergy,  both  regular  and 
secular,  assembled  there,  presented  a  second  memorial  to  the  Governor 
and  Council,  (March  19th,  1547,)  imploring  secular  help  before  their 
cause  should  be  ruined  without  remedy.  His  Grace  and  the  Lords 
temporal  caused  the  memorial  to  be  entered  in  the  Council-book,  toge- 
ther with  their  answer,  inviting  the  Clergy  to  collect  and  present  the 
names  of  all  heretics,  and  promising  to  execute  on  them  the  laws 
of  the  realm. f  But  the  Clergy  could  not  compass  so  vast  a  work  as 
the  presentation  of  all  heretics,  neither  could  the  Council  have  dared 
to  put  any  of  them  to  death  while  St.  Andrews  was  a  centre  of  civil 
war,  nor  again,  while  English  troops  were  fortified  in  Haddington, 
encamped  at  Leith,  or  threatening  Edinburgh.  But  after  the  ratifica- 
tion of  a  treaty  of  peace  with  their  southern  enemy,  sprang  up  anew 
the  courage  of  the  Clergy ;  and  as  the  soldier  sheathed  his  sword,  the 
Clerk  prepared  his  faggot.  Their  confidence,  too,  was  revived  by  the 
absence  of  several  leading  Reformers,  now  transferred  from  St.  Andrews 
to  French  galleys,  and,  among  others,  John  Knox. 

Adam  Wallace,  (or  Fean,)  an  intelligent  man,  who  taught  the 
children  of  the  Laird  of  Ormiston,  after  the  banishment  of  their 
father,  had  formally  separated  himself  from  the  Church  of  Rome, 

*  Register  of  Council,  in  Keith,  book  i.,  chap.  6.  f  Ibid. 


232  CHAPTER    IV. 

and,  if  the  statement  of  one  of  his  historians  *  is  correct,  "  in  the 
lack  of  a  true  Minister,"  baptized  his  own  child.  On  a  set  day,  (A.D. 
1550,)  the  Lord  Governor,  now  Duke  of  Chatelherault,f  the  Arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews,  the  Bishops  of  St.  Andrews,  Dunblane,  Gal- 
loway, Orkney,  and  Moray,  the  Abbots  of  Dunfermline  and  Glenluce, 
the  Dean  of  Glasgow,  and  several  other  dignitaries,  took  their  seats  on 
a  platform  in  the  Black-Friars  church  in  Edinburgh,  with  some  Lords 
and  gentlemen.  In  a  pulpit  opposite  stood  a  Priest  in  surplice  and 
hood,  ready  to  perform  the  office  of  accusator.  A  crowded  congrega- 
tion covered  the  floor.  First  appeared  a  Prebendary,  who  had  forged 
a  divorce,  and  separated  a  man  and  his  wife,  and  for  that  offence  was 
to  be  banished.  Then  Adam  Wallace,  in  custody  of  the  Bishop  of 
St.  Andrews,  advanced  to  the  front  of  the  platform.  His  costume 
was  that  of  a  plain  layman  ;  but  he  carried  a  large  Bible  at  his  belt, 
a  triglot,  of  German,  French,  and  English.  That  he  had  been  perse- 
cuted may  be  inferred  from  his  bearing  an  assumed  name,  Fean, 
which  he  readily  acknowledged  in  reply  to  the  accuser,  who  produced 
three  articles  of  accusation  : — That  he  had  taught,  1 .  That  the  bread 
and  wine  after  consecration  are  not  the  very  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  :  2.  That  the  mass  is  an  abominable  idolatry  :  3.  That  the 
god  worshipped  by  the  Papists  is  bread,  sown  of  corn,  growing  of  the 
earth,  baked  of  men's  hands,  and  nothing  else.  Wallace  opened  his 
Bible,  argued  from  the  sacred  text,  professed  his  resolution  to  abide 
thereby,  even  unto  death,  and  then,  turning  to  the  Duke,  said,  "  If 
you  condemn  me  for  holding  by  God's  word,  my  innocent  blood  shall 
be  required  at  your  hands,  when  ye  shall  be  brought  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ,  who  is  mighty  to  defend  my  innocent  cause  ; 
before  whom  ye  shall  not  deny  it,  nor  yet  be  able  to  resist  his  wrath ; 
to  whom  I  refer  the  vengeance,  as  it  is  written,  '  Vengeance  is  mine, 
and  I  will  reward.'  ''  Chatelherault  answered  not ;  but  the  Priests 
gave  sentence,  and  the  Provost  of  Edinburgh  received  him  from  the 
Church,  to  be  burned  on  Castle-Hill.  The  Governor  and  the  other 
Lords  cared  not  to  witness  the  execution,  which  was,  therefore, 
delayed  until  they  had  turned  their  backs  on  Edinburgh,  -when,  two 
days  after  the  sentence,  he  was  taken  from  prison  to  the  Castle-Hill, 
under  a  severe  injunction  from  the  Provost  to  speak  to  no  one  by  the 
way.  The  streets  were  lined  with  spectators  ;  and  as,  now  and  then, 
he  heard  the  people  say,  "  God  have  mercy  on  l\im,"  he  devoutly 
answered,  "  And  on  you,  too."  When  they  had  reached  the  place, 
standing  by  the  heaped  faggots,  he  prayed  in  silence,  raised  his  eyes 
toward  heaven  two  or  three  times,  and,  unable  to  suffer  any  longer 
the  injunction  to  be  silent,  spoke  one  sentence  to  the  people,  "  Let  it 
not  offend  you  that  I  suffer  for  the  truth's  sake ;  for  the  disciple  is 
not  greater  than  his  Master."  The  Provost  grew  furious,  a  cord  was 
passed  round  his  neck  to  choke  the  voice  that  might  recall  to  the 
multitude  the  truths  testified  by  Wishart.  He  could  only  say,  look- 

*  Knox,  Hist,  of  Reformation,  book  i.  But  Foxe,  who  cites  letters  and  testimonies 
received  from  Scotland,  and  'gives  a  copious  and  explicit  report  of  bis  trial,  mentions 
nothing  of  tbe  kind.  Perbaps  Knox  wrote  from  memory,  and  confounded  two  nersons. 

t  Formerly  Earl  of  Arran. 


ANABAPTISM.  233 

ing  upwards,  "  They  will  not  let  me  speak."  But,  having  refused 
life,  and  chosen  death  in  testimony  to  the  truth,  a  patient  martyrdom 
spoke  louder  than  many  words.  This  was  the  last  life  that  the 
Bishops  of  Scotland  ventured  to  take  for  several  years. 

There  were  no  Christian  martyrdoms  in  England  during  the  reign 
of  Edward  VI.  Two  or  three  persons,  who  had  been  imprisoned  in 
the  few  months  that  preceded  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  under  law 
not  yet  repealed,  were  released  by  command  of  the  Protector  and 
Council.  The  history  of  the  Reformation  at  this  time  is  too  import- 
ant to  be  compendiated,  and  must,  therefore,  be  read  in  the  works 
of  Burnet  and  Strype,  to  whom  all  others  are  indebted ;  and 
imperishable  evidences  of  the  humane  and  liberal  spirit  of  our  religion 
are  recorded  in  the  Statutes  of  the  Realm.  To  these  authorities, 
therefore,  the  reader  is  referred  for  information  as  to  the  advance 
of  evangelical  truth,  and  improvement  in  the  discipline  of  the  Church. 

But  Romanism  gave  character  to  those  times  ;  and  while  human 
power  and  authority  were  employed  on  the  side  of  truth,  it  would 
have  been  wonderful,  indeed,  if  they  had  never  been  abused  in  the 
suppression  of  error.  Such  an  abuse  of  power,  even  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  VI.,  must  be  confessed  ;  yet  it  should  neither  be  exagge- 
rated by  the  Papist,  nor  extenuated  by  the  Protestant.  People 
generally  believed  it  lawful  to  imprison,  spoil,  and  burn  heretics :  it 
needed  the  discipline  and  experience  of  ages  to  remove  the  delusion  ; 
and  now  that  it  is  removed,  our  business  is  not  to  carp  or  to  recrimi- 
nate, but  calmly  to  note  the  facts  of  history,  not  fearing  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ — not  the  latitudinarianism  of  infidels — will 
ever  be  defrauded  of  its  honour  for  teaching  good  men  to  pity  and  to 
spare  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  erring,  until  the  day  when  God 
shall  separate  the  precious  from  the  vile.*  Let  us  give  the  facts. 

Under  the  name  "  Anabaptist,"  errors  the  most  revolting  were 
propagated,  first  in  Germany,  and  then  in  England.  From  the 
rejection  of  infant  baptism,  under  the  persuasion  that  it  is  not  justi- 
fied by  the  authority  of  Scripture, — a  persuasion  which,  however 
erroneous,  may  consist  with  perfect  orthodoxy  on  other  points  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  practice, — even  to  a  rejection  of  the  divinity 
of  Christ,  every  degree  of  heterodoxy  existed,  and  the  common  desig- 
nation was  applied,  without  distinction,  to  the  most  fanatical  and 
licentious  of  mankind.  And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  even  the  less 
erring  of  that  medley  sect  were  more  remarkable  for  zeal  in  the 
destruction  of  ancient  superstitions,  than  for  simplicity  in  confessing 
such  truths  as  they  really  believed.  The  Protector  and  Council, 
governing  during  the  minority  of  the  King,  received  a  formal  informa- 
tion (April  12th,  1549)  that  German  Anabaptism  was  again  spreading 
in  this  country  ;  and  forthwith,  not  doubting  the  right  of  the  Church 
to  give  sentence,  and  of  the  secular  power  to  condemn  a  heretic  to 

*  It  remains  with  the  legal  historian  to  decide  how  far  the  violation  of  an  existing 
law  by  the  Sovereign,  or  by  the  nation, — if  represented, — in  a  time  of  revolution,  may 
he  justified.  Such  illegalities  occur  in  all  these  reigns,  sometimes  for  good,  and  some- 
times for  evil.  We  cannot,  therefore,  charge  them  against  our  adversaries,  any  more 
than  they  against  us.  Acts  must  often  be  estimated  as  morally  right,  or  wrong,  on 
their  own  merits,  apart  from  law. 

VOL.    III.  2    H 


234  CHAPTER    IV. 

death,  they  thought  themselves  bound  to  act  on  the  common  law 
of  England,  under  which  heretics  had  been  put  to  death  at  a  much 
earlier  period  *  than  is  generally  understood,  and  actually  appointed 
a  Commission  to  make  inquisition  of  heresy,  \vith  authority  to  endea- 
vour to  reclaim  the  heretics,  to  impose  penance,  give  absolution,  or 
excommunicate,  imprison,  and  deliver  over  the  incorrigible  to  the 
secular  arm.f  The  Commission  proceeded  to  their  work,  and  a 
numerous  body  of  those  Anabaptists  recanted,  submitted  to  penance, 
and  were  released.  But  among  them  was  a  woman  called  Joan 
Bocher,  or  Joan  of  Kent,  who  maintained  that  "  the  Word  was  made 
flesh  in  the  Virgin's  womb,  but  that  Christ  took  not  flesh  of  the 
Virgin,  because  the  flesh  of  the  Virgin,  being  the  outward  man,  was 
sinfully  begotten  and  born  in  sin  ;  but  the  Word,  by  consent  of  the 
inward  man,  or  soul,  of  the  Virgin,  was  made  flesh."  The  Mani- 
chsean  speculation  concerning  a  sinfulness  of  material  flesh  was  at  the 
bottom  of  all  that  asceticism  that  yet  had  the  admiration  of  the  most 
devout  Reformers ;  but  this  application  of  it  seemed  to  them 
"  horrible."  For  more  than  twelve  months  the  woman  was  kept  in 
prison,  and  the  most  eminent  Divines,  Cranmer,  Ridley,  Goodrich, 
Latimer,  Lever,  Whitehead,  and  Hutchinson,  as  we  know,  and  proba- 
bly others  whose  visits  are  not  recorded,  went  to  talk  with  her.  But 
she  argued  with  great  acuteness,  and  could  not  be  brought  to  acknow- 
ledge herself  in  error.  The  Lord  Chancellor,  Rich,  who  had  racked 
Anne  Askew,  now  unable  to  employ  torture,  had  her  for  a  week  in 
his  house,  to  try  persuasion.  Cranmer,  it  is  said,  and  Ridley,  did 
the  same ;  but  all  in  vain  ;  and  the  Council,  hearing  that  her  obsti- 
nacy was  insuperable,  condemned  her  to  be  burnt.  Foxe,  and  Burnet 
after  him,  say  that  the  good  King  Edward  was  exceedingly  reluctant 
to  sign  the  warrant  for  her  burning,  that  he  wept  bitterly,  that  Cran- 
mer reasoned  with  him  on  the  necessity  and  obligation  he  was  under 

*  In  narrating  the  persecution  and  burning  of  Sautre,  whom  we  called  "  Protomartyr 
of  England,"  we  said,  (Martyrologia,  vol.  ii.,  p.  599,)  that  he  was  "the  first  person 
judicially  put  to  death  for  Christ's  sake  in  this  country."  Foxe  and  Burnet  gay  that  he 
was  the  first  martyr  ;  hut  other  deaths,  if  not  executions  hy  burning,  are  recorded,  and 
therefore  we  distinguished  that  of  Sautre  as  judicial.  Perhaps  this  assertion  might  be 
qualified.  On  account  of  religion  some  had  been  put  to  death,  as  was  "a  false  prophet," 
A.D.  1212,  and  a  Deacon,  for  apostatizing  to  Judaism,  A.D.  1222.  (Foxe,  book  iv., 
John  ;  Select  works  of  Ball,  by  the  Parker  Society.  Advertisement.)  But  "  a  Chronicle 
of  London"  mentions  one  of  the  Albigenses,  burnt  A.D.  1210.  And  Camden,  probably, 
alludes  to  this  when  he  says,  "  Ex  quo,  reguante  Joanne,  Christiani  in  Christianos  apud 
nos  flammis  saevire  coeperunt."  (Parker  Society,  ut  supra.)  To  -which  add  that  the 
word  "  began  "  of  CamJen  agrees  with  the  words  of  the  first  warrant  for  burning  a 
heretic,  given  by  us  in  the  place  above  cited,  where  Henry  IV.  affirms  that  heretics 
convicted  and  condemned,  &c.,  "  ought,  according  to  divine  and  human  law,  canonical 
institutes,  and,  in  this  part,  customarily,  to  be  burned  with  fire."  But  how  far  buru- 
ings  before  Sautre  were  judicial,  as  we  have  said,  yet  remains  to  be  ascertained.  There 
evidently  were  such  burnings  during  two  centuries  before  Sautre,  not  by  law,  not  by 
wnt,  but  by  custom.  This  custom,  perhaps,  exercised  in  a  tumultuary  manner,  gave 
the  precedent  to  which  Henry  IV.  appealed  ;  and  the  repeated  burnings  allowed, —nay, 
promoted, — during  two  centuries,  constituted  the  ground  of  the  common  law,  which  was 
appealed  to  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  for  the  burning  of  Anabaptists,  after  the  statutes 
for  burning  heretics  had  been  repealed.  These  facts  being  duly  considered,  we  may  take 
1210,  or  thereabouts, — Innocent  III.  and  John  of  England  being  contemporaries, — as 
the  date  of  customary  burning  for  heresy  in  this  country, 
f  Rymeri  Foedera,  torn,  xv.,  p.  181. 


JOAN    OF    KENT.  235 

to  destroy  such  heretics,  and  that,  at  last,  when  the  young  King  took 
the  pen  to  give  his  signature,  he  told  Cranmer,  that  "  if  he  did 
wrong,  since  it  was  in  submission  to  his  authority,  he  (Cranmer) 
should  answer  for  it  to  God."  And  they  add  that  this  struck  the 
Archbishop  with  horror,  so  that  he  was  unwilling  to  have  the  sentence 
executed. 

But  this  tale  of  Cranmer  and  the  King  appears  to  be  without  foun- 
dation. The  Papists  make  much  of  it,  and  gladly  throw  the  odium 
of  burning  Joan  of  Kent  on  the  father  of  the  English  Reformation  ; 
and  we  therefore  owe  it  to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  good  man 
to  point  out  the  incredibility  of  the  story.  1.  The  King  kept  a 
private  journal,  and  an  entry  made  with  his  own  hand  bears  no  mark 
of  disapprobation.  It  reads  thus  :  "  Joan  Bocher,  otherways  called 
Joan  of  Kent,  was  burnt  for  holding  that  Christ  was  not  incarnate 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  being  condemned  the  year  before,  but  kept  in 
hope  of  conversion  ;  and  the  30th  of  April,  the  Bishop  of  London 
and  the  Bishop  of  Ely  were  to  persuade  her,  but  she  withstood  them, 
and  reviled  the  preacher  that  preached  at  her  death."  *  2.  The  King 
did  not  sign  the  warrant  for  her  burning.  Those  warrants  were  not 
ordinarily,  if  ever,  signed  by  the  Sovereign  ;  and,  in  this  instance,  the 
Council,  who,  by  the  will  of  Henry  VIII.,  were  governors  of  the  king- 
dom, issued  the  warrant  to  the  Lord  Chancellor.  This  is  proved  by 
their  own  minute,  dated  April  27th,  1550  :  "A  warrant  to  the  L. 
Chauncellor  to  make  out  a  writt  to  the  Shireff  of  London  for  the 
execu£on  of  Johan  of  Kent,  condempned  to  be  burned  for  certein, 
detestable  opinions  of  heresie."  This  alone  makes  the  weeping  of  the 
King  on  signing  a  warrant  impossible  ;  for  such  an  act  could  not  take 
place. f  And,  3.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Reformed  were  at  all 
divided  on  the  principle,  but  that  all  persons  agreed  that  some  heretics 
deserved  death.  Thus  Philpot,  five  years  afterwards,  when  on  the 
point  of  being  himself  taken  to  the  stake,  replied  to  Lord  Chancellor 
Rich,  who  referred  to  this  woman,  "  As  for  Joan  of  Kent,  she  was  a 
vain  woman,  (I  knew  her  well,)  and  a  heretic  indeed,  well  worthy  to 
be  burnt,  because  she  stood  against  one  of  the  manifest  articles  of  our 
faith,  contrary  to  the  Scripture."  Therefore,  the  blame  of  burning 
Joan  Bocher,  or  the  Arian,  George  Van  Pare,  who  suffered  a  year 
afterwards,  is  not  ,to  be  laid  on  Cranmer  alone,  nor  on  the  Reformers, 
as  if  they  had  been  equally  blood-thirsty  with  their  antagonists.  The 
ill-instructed  conscience  of  men  in  those  days  demanded  death  for 
heresy ;  but  the  influence  of  Christianity  was  undeniably  apparent  in 
the  small  number  of  two  persons  put  to  death  for  the  sake  of  religion 
in  this  reign  of  political  revulsion, — a  reign  when  the  Papists  broke 
out  into  open  insurrection,  when  the  Lady  Mary  openly  resisted  the 
laws,  and  when  even  the  Emperor  of  Germany  presumed  to  meddle 
on  her  behalf.  And  this  influence  is  also  apparent  in  the  reluctance 
with  which  the  Council  proceeded  to  this  extremity.  The  Papist 
Commissioners  and  Judges  were  always  ready,  and  generally  in  haste, 

*  Burnet,  vol.  ii.,  part  ii.  ;  King  Edward's  Journal,  May  2,  1550. 
t  For  these  two  most  important  observations  the  public  are  indebted  to  John  Bruce> 
Esq.,  F.S.A.,  editor  of  the  Parker  Society's  volume  of  the  works  of  Roger  Hutchinson. 

2  H  2 


236  CHAPTER    IV. 

to  burn  their  victims ;  but,  borrowing  again  a  record  of  King  Edward, 
we  find  that  Van  Pare  was  not  hurried  to  his  end.  He  writes  thus  : 
"A  certain  Arrian  of  the  strangers,  a  Dutch  man,  being  excommuni- 
cated by  the  congregation  of  his  countrymen,  was,  after  long  disputa- 
tion, condemned  to  the  fire."  *  If  the  Council  could  have  saved  him, 
consistently  with  the  universally  admitted  principle,  they  would  have 
gladly  done  so.  And,  humiliating  as  it  is  to  find  commissions  for  the 
inquisition  of  heresy  in  this  reign,  or  in  any  other,  we  are  glad  to 
observe  that  the  first  Commissioners  soon  laid  down  their  charge,  and 
that  when  there  were  complaints  of  foreign  heresy  again,  a  new 
Commission  had  to  be  formed,f  the  other  not  considering  themselves 
permanent.  And,  after  all,  each  of  these  two  temporary  bodies  only 
burnt  one  person, — the  first,  after  more  than  twelve  months'  labour  to 
convert  by  argument ;  the  second,  rather  adopting  an  excommunica- 
tion pronounced  by  others,  and  the  Council  itself  reluctantly  sanc- 
tioning their  sentence,  only  after  long  disputation.  A  third  com- 
mission was  issued  against  Anabaptists,  but  none  suffered.  And  it  is 
certain,  that  although  Popery  was  overpowered  by  force  of  legislation, 
no  Papist  suffered  death,  and  that  those  who  were  imprisoned  were 
not  persecuted  on  account  of  doctrinal  dissent,  but  for  breach  of 
Parliamentary  statutes,  or  resistance  to  the  secular  authority. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Papists  employed  their  accustomed  weapon, 
brute  force,  not  wielded  by  governors  over  governed,  but  raised 
by  the  people  against  constituted  authority,  and  even  took  part 
in  the  very  acts  since  made  the  subject  of  so  much  declamatory 
censure.  For  example  :  under  the  third  commission,  given  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  some  others, 
(A.D.  1552,)  against  Anabaptists  in  Kent,  Popish  informers  displayed 
great  zeal  in  presenting  Protestants  under  charge  of  Anabaptism  or 
Arianism ;  and  a  man  and  woman  of  Ashford,  whose  only  crime  was 
earnest  piety,  narrowly  escaped  imprisonment,  if  not  death,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  deposition  of  false  witnesses.  Cranmer  himself  tested 
these  statements  by  close  investigation,  and  demonstrated  their  inno- 
cence.J  But  insurrection  was  a  favourite  resort  of  the  Romish 
Clergy. 

Nothing  could  be  easier  than  to  stir  up  rebellion  in  England  at 
that  time.  The  distribution  of  church  lands  and  houses  among  the 
nobles  of  England  had  given  them  an  increased  preponderance  of 
wealth  and  power,  quickening  their  cupidity,  and  diminishing  those 
charitable  supplies, — if  so  they  may  be  called, — those  contributions 
to  the  indigent  that  had  flowed  from  the  convents,  and  often  blinded 
the  humbler  classes  to  the  moral  evils  of  those  receptacles  of  indolence 
and  lewdness.  Proprietors  of  land,  instead  of  conciliating  the  good- 
will of  their  tenants,  gradually  raised  the  rents,  until  a  farmer  would 
be  paying  three,  or  even  four,  times  as  much  as  his  father  had  paid, 
even  within  his  own  memory.  Agricultural  produce  rose  in  price, 
and,  without  relieving  the  poverty  of  the  grower,  the  consumer  spent 
his  last  farthing,  and  was  hungry  still.  The  middle  and  lower  classes 

*  King  Edward's  Journal,  April  7th,  1551.          t  Rymeri  Feeders,  torn,  xv.,  p.  250 
t   Strype,  Edward  VI.,  chap.  15. 


ENGLAND    UNDER    EDWARD    VI.  237 

of  the  population  were  utterly  alienated  from  the  aristocracy,  among 
whom  were  the  administrators  of  the  law,  not  less  corrupt.  Deci- 
sions were  sold  to  the  highest  purchaser  ;  and  as  poor  men  could  not 
buy  redress,  they  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  rich.  Ejected  Monks 
were  scattered  over  the  land,  and,  mingling  with  the  people,  simulta- 
neously excited  them  to  break  off  the  insufferable  yoke,  either  so 
guiding  popular  discontent  that  the  multitude  should  complain  of  real 
evils,  or  so  exalting  it  that  the  cry  should  be  for  a  religious  war. 
The  Clergy  were  ungodly,  ignorant,  immoral,  and  profane.  Even 
many  of  the  Bishops  could  only  be  so  described ;  and  their  com- 
pliance with  measures  of  reform  had  rather  arisen  from  apathy,  or 
fear  of  removal  from  their  livings,  than  from  acquiescence  in  the  change. 
And  seeing  that  the  sequestered  property  had  either  gone  to  the  crown, 
and  served  to  enrich  the  court,  or  was  bestowed  on  noblemen  in  com- 
pensation for  services,  or  in  consideration  of  claims  upon  the  Sovereign 
in  the  preceding  reign,  they  grew  jealous  of  the  aristocracy,  and  could 
justify  their  enmity  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people.  Nor  was  there 
any  prospect  of  an  early  remedy.  The  King  was  at  war  with  Scot- 
land for  the  attainment,  as  many  would  consider,  of  a  merely  dynastic 
object.  The  British  territory  in  France  was  assailed.  France  was 
hostile,  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany  not  so  openly,  only  because  his 
hands  were  full  on  the  Continent  :  his  communication  with  England 
was  characterised  by  profound  dissatisfaction,  and  the  Lady  Mary, 
afterwards  Queen,  appealed  to  him  for  support,  in  order  to  the  open 
exercise  of  her  own  religion,  in  contradiction  to  the  existing  laws.  A 
burden  of  new  taxation  added  to  the  weight  of  agrarian  oppression, 
and  the  commercial  interest  of  England  was,  as  yet,  too  feeble  to 
afford  a  stay  to  the  tottering  fabric  of  a  divided,  wronged,  and  half- 
barbarous  society.  Latimer  preached,  at  court,  against  the  sins  of 
courtiers,  Judges,  Priests,  and  gentry,  and  poor  petitioners  flocked  to 
him  from  morning  until  night  soliciting  his  intercession  with  men  in 
power.  Cranmer  laboured  to  moderate  excesses  that  could  not  be 
remedied  ;  Ridley  pleaded  for  the  Clergy,  whom  he  desired  to  reform, 
yet  could  not  consent  to  spoil.  Now  and  then  a  fraudulent  Lord 
made  some  trifling  retribution  ;  now  and  then  slumbering  justice 
awoke  to  a  brief  deed  of  equity ;  but  the  disease  of  the  whole  body 
politic  was  constitutional,  inveterate,  and  incurable  by  any  effort  of 
theirs.  The  Council  made  inquiry,  and  endeavoured  to  redress 
grievances  ;  but  almost  every  endeavour  failed. 

Any  history  of  this  reign,  either  ecclesiastical  or  secular,  will  afford 
details  of  the  rebellion  in  Yorkshire,  Norfolk,  and  Devonshire,  and 
the  attempted  revolt  in  Wiltshire,  Sussex,  Hampshire,  Kent,  Glouces- 
tershire, Suffolk,  Warwickshire,  Essex,  Hertfordshire,  Leicestershire, 
Worcestershire,  and  Rutlandshire.  Our  present  object  is  only  to 
mark  the  part  which  Popery  took  in  drawing  forth  the  latent  elements 
of  civil  warfare,  and  seeking  to  regain,  by  bloodshed,  the  territory 
lost.  Bloodshed,  be  it  observed,  was  inevitable.  The  rebels  waged 
war,  two  thousand  of  them  were  killed  at  once  in  Norfolk,  and  six- 
teen hundred  in  Devonshire,  to  say  nothing  of  deadly  skirmishes 
whenever  hostile  parties  encountered  each  other.  But,  in  Devonshire, 


238  CHAPTER    IV. 

the  host  was  carried  with  the  insurgent  army  in  a  cart,  and  invocated 
as  god  of  the  battle,  while  Latin  prayers  and  sacramental  celebrations 
were  the  appointed  signals  of  insurrection.  One  document,  contain- 
ing a  summary  of  their  demands,  quite  supersedes  the  necessity  of 
narrative,  and  proves  that  the  Church  of  Rome,  beaten  on  the  fair 
fields  of  dispute  and  legislation,  borrowed  this  tumultuary  violence  as 
if  it  were  a  lawful  instrument.  Abbreviating  the  language,  we  pre- 
serve the  substance.  On  Whit-Monday,  (June  10th,)  1549,  Humphrey 
Arundell,  Governor  of  St.  Michael's  Mount,  Cornwall,  and  leader 
of  the  rebels,  with  the  Mayor  of  Bodmin,  met  Lord  Russell,  and  pro- 
posed, as  conditions  of  peace, — "  1.  Restoration  of  canon  law  ;  2. 
Enforcement  of  the  Act  of  '  Six  Articles '  for  the  death  of  Protestants  ; 
3.  The  Latin  mass  ;  4.  Elevation  of  the  host ;  5.  Eucharist  in  one 
kind  ;  6.  Baptism  at  all  times  (which  had  never  been  forbidden)  ; 
7.  Holy  bread,  holy  water,  palms,  and  images  ;  8.  Abolition  of  the 
English  service  ;  9.  Prayer  by  all  officiating  Priests  and  Preachers  for 
souls  in  purgatory;  10.  Suppression  of  the  English  Bible;  11.  A 
change  of  Bishops  ;  12.  Recall  of  Cardinal  Pole,  then  under  attainder 
for  treason  ;  13.  That  no  gentleman  should  have  more  than  one 
servant  for  every  hundred  marks  of  income  ;  14.  Immediate  restora- 
tion of  half  the  abbey  and  church  lands  ;  15.  And  a  safe-conduct  to 
the  King,  and  back  again,  for  Arundell  and  the  Mayor,  in  order  to 
further  negotiations."  These  conditions  could  not  be  accepted  :  the 
number  was  reduced  in  the  next  overture,  but  the  terms  remained 
virtually  the  same,  and  force  only  could  decide.  The  rebels  besieged 
Exeter  ;  but  the  loyal  inhabitants  defended  their  city.  The  assailants 
set  fire  to  the  gates  :  the  citizens  threw  fuel  on  the  fire,  and,  while  a 
barrier  of  flame  kept  out  the  enemy,  reared  a  battlement  on  the 
inside,  from  which  to  repel  them  still.  The  besiegers  mined,  and  the 
train  was  ready,  to  force  an  entrance  by  explosion  ;  but  the  men. 
of  Exeter,  under  the  direction  of  John  Newcombe,  a  tinner  of  Teign- 
mouth,  had  counter-mined,  and  spoiled  the  powder  by  directing  on  it 
the  drainage  from  neighbouring  houses.  And  God  sent  a  drenching 
shower,  at  that  very  moment,  that  swelled  the  stream,  and  drowned 
the  explosive  preparation.  Provisions  were  failing  ;  but  they  ate 
horseflesh,  and  divided  their  scanty  stores.  Rich  and  poor  ate 
together,  subsisting  on  equal  rations  ;  and  one  man  expressed  the 
prevailing  spirit  of  that  heroic  population,  when  he  said  that  he  would 
eat  his  left  arm,  and  fight  with  the  right,  rather  than  capitulate. 
Papistry  had  its  faction  within  the  walls,  but  honest  men  were  not 
dismayed  ;  and  when  they  were,  indeed,  brought  to  the  last  point 
of  endurance,  Lord  Russell,  aided  by  the  subsidies  of  "  three  princely 
merchants,"  *  raised  the  siege,  left  a  thousand  of  the  rebels  dead  on 
the  ground,  and  returned  thanks  to  the  city  for  its  loyalty.  Miles 
Coverdale  was  in  the  camp,  and  conducted  the  solemnities  of  a 
thanksgiving  to  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  Exeter  sacredly  kept  the  anni- 
versary of  that  deliverance  (August  6th).  f 

Of  Ireland,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  English  Liturgy,  the  first 

*  Thomas  Prestwood,  Thomas  Bodly,  and  John  Periam. 
t  Burnet,  part  ii.,  book  i. ;  -Fuller,  book  vii.,  sect.  1. 


THE    REFORMERS    NOT    INTOLERANT.  239 

book  printed  in  Dublin,  (A.D.  1551,)  was  accepted  in  submission  to 
royal  authority  ;  that  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  Primate,  at  that 
time,  of  all  Ireland,  refused  to  sanction  it,  and  either  left  his  charge, 
or  was  separated  from  it ;  that  a  nominal  reformation  was  begun,  but 
the  Irish  Priests  would  not  exchange  concubinage  for  marriage  ;  that 
two  Englishmen,  Goodacre  and  Bale,  were  appointed  to  the  sees 
of  Armagh  and  Ossory,  and  that  the  former  soon  died,  not  without 
suspicion  of  poison.  At  the  death  of  Edward  VI.  the  evangelical 
Reformation  of  Ireland  had  to  be  begun.* 

Notwithstanding  the  extreme  severity  of  the  leaders  of  the  English 
Reformation  against  Anabaptism  and  Arianism,  they  were  not  intole- 
rant towards  other  reformed  churches.  John  Knox,  whose  views 
of  discipline  were  utterly  opposed  to  theirs,  found  favour,  and,  but 
for  conscientious  adherence  to  his  own  views,  might  have  had  pre- 
ferment in  the  Church  of  England.  Hooper  was  excessively  scrupu- 
lous as  to  vestments,  and  insisted  on  the  scruple  with  a  pertinacity 
which,  at  such  a  period,  might  have  diverted  his  brethren  from  their 
proper  work,  and  exposed  their  cause  to  contempt ;  but  they  bore 
with  him,  and  allowed  him  to  lay  aside  his  robes,  except  on  a  few 
specified  occasions.  Learned  foreigners  were  admitted  to  professorial 
chairs  and  benefices,  although  entertaining  tenets  at  variance  with 
those  of  Cranmer  on  some  non-essential  points.  Persecuted  Protest- 
ants were  welcomed  to  England,  provided  with  churches  for  the 
celebration  of  worship  in  their  respective  languages,  and  their  Minis- 
ters assisted  with  grants  of  public  money,  without  any  compromise 
of  ecclesiastical  independence.  And  while  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel 
clamoured  for  a  general  delivery  of  Bibles,  and  a  suppression  of 
Common  Prayer  in  the  English  language,  and  the  same  party  were 
everywhere  warring  against  the  press,  and  discouraging  literary 
studies,  Edward  VI.  licensed  and  protected  the  first  English  printer, 
from  whose  press  proceeded  books  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew. f 
To  borrow  the  language  of  the  University  of  Rostock,  we  may  still 
render  thanks  to  God,  that  while  in  all  other  kingdoms  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel  and  study  of  letters  were  either  abolished,  or  fiercely 
opposed  by  the  cruelty  of  Papists,  the  tumults  of  war,  or  by  violent 
controversies,  churches  and  schools  could  rise  and  be  conducted  in 
peace  within  the,  sure  asylum  of  this  kingdom.  J  And  the  many 
thousands  of  Englishmen  who  now  enjoy  the  benefit  of  an  efficient 
education  received  in  "  King  Edward's  Schools," — institutions,  as  far 
as  the  author  has  seen  or  heard,  conducted  with  faithful  adherence  to 
the  Christian  and  liberal  principles  of  their  founder, — cannot  but  be 
grateful  for  the  Reformation  that  multitudes  fancy  it  liberal  to  despise, 
and  generous  to  contrast,  unfavourably,  with  the  "  Catholicity  "  that 
prevailed  in  the  reign  following,  and  labours  to  prevail  again.  We 
join  the  learned  body  just  mentioned  in  giving  "  His  royal  Majesty 
the  deserved  title  of  nursing-father  of  the  church  of  God." 

Actuated  by  the  single  motive  that  had  governed  all  his  conduct, 

*  Mant,  History  of  the  Church  in  Ireland,  chap,  iii.,  sect.  1,  2. 

t  Rymeri  Foedera,  torn,  xv.,  p.  160. 

j  Strype,  Edward  VI.,  Repository,  book  ii.,  H. 


240  CHAPTER    IV. 

Edward  determined,  when  he  found  himself  near  death,  to  change 
the  succession  to  the  throne  from  his  eldest  sister,  Mary,  to  the  Lady 
Jane  Gray.  He,  doubtless,  thought  himself  above  the  law,  and  hoped 
by  excluding  Mary  to  save  England  from  Popery  ;  but  the  majority 
of  the  Council  believed  that  such  an  act  would  be  as  dangerous  as 
illegal,  unless  done  by  the  Parliament,  and  only  consented  when  over- 
come by  his  importunity.  The  Lord  Chancellor  would  not  put  the 
seal  to  the  King's  letters  patent  until  supported  by  the  signature 
of  all  the  other  Judges  ;  and  the  Chief  Justice  had  not  prepared  them 
until  commanded  by  a  written  commission,  with  a  pardon  ready  under 
the  Great  Seal  for  the  treason  of  which  he  believed  himself  guilty. 
Cranmer  opposed  the  proceeding  strenuously  ;  but  Edward  commanded 
them  all  on  their  allegiance,  and  so  endeavoured  to  assume  the  respon- 
sibility. Lady  Jane  Gray  dreaded  the  proffered  crown,  and  could 
not  be  ignorant  that  her  father-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Northumberland, 
had  first  used  persuasion  with  the  young  dying  King,  who  already 
trembled  at  the  thought  of  Mary  being  his  successor,  and  then  dis- 
played violence  towards  the  Council,  over  whom,  after  the  fall 
of  Somerset,  he  had  exercised  control.  The  purity  of  Edward's 
intention,  however,  could  not  cover  the  illegality  of  the  deed ;  and 
after  two  days  of  royalty  the  Lady  Jane  found  herself  deserted  by  the 
Council,  and,  having  reluctantly  gone  into  the  Tower  as  Queen,  was 
kept  there  as  prisoner,  and  soon  afterwards  beheaded  for  treason, 
together  with  her  husband,  Lord  Guilford,  rejoicing  to  be  delivered 
from  this  world  of  misery,  and  confidently  expecting  to  be  exalted  to 
an  everlasting  throne. 

Queen  Mary  I.,  distinguished  by  the  epithet  "  bloody,"  thus  suc- 
ceeded to  that  admirable  Prince  whose  only  error  was  committed  in 
the  last  hours  of  his  life.  As  for  Mary,  her  pre-eminence  in  perse- 
cution requires  that  we  should  mark  her  earlier  career.  When  the 
injured  Queen  Catharine  was  separated  from  Henry  VIII.,  she  very 
properly  declared  herself  on  her  mother's  side.  The  King  was  so 
enraged  at  the  boldness  of  his  daughter,  that  he  intended  to  put  her 
to  death,  and,  probably,  would  have  done  so,  but  for  the  dissuasion 
of  Cranmer,  who  pleaded  that  she  was  young  and  indiscreet, — that  it 
was  to  be  expected  she  would  adhere  to  what  her  mother  and  those 
around  her  had  been  teaching  her  from  infancy, — that  it  would  appear 
strange,  and  would  excite  the  horror  of  Europe,  if  he  were  to  proceed 
to  extremity  against  his  own  child,  who  might  be  brought  to  another 
mind,  if  separated  from  her  mother.  So  Cranmer  saved  Mary's  life. 
But  after  her  mother's  death  she  thought  well  to  act  differently.  With 
some  reluctance,  certainly,  yet  preferring  reconciliation  to  her  father, 
to  the  death  that  her  mother  had  exhorted  her  to  prepare  for,  she 
rendered  a  full  submission  under  her  own  hand.  "  Plainly,  with  all 
mine  heart,"  wrote  she,  "  I  do  now  confess  and  declare  my  inward 
sentence,  belief,  and  judgment,  with  a  due  conformity  of  obedience  to 
the  laws  of  the  realm,"  &c.  Then,  after  acknowledging  the  King's 
Majesty  (whom  the  Pope  had  excommunicated)  to  be  the  Sovereign 
Lord  of  the  realm  of  England,  she  continued  :  "  I  do  recognise,  take, 
repute,  and  knowledge  the  King's  Highness  to  be  supreme  head  in 


DISSIMULATION    OF    MARY.  241 

earth  under  Christ  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  do  utterly  refuse 
the  Bishop  of  Rome's  pretended  authority,  power,  and  jurisdiction 
within  this  realm  heretofore  usurped,  according  to  the  laws  and 
statutes  made  in  that  behalf,  and  of  all  the  King's  true  subjects 
humbly  received,  admitted,  obeyed,  kept,  and  observed  ;  and  also  do 
utterly  renounce  and  forsake  all  manner  of  remedy,  interest,  and 
advantage,  which  I  may  by  any  means  claim  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome's 
laws,  process,  jurisdiction,  or  sentence,  at  this  present  time,  or  in  any 
wise  hereafter,  by  any  manner  of  title,  colour,  mean,  or  case,  that  is, 
shall,  or  can  be  devised  for  that  purpose. — MARY."  And  lest  this 
should  not  be  deemed  sufficiently  explicit  on  the  chief  point  of  quarrel 
with  her  father,  she  wrote  again  :  "  Item,  I  do  freely,  frankly,  and  for 
the  discharge  of  my  duty  towards  God,  the  King's  Highness,  and  his 
laws,  without  other  respect,  recognise  and  knowledge,  that  the 
marriage  heretofore  had  between  His  Majesty  and  my  mother,  the  late 
Princess  Dowager,  was,  by  God's  law,  and  man's  law,  incestuous  and 
unlawful. — MARY."  *  It  might  be  said  that  this  "  confession  "  was 
extorted  from  her  by  fear,  and  probably  it  was  ;  but  she  seems  to  have 
thenceforth  courted  favour  with  consummate  dissimulation. 

The  above-cited  "  confession  "  was  accompanied  by  a  letter  to  her 
father,  written  in  language  of  the  most  abject  submission,  not  only 
yielding  every  point  that  she  had  previously  maintained,  but  putting 
her  soul  under  his  direction  ;  and,  professing  herself  willing  in  all 
things  to  direct  her  conscience  according  to  his  learning,  virtue, 
wisdom,  and  knowledge,  she  called  her  former  disobedience,  "  iniquity 
towards  God."  Again  and  again,  as  her  letters  testify,  she  made  the 
same  profession  of  unreserved  consent  to  her  father's  laws,  not  except- 
ing those  which  related  to  the  Church  ;  and  in  writing  to  Secretary 
Cromwell,  she  went  further  than  any  honest  Protestant  could  go  in 
submission  to  the  supremacy  of  the  King.  "  For  mine  opinion," 
said  she,  "  touching  pilgrimages,  purgatory,  relics,  and  such  like,  I 
assure  you  I  have  none  at  all  but  such  as  I  shall  receive  from  him  that 
hath  mine  whole  heart  in  his  keeping,  that  is,  the  King's  most  graci- 
ous Highness,  my  most  benign  father,  who  shall  imprint  in  the  same, 
touching  these  matters  and  all  other,  what  his  inestimable  virtue,  high 
wisdom,  and  excellent  learning  shall  think  convenient,  and  limit  unto 
me."  But  after  her  father's  death  she  grew  bold,  refused  obedience 
to  the  Council  of  Regency  whom  he  had  appointed,  and  said  that  she 
would  not  acknowledge  any  changes  in  religion  made  during  the 
minority  of  her  brother.  Yet  when  Lady  Jane  Gray  was  proclaimed 
Queen,  contrary  to  her  expectation,  and  she  had  to  turn  back  into 
Suffolk  and  endeavour  there  to  raise  a  party,  she  went  further  than 
ever  she  had  done  before  in  renouncing  Popery.  For  she  not  only 
professed  willingness  to  abide  by  the  ecclesiastical  Reformation  of 
Henry  VIII.,  but  assured  a  large  company  of  gentlemen  and  others 
who  came  to  her  at  Framlingham,  that  she  would  never  alter  the  form 
of  religion  that  had  been  established  under  Edward,  but,  without 
making  any  innovation  or  change,  would  be  contented  with  the  pri- 
vate exercise  of  her  own.  Persuaded  of  her  sincerity,  they  resolved 

*  Burnet,  part  i.,  book  iii.  A.D.  1536. 
VOL.    III.  2    I 


242  CHAPTER    IV. 

to  hazard  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  her  quarrel,  as  did  the  Protestants 
of  Norfolk,  to  whom  she  gave  the  same  promise.  At  Norwich  she 
was  first  proclaimed  Queen,  and  then  all  over  England  ;  the  Papists 
reasonably  expecting  that  she  would  restore  their  superstition  and 
reinstate  the  Clergy  in  power,  the  Reformed  trusting  that  she  would 
still  allow  them  liberty,  and  her  superior  title  to  the  crown  being 
generally  acknowledged.  But  when  some  of  the  Suffolk  and  Norfolk 
men  appeared  before  her  in  London,  a  short  time  after  her  coronation, 
when  she  had  already  silenced  the  Reformed  preachers  and  exercised 
so  much  severity  that  a  sanguinary  persecution  began  to  be  feared, 
and  reminded  her  of  her  promise,  they  no  longer  found  a  pliant  can- 
didate for  popular  support,  but  an  imperious  bigot.  She  called  them 
insolent ;  said  that  she  marvelled  that  they,  being  members,  should 
pretend  to  rule  her,  their  head ;  bade  them  learn  that  members  should 
obey,  not  govern  ;  and  because  one  of  them,  named  Dobbe,  had 
spoken  out  more  boldly  than  the  rest,  he  was  sent  to  the  pillory  for 
having  said  what  tended  to  the  defamation  of  the  Queen. 

The  burial  of  Edward  VI.  *  was  the  signal  for  a  mournful  change. 
During  the  days  preceding,  Gardiner  and  other  Popish  recusants  were 
released  from  prison  ;  and  several  friends  and  promoters  of  the 
Reformation  committed  to  the  Tower  and  other  places  of  confinement. 
Not  only  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  others  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry  who  had  supported  Lady  Jane  Gray,  but  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, Dr.  Cox,  and  other  eminent  Ministers  of  Christ,  were  incarce- 
rated. Dr.  Day,  formerly  Bishop  of  Chichester,  having  been  released 
from  the  Marshalsea  by  Mary,  a  few  days  before,  preached  at  the 
funeral  in  Westminster  Abbey,  the  Queen  so  preventing  any  mention 
of  her  predecessor  that  would  have  been  disagreeable  to  herself. 
Cranmer  then  performed  his  last  public  act,  by  administering — and 
for  the  last  time  in  that  place — the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper. 
Gardiner  officiated  before  Mary  in  the  Tower,  at  a  Popish  requiem, 
mitred  again  as  a  Bishop,  and  next  day  used  his  liberty  by  quitting 
the  Tower.  On  the  following  Sunday  began  an  open  attack  on  the 
Reformation  by  one  Bourn,  Parson  of  High-Ongar,  in  Essex,  one  of  a 
company  of  preachers  made  ready  for  that  service.  He  delivered  a 
violent  oration  at  Paul's-Cross,  in  presence  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
an  immense  concourse,  censuring  the  proceedings  of  the  late  King 
and  his  Council,  and  pouring  contempt  on  all  that  was  dear  to  the 
people.  After  the  rude  fashion  of  the  time,  when  congregations  gave 
signs  of  approbation  and  dissent,  the  people  signified  their  displeasure 
by  shouts,  and  tossing  of  caps.  Women,  children,  and  Priests  joined 
in  the  uproar,  and  some  one  threw  a  dagger  at  the  preacher,  who 
was  immediately  conveyed  to  a  place  of  safety  by  Bradford  and 
Rogers,  who  were  forthwith  imprisoned.  On  the  following  Sunday, 
Dr.  Watson,  Gardiner's  Chaplain,  occupied  the  same  pulpit,  guarded 
by  two  hundred  soldiers,  and  was  heard  by  several  noble  Lords,  with 
the  crafts  of  the  city  in  order  and  costume,  the  ordinary  crowd  being 
excluded  or  overawed.  An  order  had  been  given  that  no  apprentices 
should  come  to  that  sermon,  nor  any  person  bearing  arms,  the  guard 

*  He  died  July  6th,  aud  was  buried  August  8th,  1553, 


MARY'S  FIRST  PROCLAMATION.  243 

exceptcd  ;  and  each  day  in  the  intervening  week  had  been  marked  by 
some  act  of  severe  and  re-actionary  justice.  Next  day  ten  thousand 
people  were  assembled  on  Tower-Hill  to  witness  the  execution  of  the 
Duke  of  Northumberland  and  other  state-prisoners.  Block,  sand, 
and  straw  were  ready  on  the  scaffold  ;  and  armed  men  and  hangman 
all  waiting  to  do  their  duty,  when  they  were  commanded  to  depart. 
The  criminals  had  been  induced  to  renounce  their  religion,  little  as  it 
was,  and,  in  order  to  be  paraded  at  a  mass  within  the  Tower,  were 
respited  for  a  day.  One  more  sun  rose  on  them,  and  then  the  execu- 
tioner did  his  office. 

While  this  first  abjuration  of  the  present  reign  was  taking  place 
within  the  state-prison  of  England,  a  proclamation,  probably  drawn 
up  by  Gardiner,  and  signed  by  Mary  at  Richmond  three  days  before, 
(August  18th,)  was  published  in  London,  and  despatched  to  all  parts 
of  the  kingdom.  The  Queen's  Highness,  well  remembering  what 
dangers  and  inconveniences  had  grown  to  Her  Highness's  realm  in 
times  past  from  diversities  of  religion,  and  affirming  that  now,  in  the 
beginning  of  her  most  prosperous  reign,  the  same  contentions  were 
much  revived,  and  certain  false  and  untrue  reports  spread  by  light- 
minded  and  evil-disposed  persons,  made  her  mind  known  to  her  loving 
subjects,  and  signified  her  most  gracious  pleasure.  For  herself,  her 
pleasure  would  be  to  follow  the  same  religion  which  God  and  the 
world  knew  she  had  professed  from  childhood.  For  her  subjects,  her 
desire  was  that  they  should  profess  the  same.  Yet,  of  her  most  gra- 
cious disposition  and  clemency,  she  minded  not  to  compel  any  there- 
unto, until  such  time  as  further  order  might  by  common  consent  be 
taken  therein.  Meanwhile  she  strictly  commanded  all  her  subjects 
not  to  presume  to  interpret  the  laws  of  England,  not  to  use  the 
"  new-found  devilish  terms  of  Papist  and  heretic,"  not  to  gather 
assemblies,  not  to  preach  in  public  or  in  private  without  authority, 
nor  to  interpret  the  word  of  God  "  after  their  own  brain,"  nor  to 
make  any  allusion  to  religious  matters  in  plays,  books,  ballads,  rhymes, 
or  lewd  treatises.  She  also  forbade  all  prosecutions  for  religious  and  poli- 
tical offences,  except  those  instituted  by  her  own  authority  ;  but  invited 
her  loving  subjects  to  be  diligent  as  informers,  and  straitly  charged 
the  Mayors,  Sheriffs,  Justices,  and  so  on,  to  commit  all  transgressors 
of  this  proclamation  to  the  nearest  prisons,  without  bail  or  main- 
prise.*  If  Edward  violated  the  law  of  succession  by  superseding  the 
will  of  his  father  without  an  Act  of  Parliament,  what  shall  be  said 
of  Mary,  who,  in  this  proclamation,  not  only  suspended  the  execution 
of  all  existing  laws,  but  violated  the  liberty  of  her  subjects  by  order- 
ing imprisonment  for  obeying  those  laws,  contrary  to  her  pleasure  ? 

The  mass  returned.  First  at  St.  Nicholas,  Cole  Abbey,  one  Parson 
Chicken,  the  Incumbent,  signalised  his  Catholicity  by  selling  his  wife 
to  a  butcher,  and,  not  waiting  for  orders,  by  setting  up  tapers  and  a 
crucifix  on  the  altar  of  his  church,  and  singing  mass  in  Latin.  Parson 
Chicken,  however,  was  carted  through  London  a  few  weeks  afterwards. 
The  next  day,  (August  24th,)  a  Latin  mass  was  also  performed  in 
Bread-street.  These  illegal  masses  rapidly  multiplied ;  and  the 

*  Foxe,  book  x.,  gives  the  proclamation. 
2  i  2 


244  CHAPTER    IV. 

Priests,  who  put  themselves  in  advance  of  law,  were  sure  of  royal 
favour;  but  the  parishioners  often  interposed  to  check  their  zeal,  and 
in  a  few  instances  preferred  charges  of  unlawful  conduct  against 
them.  Such  indictments  were  laid  before  Judge  Hales  at  the  Kent 
assizes,  and  he  pronounced  sentence  according  to  law,  fearless  of  con- 
sequences. He  had  braved  the  displeasure  of  the  Duke  of  Northum- 
berland by  refusing  to  consent  to  the  exclusion  of  Mary  from  the 
succession,  and,  under  her  government,  might  have  expected  some 
acknowledgment ;  but  he  was  called  before  Gardiner,  now  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, thrown  into  prison,  and  so  tormented  by  exposure  to  incessant 
annoyances,  taken  from  prison  to  prison,  to  undergo  new  vexations  by 
day  and  night,  that  from  want  of  sleep  and  quiet  he  lost  all  power  of  self- 
command,  renounced  the  religious  profession  that  he  had  so  long  adorned 
both  in  public  and  in  private,  and  then  attempted  to  commit  suicide. 
In  reward  for  his  recantation,  he  was  released  from  prison,  but  never 
recovered  his  reason,  and  after  a  few  months  drowned  himself  in  a 
river. 

Most  preachers  obeyed  the  Queen's  proclamation  by  keeping 
silence,  or  they  met  their  flocks  in  small  companies  from  house  to 
house,  awaiting  the  assemblage  of  Parliament,  and  feebly  hoping  that 
she  would  not  utterly  neglect  the  promise  given  before  her  proclama- 
tion, not  to  persecute  any  for  conscience'  sake.  But  each  day's  event 
weakened  that  hope,  until  the  silence  of  the  pulpits  was  broken  by 
herself;  and,  while  yet  the  law  was  for  the  Reformed  religion,  public 
worship  was  made  Popish  by  an  act  of  unconstitutional  compulsion. 
Using  her  ecclesiastical  supremacy,  she  gave  a  warrant  to  Gardiner, 
as  Chancellor,  authorizing  him  to  give  licence,  under  the  Great  Seal, 
to  such  grave,  learned,  and  discreet  persons  as  should  seem  unto  him 
meet  and  able  men,  to  preach  God's  word  in  any  church  or  chapel  in 
England  (August  29th).*  Some  good  men  determined  to  preach 
without  licence,  since  it  behoved  them  to  bear  testimony  to  the  Gos- 
pel with  so  much  the  greater  earnestness,  as  its  enemies  endeavoured 
to  propagate  idolatry  ;  and  on  the  very  day  of  the  above  warrant, 
Coverdale,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  and  Hooper  of  Gloucester,  were  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  the  Council.  Hooper  was  committed  to  the 
Fleet,  (September  1  st,)  and  Coverdale  appointed  to  wait  their  pleasure. 
Cranmer  would  have  been  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner,  had  not  the 
Queen  determined  to  leave  him,  as  long  as  possible,  in  possession 
of  the  see  of  Canterbury,  that  it  might  be  reserved  for  Cardinal  Pole, 
on  his  return  from  Rome.  The  foreigners  who  had  found  refuge  from 
persecution  in  England  now  fled.  Peter  Martyr,  who  held  a  pro- 
fessorship at  Cambridge,  left  the  University,  and  took  refuge  with 
Cranmer  at  Lambeth,  until  it  was  evident  that  Cranmer  could  no 
longer  afford  protection  to  any  one  ;  when  he  returned  to  Germany. 
John  a  Lascof  and  his  flock  were  commanded  to  leave,  their 

*  Rymeri  Fosdera,  torn,  xv.,  p.  337. 

t  John  Laski — Latinised  into  a  Lasco — was  a  noble  Pole,  who  had  been  previously 
in  England,  and  was  invited  hither  again,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  to  assist  in  pro- 
moting a  reformed  ecclesiastical  discipline.  He  was  acknowledged  as  "  Superintendent" 
of  the  foreign  Protestants  in- London,  to  whom  a  church  was  granted  for  the  celebration 
of  worship  in  their  language,  and  according  to  their  own  form. 


MARY  S    FIRST    PARLIAMENT.  245 

church  was  taken  from  them,  and  their  congregation  dissolved. 
Many  English  fled  at  the  same  time,  disguised  as  servants  to  French- 
men and  Germans.  Some  Clergymen  also  went,  of  whom  the  most 
eminent  were  Dr.  Cox,  after  his  release  from  the  Marshalsea,  Dr. 
Sands,  Vice-Chancellor  of  Cambridge,  Grindal,  Bishop  of  London,  and 
Master  Home,  Dean  of  Durham.  From  this  time  the  emigration 
continued,  as  far  as  the  persecuted  could  evade  pursuit ;  and  English 
congregations  were  formed,  or  the  native  congregations  considerably 
enlarged,  at  Strasburg,  Zurich,  Geneva,  Basil,  Berne,  Louvain,  Frank- 
fort, Wesel,  and  other  places. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Peter  Martyr,  Cranmer  published  a  denial  of  a 
report  that  he  had  offered  to  say  mass,  and  had  actually  caused  it  to 
be  said  at  Canterbury ;  and  offered  to  defend  the  scriptural  service 
recently  appointed,  in  consistence  with  the  practice  of  primitive  Chris- 
tian antiquity.  Within  a  week  after  the  publication  of  this  letter,  he 
was  committed  to  the  Tower,  together  with  Latimer  (September  14th 
and  15th). 

Shortly  after  her  coronation  (Sunday,  October  1st,  1553)  at  the  hand 
of  Gardiner,  Mary  saw  her  obedient  Parliament  assembled.  There  could 
be  no  effectual  opposition  there ;  for  the  chief  leaders  of  political  dis- 
affection had  been  beheaded,  and  most  of  the  Reformed  Bishops  were 
in  prison.  The  Bishops  of  Lincoln  and  Hereford  took  their  places, 
but  either  retired  at  once,  or  were  expelled,  for  not  adoring  the  host 
in  a  mass  that  was  said  before  the  House  at  opening  (October  5th). 
Her  first  act  (for  all  acts  there  were  of  the  Queen,  not  of  the  Parlia- 
ment) was  to  remit  the  subsidies  that  had  been  granted  to  Edward, 
in  order  to  produce  a  favourable  impression  on  her  subjects.  She 
also  gave  a  general  pardon,  having  the  same  intention,  but  with  many 
exceptions.  But  the  chief  business  of  the  session  was  to  repeal  the 
Acts  of  the  two  reigns  preceding,  so  far  as  religion  was  concerned, 
and  to  enact  the  contrary.  To  recount  the  new  Acts  is  unnecessary. 
They  are  to  be  found  among  the  statutes  of  the  realm  ;  but  their 
summary  may  be  given  by  saying,  that  they  were  the  abrogation  of  all 
that  upheld  religious  liberty  and  evangelical  reform.  The  Lady  Jane 
Gray,  with  her  husband,  and  two  other  sons  of  the  Duke  of  North- 
umberland, who  had  been  kept  in  durance,  were  here  attainted  as 
traitors.  So  waa  Cranmer.  Their  lives  were  forfeited,  excepting 
Cranmer,  who,  being  an  Archbishop,  was  spared  for  the  time,  that  so 
high  a  dignitary  might  not  be  put  to  death  until  canonically  degraded  ; 
and,  the  Queen's  object  being  to  reserve  the  archbishopric  for  a 
favourite,  this  deference  to  the  Church  served  her  purpose  well.  He 
was  declared  a  traitor,  kept  in  the  Tower,  and  allowed  to  retain  the 
archbishopric  nominally,  but  deprived  of  its  revenue.  The  Primate 
had  had  many  premonitions  of  this  event.  The  very  day  before 
the  opening  of  Parliament,  his  brother  of  York  was  incarcerated, 
with  several  other  men  of  high  rank,  who  had  not  shown  sufficient 
alacrity  in  attending  at  the  coronation.  Commissioners  held  their 
sessions  at  the  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  house,  and  dealt  out  summary  dis- 
cipline to  as  many  as  were  delated.  Persons  of  high  title  stood  there 
as  delinquents,  received  arbitrary  sentences,  and  suddenly  found  them- 


246  CHAPTER    IV. 

selves  in  custody  as  state-criminals,  and  hurried  away  to  the  Tower, 
as  was  Archbishop  Heath,  or  to  the  common  gaols  of  London.  Others 
bought  their  peace  by  submitting  to  heavy  fines,  and  others  by  relin- 
quishing fees  and  offices  granted  to  them  under  King  Edward. 

All  this  time  the  Queen  retained  the  title,  "  Supreme  Head  of  the 
Church,"  and  acted  as  such.  And  she  had  not  ventured  to  open  a 
correspondence  with  Rome.  The  Papal  Nuncio  at  the  Imperial  court, 
therefore,  endeavoured  to  ascertain  what  position  this  zealous  Lady 
intended  to  take,  and,  as  there  was  no  channel  of  official  communica- 
tion, did  towards  England,  what  England,  in  our  day,  has  done 
towards  Rome,  —  he  sent  a  secret  emissary.*  One  Commendone,  an 
Italian,  made  his  way  to  London,  early  in  August,  wandered  about 
the  city,  not  daring  to  make  himself,  or  his  errand,  known,  until  he 
met  one  of  the  Queen's  servants,  whom  he  had  known  abroad,  and 
obtained,  through  his  means,  a  secret  audience  of  Her  Majesty.  She 
told  him  freely  that  she  desired  to  restore  things  to  the  state  they 
had  been  in  before  her  father's  defection  from  Rome,  and  sent  him 
thither  with  two  letters,  —  one  addressed  to  Cardinal  Pole,  and  the 
other  to  the  Pope.  The  Cardinal  had  sent  a  letter  for  her  to  the 
Nuncio  at  Brussels,  and  it  was,  probably,  by  Commendone  that  she 
received  it.  She  desired  Cardinal  Pole's  presence  in  quality  of 
Nuncio,  or,  if  the  Holy  Father  would  so  dispense,  (for,  although  Car- 
dinal, he  was  only  a  Deacon,)  as  husband.  And  she  craved  a  public 
and  solemn  pardon  on  behalf  of  England  for  having  separated  from 
the  See  of  Rome.f  The  former  indulgence  could  not  be  granted 
without  disappointing  the  Emperor,  who  had  set  his  heart  on  placing 
his  son  Philip  on  the  throne  of  England  ;  but  of  the  latter  there 
could  be  no  question.  Commendone  related  the  execution  of  the 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  every  other  incident  that  would  delight 
the  Cardinals  ;  but  to  the  Pope  alone  he  communicated  every  parti- 
cular. To  him  alone  he  said  that  he  had  seen  the  Queen,  and  bare 
her  message  and  epistles.  The  Parliament  of  England  had  not  met 
when  he  was  in  London  in  August,  unknown  to  all  but  Mary  and  her 
servant  :  therefore  it  would  have  been  palpably  imprudent  for  her  to 
have  then  attempted  an  open  negotiation.  But  the  state  of  England, 
and  the  evident  disposition  of  the  Queen,  were  sufficiently  known  to 
permit  the  Consistory  to  indulge  in  great  joy.  For  three  days  Rome 
was  made  gay  with  high  festivity  ;  the  Pope  himself  condescended  to 
say  mass  ;  he  distributed  indulgences  to  the  populace,  and  the  Roman 
Prelates  and  Priests  congratulated  one  another  on  the  sudden  recovery 
of  England. 

Long  before  the  meeting  of  Parliament  those  preliminaries  had 
gone  forward  stealthily  between  London  and  Rome,  and  according  to 
them  are  the  ostensible  proceedings  in  Parliament  and  Convocation. 
Over  the  Convocation  (October  16th)  Bonner  presided  ;  and  his  Chap- 
lain, John  Harpsfield,  preached  the  sermon,  neither  stinting  panegyric 

*  A  person,  having  no  formal  appointment,  but  receiving  a  salary  from  Great  Britain, 
d  onl    known  as  an  attache  of  the   British  embass 


»iijH  uv,  a  appumi  mem,  out  receiving  a  salary  from  (.treat  BIT 

and  only  known  as  an  attache  of  the   British  embassy  at  Florence,  has  long  been 
covert,  yet  active,  representative  of  this  country  at  the  Court  of  Rome. 
T  Phillips,  Life  of  Cardinal  Pole,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  6,  8.  28. 


the 


MARY'S  FIRST  CONVOCATION.  247 

on   the  Queen   and   her  Bishops,  nor   sparing   invective   against   the 
Reformed.     Weston,   Dean   of   Westminster,   was    presented   by   the 
Lower  House  as  Prolocutor,  and   approved   hy  Bonner.     The  Upper 
House  appears  to  have  been  well  sifted  ;  but  some  evangelical  Clergy 
took   their   seats   in  the   Lower,   and   when  Weston   told  them   Her 
Majesty's   pleasure   that  King   Edward's    pestiferous  Catechism    and 
abominable   Common-Prayer  Book  should  be   suppressed,  and  "that 
they  should  prepare  such  laws  about  religion  as  she  would  ratify  with 
her  Parliament,"   there   were   dissentients.     He,  therefore,  proposed 
some  questions,  and,  saying   that    he  was  assured  that  the  majority 
would  decide  as  Mary  required,  adjourned  the  sitting.     On  re-assem- 
bling, all  the  members,  except  six,  subscribed  a  set  of  Popish  articles. 
The  six   non-contents,    Philpot,   Archdeacon  of  Winchester,   Philips, 
Dean  of  Rochester,  Haddon,  Dean   of  Exeter,  Cheyney,  Archdeacon 
of  Hereford,  Ailmer,  Archdeacon  of  Stow,  and  Young,  Chanter  of  St. 
David's,  withheld   their   signatures,  and  defended  the  Catechism  and 
Prayer-Book,  as  printed  by  consent  and  approval  of  the  Convocation, 
who   had   appointed   persons  to  prepare   them,  and  fully  authorized 
their  publication  and  use  ;  whereas  Weston  presumed  to  say  that  they 
were   introduced  without   their   consent.     Philpot,  on  behalf  of  his 
brethren,  asked  the  House  to  allow  a  discussion  of  the  articles,  com- 
plaining that  it  was  unfair  to  demand  signatures  to  what   had  not 
been   submitted   to  discussion  in  order  to  acceptance.     The  demand 
could  scarcely  be  refused  ;  and,  on   the  day  appointed,  many  of  the 
Lords  came  to  listen,  as  did  a  great  congregation  of  people.     But  the 
six  dissentients,  maintaining   their  belief  during  so  many  days,  were 
browbeaten,  and  Popish  doctrine  was  restored.      Such  a  compulsory 
proceeding  had  certainly  not  been  witnessed  in  the  reign  of  Edward, 
nor  even  in  that  of  Henry. 

During  the  Convocation  select  preachers  delivered  sermons  at 
Paul's-Cross,  protected  by  barriers,  and  guarded  by  armed  men. 
Processions  were  made  round  the  cathedral,  with  the  old  accom- 
paniments of  saints,  crosses,  and  torches,  and,  after  a  few  such 
exhibitions  had  been  suffered  by  the  Londoners,  orders  were  given  to 
every  church  to  have  the  furniture  necessary  for  the  same  purpose. 
Sentences  of  Scripture  that  had  been  painted  on  the  church-walls 
were  erased,  and  images  replaced ;  and,  before  the  year  closed,  citizens 
were  apprehended  and  imprisoned  for  heresy,  and  their  property 
sequestered,  just  as  in  the  dark  days  of  Wolsey  and  Sir  Thomas 
More. 

The  year  1554  opened  amidst  universal  terror.  The  dungeons 
were  full,  and  scaffolds  had  reeked  with  blood.  Of  Queen  Mary's 
thirst  for  blood  there  could  be  no  doubt,  nor  any  of  her  ingratitude 
and  bad  faith,  even  to  her  friends.  Cranmer,  who  had  once  preserved 
her  life,  and  Judge  Hales,  who  had  hazarded  his  own  life  in  the  cause 
of  her  succession  to  the  crown,  were  in  bonds.  Those  who  had  dared 
to  remind  her  of  her  solemn  pledge  to  allow  religious  liberty  were 
insulted  and  even  pilloried.  To  add,  as  people  thought,  an  incalculable 
amount  of  evil  to  what  already  existed,  a  marriage  was  intended  be- 
tween the  Queen  and  a  Spaniard,  Philip  of  Austria,  son  of  Charles  V. 


248  CHAPTER    IV. 

The  despotism  of  Spanish  government  in  the  Netherlands  and  in 
Italy  might  be  extended  to  England  when  the  young  Spaniard  should 
be  seated  on  our  throne  with  the  power,  as  well  as  the  title,  of  King. 
The  zeal  of  Mary  for  Popery  would  scarcely  refuse  the  Spanish 
method  of  overcoming  heresy,  nor  would  her  taste  be  likely  to  repugn 
against  an  Inquisition,  having  had  a  Spanish  mother,  and  received  a 
Spanish  consort.  Spain,  at  that  time,  was  exceedingly  rich,  and  the 
dowry  would  be  large :  yet  the  expected  gold  had  been  gathered  from 
America  ;  it  was  the  price  of  blood ;  to  get  it,  Spain  had  perpetrated 
atrocities  on  that  continent  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  civilised 
world.  Would  not  that  gold  be  made  an  instrument  of  corruption  and 
oppression  1  These  were  not  unreasonable  fears,  and  Papists,  as  well  as 
Reformed,  entertained  them.  A  silent,  domestic  discontent  pervaded 
England.  The  Spanish  marriage  became  the  topic  of  universal  conversa- 
tion, the  object  of  universal  horror ;  and  the  court  were  alarmed  with 
rumours  of  a  general  insurrection.  As  yet  a  word  of  conciliation  had  not 
been  spoken  ;  and  the  woman  who,  in  time  of  danger,  had  given  up  her 
conscience  to  be  guided  by  her  father,  and  declared  her  mother  to  have 
lived  in  incest, — the  woman  who,  in  hour  of  need,  had  courted  popular- 
ityand  offered  liberty, — now  again  descends  to  expostulate  with  citizens. 
She  desired,  or  allowed,  Gardiner,  about  the  middle  of  January,  to  send 
for  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  the  court  of  Aldermen,  and  about  forty 
of  the  Commons,  and  talk  sweetly  to  them  about  her  intended  marriage 
with  the  Prince  of  Spain.  They  heard  with  courteous  reserve,  but  could 
not  rein  the  indignation,  nor  dispel  the  apprehensions,  of  the  Lon- 
doners, who  were  in  correspondence  with  armed  insurgents  in  the 
country.  Intelligence  soon  reached  St.  James's  that  Sir  Thomas 
Wyat,  a  gentleman  who  had  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Henry  VIII., 
and  was  intrusted  by  him  with  a  mission  to  Charles  V.,  headed  a 
revolt  in  Kent,  had  that  day  (January  25th)  entered  Maidstone  with 
armed  force,  and  was  receiving  adherents  from  all  directions.  After 
a  night  of  sleepless  preparation,  the  militia  were  called  out,  the  gates 
of  London  doubly  guarded,  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  sent  into  Kent 
against  Sir  Thomas  Wyat.  The  Duke  met  Sir  Thomas  marching 
towards  London,  and,  at  Rochester-bridge,  his  men,  instead  of  dis- 
puting the  passage,  or  forcing  their  way  into  the  city,  joined  the 
rebels,  and  left  his  Grace  to  carry  back  the  report.  While  Norfolk 
marched  out  of  London,  a  messenger  hastened  towards  Ashridge,*  to 
make  sure  of  the  Lady  Elizabeth.  Mary,  at  the  advice  of  Gardiner  and 
the  Privy  Council,  wrote  a  kind  letter  to  her  "  right  dear  and  entirely 
beloved  sister,"  praying  her  to  come  to  London  with  all  convenient 
speed,  to  avoid  any  danger  that  might  arise  in  case  of  disturbance  in 
that  neighbourhood.  But  the  messenger  carried  private  orders  to  her 
governors  to  bring  her  up,  willing  or  not.  She  was  very  ill  in  bed, 
and  the  governors  could  not  then  remove  her ;  but,  after  waiting  a 
few  days,  Mary  sent  another  sort  of  message  by  three  of  her  Privy 
Councillors,  whom  the  Princess  saw  enter  her  chamber  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  and  from  them  received  an  unceremonious  command  to  obey 

*  Elizabeth  resided  there  in   a  magnificent  monastery,  formerly   occupied   by  the 
Augustinians. 


MARY    REFUSES    THE    SUPREMACY.  249 

her  sister's  pleasure,  that  would  be  enforced,  if  she  showed  reluct- 
ance, by  a  strong  body  of  soldiery  that  were  waiting  to  attend  her  to 
London  in  custody,  if  not  under  guard.  She  was  hurried  out  of  bed 
early  the  next  morning,  carried  on  a  litter,  not  suffered  to  see  the 
Queen,  but,  after  a  fortnight's  arrest,  committed  to  the  Tower.  Not 
without  suffering  indignities,  and  being  in  peril  of  assassination,  she 
was  confined  successively  in  that  place,  at  Woodstock,  in  her  own 
house  at  Ashridge,  and  at  Hampton  Court.  The  rebellion  extended 
to  the  midland  counties  and  Cornwall ;  but  Protestants  are  not  skilful 
in  rebellion,  and  that  effort,  being  premature  and  ill  concerted,  failed. 
The  Papists  gloried :  Gardiner  preached  before  the  Queen,  advising  her 
to  show  no  mercy  ;  she  needed  not  his  incitement ;  and  in  a  few  days 
the  streets  of  London  were  planted  with  gibbets,  and  the  dungeons 
again  glutted  with  captives.  For  this,  however,  there  may  be  some 
excuse,  and  a  less  severe  punishment  could  not  have  been  expected. 
Lady  Jane  Gray,  who  had  been,  until  then,  kept  prisoner,  was 
beheaded,  the  circumstance  of  rebellion  affording  a  sufficient  pretext 
(February  12th). 

After  having  mastered  those  manifestations  of  political  disquiet,  the 
Queen  and  her  Council  returned  to  their  favourite  work  of  persecu- 
tion. A  royal  letter  to  all  the  Bishops  commanded  them  to  make  a 
visitation  of  their  dioceses  for  the  discovery  and  punishment  of  here- 
tics ;  and,  among  its  numerous  instructions,  the  most  remarkable  is 
that  they  should  refrain  from  employing,  in  their  official  acts,  a  usual 
phrase,  *'  supported  by  royal  authority,"  and  no  longer  exact  or 
demand,  in  conferring  ordination,  the  oaths  of  supremacy  and  suc- 
cession. Commissions  were  also  issued  for  the  removal  of  the  remain- 
ing Bishops  who  had  succeeded  to  Papists,  with  marks  of  special 
disapprobation  of  those  who  had  defiled  themselves  by  marriage. 
Under  a  distinct  Commission,  the  Bishops  of  Lincoln,  Worcester  and 
Gloucester,  and  Hereford,  were  to  be  not  only  deprived,  but 
punished  ;  *  and  we  shall  soon  find  them  suffering  for  Christ's  sake. 
The  historian  of  the  Reformation  thus  describes  the  effect  of  these 
visitations  and  Commissions  : — "  The  most  eminent  preachers  in 
London  were  either  put.  into  prison,  or  under  confinement.  Parker 
estimates  it  that  there  were  now  about  sixteen  thousand  Clergymen  in 
England  ;  and,  of  these,  twelve  thousand  were  turned  out  upon  this 
account;"  (for  being  married  ;)  "some,  he  says,  were  deprived  without 
conviction,  upon  common  fame;  some  were  never  cited  to  appear, 
and  yet  turned  out ;  many  that  were  in  prison  were  cited,  and  turned 
out  for  not  appearing,  though  it  was  not  in  their  power ;  some  were 
induced  to  submit,  and  quit  their  wives  for  their  livings  :  they  were 
all  summarily  deprived.  Nor  was  this  all :  but,  after  they  were 
deprived,  they  were  also  forced  to  leave  their  wives ;  which  piece  of 
severity  was  grounded  on  the  vow  that,  as  was  pretended,  they  had 
made,  though  the  falsehood  of  this  charge  was  formally  demon- 
strated." -f 

*  Burnet,  part  ii.,  book  ii.,  collections  JO,  11;  Hymen  Foedera,  torn,  xv.,  pp.  370,  371. 
t   Monks  make  a  vow  of  "  chastity."     Priests  only  vow  canonical  obedience.     Now, 
as  the  priesthood  of  England  hud  been  released  from  the  obligation  to  be  unmarried,  by 
VOL.    III.  2    K 


250  CHAPTER    IV. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  Convocation  first  met  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  more  eminent  evangelical  Clergymen,  six  mem- 
bers of  the  Lower  House  refused  to  sign  a  set  of  Popish  articles ;  that 
a  mock  disputation  was  held  for  six  days,  amidst  much  uproar,  and 
that  they  were  overborne  by  clamour.  This  injustice  was  flagrant ; 
and  the  Papists,  unable  to  palliate,  thought  that  by  allowing  another 
debate,  some  part  of  the  discredit  might  be  wiped  away.  An  order 
was,  therefore,  sent  (March  10th)  to  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  to 
deliver  the  bodies  of  "  Master  Doctor  Cranmer,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  Master  Doctor  Ridley,  and  Master  Latimer,"  to  Sir  John 
Williams,  to  be  conveyed  to  Oxford.  They  were  thus  conveyed,  as 
prisoners,  first  to  Windsor,  and  thence  to  Oxford,  to  dispute  with  a 
selected  company  of  learned  men  of  both  Oxford  and  Cambridge  on 
the  grand  article  of  Romanism,  transubstantiation.  The  heads  of 
colleges  in  Cambridge,  being  assembled,  heard  a  letter  from  Gardiner, 
with  articles  to  be  believed,  and  in  due  form  gave  them  their  sub- 
scription, and,  under  their  common  seal,  commissioned  five  of  their 
number  to  go  to  Oxford,  to  maintain  the  dogma  against  Canterbury, 
London,  and  Latimer.  In  due  time  the  representatives  of  Cambridge 
took  up  their  abode  at  the  Cross  Inn,  Oxford,  were  welcomed  with 
ceremony,  and  began  their  communication  with  learned  brethren  with 
much  joviality,  masses,  and  procession.  The  three  prisoners  were 
confined  apart ;  the  Cambridge  and  Oxford  Doctors  held  frequent 
conferences. 

After  more  than  a  month  had  elapsed  since  their  removal  from  the 
Tower,  they  were  severally  conducted  (April  14th)  to  the  choir  of  St. 
Mary's  church,  where  no  fewer  than  thirty-three  University  men  were 
seated  before  the  altar  to  receive  them.  First,  Archbishop  Craumer, 
in  custody  of  the  Mayor  of  Oxford  and  a  party  of  armed  men,  was 
brought  into  their  presence.  He  was  more  than  sixty  years  of  age, 
of  low  stature,  mild  countenance,  his  head  shorn  of  locks  that  the 
tonsure  had  not  stolen,  and  his  beard  unshaven,  and  of  silvery  white- 
ness. He  leant  on  his  staff;  but,  when  offered  a  stool,  refused, 
choosing  to  stand  in  their  presence,  perhaps  that  the  reality  of  his 
condition,  being  in  bonds,  might  appear  in  the  humiliation  of  his 
posture.  Prolocutor  Weston,  seated  in  the  midst,  and  robed  in  scar- 
let, began  by  pronouncing  an  oration  in  praise  of  unity,  and  invited 
Cranmer,  who  had  been  once,  as  he  said,  in  the  unity  of  the  Church, 
but  was  now  separated  from  it,  to  return.  Cranmer  answered  with 
admirable  self-possession,  learning,  and  meekness,  in  a  Latin  address, 
remarkable  for  classical  propriety  and  Christian  truth.  He  acknow- 
ledged the  excellence  of  unity,  "  conservatrix  of  all  republics,"  and 
said  that  he  would  be  glad  to  come  to  a  unity,  "  so  that  it  were  in 
Christ,  and  agreeable  to  his  holy  word."  The  Prolocutor  then  caused 
the  articles  to  be  read  to  him,  and  allowed  him  to  take  the  parch- 
ment and  peruse  them  in  silence  three  or  four  times ;  which  having 
done,  he  asked  for  explanation  of  the  words  "  true  and  natural," 

the  authority  of  Parliament,— an  authority  that  Mary  herself  made  use  of,— it  was  wan- 
tonly false  to  charge  those'  twelve  thousand  married  Priests  with  marrying  "post 
expressam  professiunem  castitatis,  expresse,  rite,  et  legitirne  emissam." 


CRANMER,    RIDLEY,    AND    LATJMER    AT    OXFORD.  251 

(verum  et  naturale,)  as  applied  to  the  bread  of  the  eucharist,  which 
was  explained  as  meaning  that  it  was  "  the  same  body  as  was  born 
of  the  Virgin."  This  he  utterly  denied  ;  and  passing  to  the  other 
two,  being  of  like  import,  he  pronounced  them  all  false,  and  against 
God's  holy  word,  "  and  therefore,"  said  he,  "  I  will  not  agree  in  this 
unity  with  you."  Some  of  his  antagonists,  doubtless  remembering 
to  have  often  seen  that  reverend  man  of  God,  and  heard  his  firm, 
sweet  voice,  when  surrounded  with  all  the  dignity  of  the  Church,  and 
with  civil  power,  were  observed  to  shed  tears.  But  Cranmer  wept  not. 
It  was  agreed  that  he  should  receive  a  copy  of  the  articles,  and  send 
his  answer  in  writing ;  and  he  was  conducted  back  to  his  solitary 
lodgings  in  the  Bocardo. 

Then  Ridley  was  brought.  He  heard  the  articles  read  once,  and 
answered,  without  reserve  or  hesitation,  that  they  were  all  false. 
They  then  endeavoured  to  ensnare  him  into  some  admissions  that  he 
had  once  preached  transubstantiation ;  but  he  denied,  and  challenged 
them  to  produce  evidence.  Evidence  there  was  none ;  and,  in  answer 
to  the  question  whether  he  was  willing  to  dispute,  he  said,  Yes,  as 
long  as  God  gave  him  life,  he  would  defend  the  truth  with  mouth 
and  pen  ;  but  required  time  and  books.  But  he  was  neither  allowed 
time,  nor  the  use  of  his  own  books ;  and  they  commanded  the  Mayor 
to  take  him  back  to  his  place. 

Lastly  came  in  Master  Latimer,  tottering  under  the  burden  of  four- 
score years,  "  with  a  kerchief  and  two  or  three  caps  on  his  head,  his 
spectacles  hanging  by  a  string  at  his  breast,  and  a  staff  in  his  hand." 
The  Prolocutor  allowed  him  to  be  seated.  He  heard  the  articles, 
and,  like  his  brethren,  denied  them.  They  appointed  the  following 
Wednesday  for  him  to  dispute  ;  but  he  said  that  he  was  as  fit  to  be 
Captain  of  Calais  as  to  dispute.  They  would  not  allow  him  books, 
nor  pen  and  ink.  He  was  old,  sick,  and  had  been  for  some  time 
unused  even  to  preach.  His  only  book  was  the  New  Testament  there 
in  his  hand.  He  could  not  promise  to  dispute ;  but  he  would  declare 
all  his  faith,  and  bear  whatever  they  would  lay  upon  him.  As  for 
the  real  presence,  he  had  read  that  book  seven  times  over,  but  found 
not  there  the  mass,  "  neither  the  marrow,  bones,  nor  sinews  of  the 
same."  The  Doctors  were  irritated.  Weston  told  him  that  he  would 
malte  him  grant  that  it  had  both  marrow,  bones,  and  sinews  in  the 
New  Testament.  To  whom  Latimer,  "  That  you  will  never  do, 
Master  Doctor."  They  put  him  to  silence.  The  concourse  of  people, 
which  was  so  great  that  one  of  the  beadles  swooned  under  the 
pressure,  was  dismissed,  and  the  venerable  confessor  reconducted  to 
his  place  in  the  Bocardo. 

Next  day,  being  Sunday,  there  was  much  preaching,  massing,  and 
carousal  of  Priests  and  Doctors. 

On  Monday  morning,  early,  two  Notaries  went  round  the  colleges, 
and  collected  subscriptions  to  the  articles,  in  order  to  show  that  the 
disputation  was  merely  to  refute  the  dissentients,  not  to  establish  the 
truth.  This  done,  Weston  and  his  assessors  repaired  to  the  Divinity 
School,  each  one  installed  according  to  his  rank.  Cranmer  was 
placed  before  them,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  flanked  him  on  either 

2  K  2 


252  CHAPTER    IV. 

side,  and  "  a  rout  of  rusty  bills  "  kept  guard  between  them  and  the 
people.  Weston  opened  the  business  of  the  day  thus  :  "  Convenistis, 
hodie,  fratres,  profliyaturi  detestandam  illam  hceresin  de  veritate 
corporis  Christi  in  sacramento"  The  grave  theologians  burst  into  a 
roar  of  laughter.  What  had  he  said  ?  He  had  said,  "  Ye  have 
assembled  this  day,  brethren,  to  dispel  that  detestable  heresy  of  the 
verity  of  the  body  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament"  Weston  looked 
foolish.  He  paused.  With  magisterial  severity  he  prosecuted  the 
oration,  fitting  it  to  the  case  on  hand ;  and,  for  that  day,  there  was  to 
be  no  more  laughter.  "  It  was  not  lawful,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "  to 
call  those  questions  into  controversy,  since  to  dispute  them  was  to 
dispute  God's  word."  To  this  Cranmer  replied  in  such  words  as 
these, — "  We  are  assembled  to  discuss  these  doubtful  controversies, 
and  to  lay  them  open  before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  whereof  ye  think  it 
unlawful  to  dispute.  It  is,  indeed,  no  reason  that  we  should  dispute 
of  that  which  is  determined  upon,  before  the  truth  be  tried.  But 
if  these  questions  be  not  called  into  controversy,  surely  mine  answer, 
then,  is  looked  for  in  vain."  It  would  be  tedious  to  rehearse  the 
disputation  that  followed  ;  neither  is  it  practicable  to  transcribe  here 
the  written  statements  which  Cranmer  handed  to  Weston,  and 
requested  to  be  read  openly  to  the  people,  which  Weston  promised  to 
read,  but  read  them  not.  Until  two  o'clock  the  disorderly  disputa- 
tion continued.  When  the  Doctors  needed  a  pause  to  recover  from 
some  deadly  thrust  of  their  antagonist,  more  learned  than  they  all, 
the  Prolocutor  would  wave  his  hand,  and,  at  the  signal,  the  audience 
would  hiss,  shout,  the  University  men  crying,  "  Indoctus  I  imperitns  .' 
impudens  ! — Unlearned  !  unskilful !  impudent !  "  But  Cranmer  sat 
unmoved  during  those  breathy  tempests,  and,  with  meek  and  patient 
dignity,  resumed  his  argument,  until  the  Mayor  was  commanded  to 
take  him  to  his  room  again,  and  the  Doctors  went  to  dinner  at  the 
University  College. 

Tuesday  was  the  day  allotted  to  Ridley.  The  court  was  constituted, 
and  the  prisoner  brought  in,  as  before.  Again  the  articles  were 
read,  and  Ridley  endeavoured  to  argue,  but  was  interrupted  by  Weston 
almost  at  every  sentence,  and  bidden  not  to  waste  time  by  wandering 
from  the  point,  and  speaking  blasphemy.  By  perseverance,  however, 
he  did  obtain  a  partial  hearing,  yet  had  to  suffer  much  insolence, 
until  the  Prolocutor  declared  the  debate  to  be  ended,  shouted,  "  Vicit 
veritas!"  the  audience  responded,  "Truth  has  conquered,  truth 
has  conquered!"  and,  amidst  senseless  acclamation,  the  company 
dispersed. 

On  Wednesday,  Latimer  was  brought  to  undergo  a  similar  trial 
of  faith  and  patience.  He  begged  permission  to  speak  in  English, 
being  unused  to  Latin,  and  to  be  spared  from  disputation,  as  he  only 
desired  to  confess  his  faith,  and  then  to  suffer  their  pleasure  on  him. 
And  he  handed  a  written  defence  to  Weston.  The  defence  was  not 
read ;  and  they  endeavoured  to  harass  and  confuse  him  with  captious 
questions  and  quibbles,  intermingled  with  taunts  and  derision,  until 
the  boisterous  Prolocutor  told  him  that  his  stubbornness  would  do 
him  no  good  when  a  faggot  should  be  at  his  beard,  but  that  the 


CRANMER,    RIDLEY,    AND    LATIMER    CONDEMNED.  253 

Queen's  grace  was  merciful,  and  advised  him  to  turn.  He  answered, 
"  You  shall  have  no  hope  in  me  to  turn.  I  pray  for  the  Queen  daily, 
even  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  that  she  may  turn  from  this 
religion."  Thus  closed  those  mockeries. 

On  the  following  Friday,  (April  20th,)  the  Commissioners  again  sat 
in  St.  Mary's  church,  and  had  the  prisoners  once  more  brought 
before  them.  Weston  alone  spoke  to  them,  employing  his  utmost 
power  of  dissuasion  with  each,  but  not  suffering  any  further  reply 
than  a  plain  consent  or  refusal  to  subscribe  the  articles.  This  failing, 
the  sentence  was  read  :  "  That  they  were  no  members  of  the  Church  ; 
and  that  therefore  they,  their  fautors  and  patrons,  were  condemned 
as  heretics."  The  reading  of  the  sentence  was  intermitted,  to  ask 
them  if  they  would  yet  repent ;  but  they  bade  the  reader  proceed  in 
the  name  of  God,  for  they  were  not  minded  to  turn.  Each  then 
answered  to  his  sentence. 

Cranmer. — "  From  this  your  judgment  and  sentence,  I  appeal  to 
the  just  judgment  of  God  Almighty,  trusting  to  be  present  with  him 
in  heaven,  for  whose  presence  in  the  altar  I  am  thus  condemned." 

Ridley. — "  Although  I  be  not  of  your  company,  yet  doubt  I 
not  but  my  name  is  written  in  another  place,  whither  this  sentence 
will  send  us  sooner  than  we  should  by  the  course  of  nature  have 
come." 

Latimer. — "  I  thank  God  most  heartily  that  he  hath  prolonged 
my  life  to  this  end,  that  I  may  in  this  case  glorify  God  by  that  kind 
of  death." 

These  are  memorable  sentences  ;  but  the  half-drunken  Weston 
could  not  be  moved  by  their  sublimity.  A  man  that  had  always  a 
filled  cup  ready  before  him,  and  could  so  far  forget  himself  during 
those  discussions  as  to  raise  it  to  his  lips,  while  saying,  "  Urge  hoc, 
urge  hoc,  nam  hoc  facit  pro  nobis, — Urge  this,  urge  this,  for  this 
makes  for  us,"  was  too  deeply  stupefied  to  perceive  any  loveliness  in 
faith  that  triumphs  over  death.  He  testily  answered  them,  "  If  you 
go  to  heaven  in  this  faith,  then  will  I  never  come  thither,  as  I  am 
thus  persuaded."  The  brethren  were  then  separated ;  Cranmer  to 
Bocardo, — the  prison  so  called,  where  he  had  been  kept  from  the 
first, — Ridley  to  the  Sheriff's  house,  and  Latimer  to  the  Bailiff's. 

The  inquisition 'having  been  thus  completed,  and  letters  certifica- 
tory  from  the  University  to  the  Queen  prepared,  the  Prolocutor  set 
out  for  London.  Cranmer  had  written  him  a  letter  of  remonstrance ; 
and  both  Cranmer  and  Ridley  addressed  letters  to  the  Council  and  to 
some  Bishops,  confiding  them  to  him,  who  treated  the  remonstrance 
with  contempt,  and  would  not  deliver  the  letters.  As  for  Latimer, 
he  wrote  nothing,  but  calmly  waited  to  die ;  and  the  day  after  their 
sentence,  being  brought  out,  as  well  as  the  others,  to  witness  a  procession 
with  the  host,  he  thought  they  were  going  to  burn  him,  and  asked  a 
sergeant  to  make  him  a  quick  fire.  Under  that  impression  he  walked 
willingly  to  the  market-place ;  but,  when  he  there  saw  the  pro- 
cession approaching,  ran  away  as  fast  as  his  old  limbs  would  carry 
him. 

Elated  with  their  imaginary  victory  at  Oxford,  the  persecutors  pur- 


254  CHAPTER    IV. 

posed  to  have  a  similar  disputation  at  Cambridge.  A  Commission 
was  appointed  to  send  thither  another  company  of  prisoners  from 
London,  and  the  jolly  Weston  was  again  to  preside.  Bishop  Hooper, 
then  in  the  Fleet,  heard  of  it,  and  sent  to  his  brethren  in  the  King's 
Bench,  Newgate,  and  the  Marshalsea,  advising  them  not  to  submit  to 
such  an  exhibition.  They  therefore  drew  up  a  Declaration,  to  the 
effect,  that  they  were  not  imprisoned  for  any  crime,  but  only  for  con- 
science' sake.  They  had  heard  that  it  was  determined  to  send  them 
to  one  of  the  Universities  to  dispute  with  persons  appointed  in  that 
behalf;  but  they  purposed  not  to  dispute  otherwise  than  by  writing, 
except  it  were  before  the  Queen  and  Council,  or  before  Parliament ; 
but,  lest  their  refusal  to  enter  into  disputation  should  be  misunder- 
stood, they  gave  reasons  for  it.  1.  Because  the  Universities  had 
determined  against  God's  word,  and  even  against  their  own  determi- 
nations in  the  time  of  King  Edward,  and,  as  their  open  enemies, 
had,  without  disputation,  condemned  them  already.  2.  Because  the 
Prelates  and  Clergy  sought  not  the  truth,  but  their  destruction. 
3.  Because  the  Censors  and  Judges  were  known  enemies  of  the  truth 
and  of  them,  as  their  doings  in  the  Convocation  and  at  Oxford  had 
also  shown.  4.  Because  they  had  been  imprisoned  for  many  months, 
without  books,  writing  materials,  or  any  means  of  study.  5.  Because 
they  would,  probably,  be  interrupted  and  assailed  with  hisses,  scoff- 
ings,  and  taunts,  as  their  brethren  had  been  at  Oxford.  6.  Because 
they  could  not  appoint  their  own  Notaries,  nor  have  a  sight  of  the 
papers  ;  but  the  Notaries  and  Judges  together  were  likely,  as  at 
Oxford,  to  falsify  the  reports,  and  misrepresent  them  to  the  world. 
They  were  willing  to  enter  into  a  written  controversy,  they  were  will- 
ing to  suffer  by  halter  or  by  fire,  but  they  would  not  dispute  ;  and 
they  counselled  all  their  brethren  to  stand  firm  in  submission  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  in  peaceful  obedience  and  loyalty  to  the  Queen. 
Then  followed  a  confession  of  faith,  which  they  offered  to  maintain 
before  the  Queen  and  Council,  or  before  Parliament ;  and  reiterated  an 
exhortation  not  to  countenance  rebellion  against  Her  Majesty,  but, 
if  obedience  to  her  were  found  incompatible  with  obedience  to  God, 
to  submit,  unresistingly,  to  death.  The  signatures  to  this  important 
document  (May  8th,  1544)  were  Robert  St.  David's,  (alias  Robert 
Ferrar,)  Rowland  Taylor,  John  Philpot,  John  Bradford,  John,  Wigorn. 
et  Glouc.  Episcopus,  (alias  John  Hooper,)  Edward  Crome,  John 
Rogers,  Laurence  Sanders,  Edmund  Laurence,  J.  P.,  and  T.  M. ;  and 
after  these,  "  To  these  things  ahovesaid  do  I,  Miles  Coverdale,  late 
of  Exon,  consent  and  agree  with  these  mine  afflicted  brethren,  being 
prisoners,  (with  mine  own  hand.)  " 

After  the  suppression  of  rebellion,  and  the  silencing  of  the  Re- 
formed, the  peerage  was  recruited  by  some  new  creations  ;  public 
festivities  were  got  up  to  amuse  the  populace  ;  and,  amidst  universal 
discontent,  preparations  went  on  at  court  for  the  reception  of  the 
Prince  of  Spain,  who  was,  according  to  treaty,  to  be  King  of  England. 
Every  one  dreaded  his  coming  ;  but  it  soon  appeared  that  the  Spaniard 
was  gentle,  in  comparison  with  the  virago  who  had  chosen  him  to  be 
her  spouse.  On  St.  James's  day  this  patron  saint  of  Spain  was 


MARY    PACKS    A    PAR.MAMKNT.  255 

honoured   by    the    marriage    of    Philip    and    Mary    in   Winchester 
cathedral. 

Carvers  and  statuaries  had  now  brisk  trade.  Spaniards  of  all  sorts 
crowded  into  England.  The  resuscitation  of  a  defunct  idolatry  pro- 
voked contempt,  and  the  Priests  were  teased  by  ballad-singing,  cari- 
catures, and  practical  jokes  expressive  of  popular  dislike.  Among  the 
mischances  that  befell  the  new  gods  on  elevation  to  their  niches,  was 
the  mutilation  of  an  image  of  Thomas  a  Becket,  that  had  been  set  up 
over  the  gate  of  St.  Thomas  of  Acres,  or  Mercers'  chapel,  by  order  of 
the  Lord  Chancellor.  His  fingers,  head,  crosier,  arms,  dropped  away 
under  strokes  from  unseen  hands  ;  and  although  some  were  bound  in 
recognizances  to  protect  him  from  assault,  and  others  imprisoned  on 
suspicion  of  battery,  the  visible  representative  of  St.  Thomas  could 
never  retain  all  his  members  and  dimensions,  but  stood  there  muti- 
lated, as  a  type  of  the  system  that  it  was  vainly  endeavoured  to 
restore.  Popular  abhorrence,  mingled  with  contempt,  found  expres- 
sion in  ballads,  caricatures,  and  jests.  Men  of  no  religion  pitied  the 
persecuted  Christians ;  and  the  priesthood  would  probably  have  been 
overwhelmed  as  by  a  flood,  had  not  secular  authority  promptly  arrayed 
its  forces  on  their  side. 

The  Queen  and  those  in  power  spent  all  their  energies  on  one 
object, — the  restoration  of  Popery.  Bonner  had  anticipated  the  course 
of  law,  by  enforcing  attendance  at  mass  in  Easter  ;  and  the  same  con- 
tempt of  unrepealed  statutes  had  been  displayed  by  Papists  from  the 
beginning.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  say  that  the  partial  liberty 
of  the  press,  by  licences  given  to  enterprising  printers,  was  abolished. 
Day,  lute  printer  to  King  Edward,  was  brought  up  from  Norfolk,  and 
lodged  in  the  Tower,  for  having  printed  books  unsuitable  to  the  pre- 
sent reign.  His  servant,  a  Priest,  and  another  printer,  were  imprisoned 
with  him  (October  16th)  ;  while  Cawood,  as  royal  typographer,  emitted 
torrents  of  literary  mischief.  Incontinently,  a  formal  and  parliament- 
ary reconciliation  to  Rome  was  undertaken  by  the  courtiers,  as  neces- 
sary to  complete  their  triumph.  And  as  the  Commons  of  England 
were  not  to  be  trusted  in  such  a  business,  either  as  electors  or  repre- 
sentatives, it  was  resolved  that  a  Parliament  should  be  made  up 
according  to  the  pleasure  of  the  party  dominant.  The  Queen,  there- 
fore, sent  a  letter  to  the  Sheriffs,  wherein  she  willed  and  commanded 
them,  for  withstanding  such  malice  as  the  devil  worketh  by  his  minis- 
ters, who  maintained  heresies  and  seditions,  to  admonish  such  of  her 
good  loving  subjects  as  should  elect  representatives  in  Parliament,  to 
choose  men  "  of  the  wise,  grave,  and  Catholic  sort."  She  further  barred 
all  freedom  of  election,  by  requiring  the  Sheriffs  and  Justices  of  the 
counties  to  apprehend  and  punish  any  who  should  speak  evil  of  her 
intentions  in  respect  of  measures  expected  to  be  taken  in  the 
approaching  Parliament.  People  were  compelled  by  threats,  and 
even  by  force,  to  vote  for  those  whom  the  Sheriffs  or  the  Priests 
approved.  Obnoxious  candidates  were,  in  some  places,  forcibly  hin- 
dered from  presenting  themselves  ;  and  some  that  had  been  elected, 
where  an  enforcement  of  the  Queen's  command  was  impracticable, 
were  unceremoniously  turned  out  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  their 


256  CHAPTER    IV. 

first  appearance.  And  in  disputed  elections  the  returns  were  falsi- 
fied.* The  assemblage  of  persons  thus  made  was,  therefore,  no 
Parliament.  Yet  it  acted  as  such,  and  that  was  sufficient  for  its 
creators.  The  Queen  had  called  herself  Supreme  Head  of  the 
Church  in  summoning  her  first  Parliament ;  but  the  title  was  omitted 
from  her  writ  for  a  second ;  and  active  preparations  were  at  the  same 
time  in  progress  for  the  reception  of  Cardinal  Pole.  Furnished  with 
a  brief  from  Julius  III.,  as  Legate  ct  latere,  the  Cardinal  awaited  his 
recall  at  Brussels,  while  provision  was  made,  in  London,  for  himself 
and  his  household.  A  family  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  hirelings, 
besides  thirty  dependents  living  abroad,  were  all  to  be  housed  luxuri- 
ously and  clothed  richly,  at  the  cost  of  England.  His  own  apparel, 
the  livery  worn  by  servants,  furniture,  and  decorations  for  his  chapel, 
wine  and  beer  for  his  cellar,  coals,  candles,  butchers'  meat,  fish,  eggs, 
with  all  other  necessaries  for  the  dignity  and  ease  of  so  great  a  per- 
sonage, were  included  in  an  estimate,  and  granted  without  Par- 
liamentary authority.  Letters  patent  were  issued  (November  10th) 
authorizing  him  to  exercise  his  functions  as  Legate,  and  commanding 
all  to  acknowledge  his  authority :  this,  too,  without  consulting  Par- 
liament. Then  this  factitious  Parliament  met,  (November  12th,)  and 
hastened  to  repeal  the  Acts  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  against  the 
Papal  supremacy,  and  to  renew  those  of  Richard  II.,  Henry  IV.,  and 
Henry  V.,  against  Lollards.  The  clerical  Parliament,  (for  such  was 
the  Convocation,)  in  order  to  prevent  contention  about  church-lands 
that  were  in  possession  of  the  laity,  who  certainly  would  not  have 
given  them  back  again,  were  instructed  to  petition  the  King  and 
Queen  to  apply  to  the  Legate,  beseeching  him  to  grant  the  detainers 
of  those  lands  permission  to  occupy  them  still.  Philip  and  Mary  did 
so  apply,  the  Legate  referred  the  matter  to  his  master,  an  embassy 
went  to  Rome  to  complete  the  bargain  with  Julius,  who  allowed  the 
lands  to  remain  with  the  detainers,  (not  proprietors,)  in  compensa- 
tion for  spiritual  and  political  supremacy, — a  supremacy  that,  he 
calculated,  would  soon  reduce  our  country  to  as  abject  a  condition  as 
before.  While  this  negotiation  was  in  prospect,  the  pretended  Par- 
liament passed  an  Act  to  authorize  a  Papal  Legate,  Pole  being  now 
released  from  his  attainder,  to  appear  in  England ;  Philip  and  Mary 
went  in  state  to  St.  Stephen's  to  give  royal  sanction  (November  22d). 
The  Cardinal  was  by  that  time  in  Dover,  and  two  days  afterwards 
entered  his  well-garnished  palace  in  Lambeth,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  Whitehall,  where  he  found  the  Queen,  who,  feeling,  or  pretending 
to  feel,  indisposition,  summoned  both  Lords  and  Commons  to  wait 
upon  him,  rendering  the  representative  of  Rome  an  honour  which  the 
King  and  Queen  had  not  required  for  themselves. 

Both  Houses  duly  appeared  before  his  Eminence,  whom  they  found 
seated  on  the  right  hand  of  their  Majesties,  and  heard  him  deliver  an 

*  This  is  affirmed  by  Burnet,  on  the  evidence  of  Beal,  Clerk  of  the  Council  in  the 
flays  of  Queen  .Elizabeth.  Collier  and  others  treat  the  statement  as  doubtful.  Mr. 
Tytler  (Reigns  of  Edward  VI.  and  Mary)  agrees  with  the  doubters,  and  adds,  "  I  have 
found  no  letters  to  show  that  the  court  were  now  more  active  in  the  elections  than  was 
then  the  practice  of  the  time."  But  these  last  words  concede  the  whole.  The  practice 
of  the  time  was  bad  enough,  and  Mary's  letter  to  the  Sheriffs  must  have  made  it  woree. 


CARDINAL    POLK    ABSOLVES    THE    PARLIAMENT.  257 

ovation  for  the  Pope.  Mary,  full  of  joy,  as  she  witnessed  the  long- 
desired  spectacle,  suddenly  fancied  herself  justified  in  foretelling  another 
event, — an  event  which  never  came  to  pass;  and  on  the  morrow,  (Novem- 
ber 28th,)  in  consequence  of  a  letter  from  her  Council  to  Bonner,  Bishop 
of  London,  a  grand  procession  of  ten  Bishops,  all  the  Prebendaries 
of  St.  Paul's,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  the  Aldermen,  and  a  long 
train  of  Londoners,  attired  in  their  best,  perambulated  the  precincts 
of  the  cathedral  to  show  their  exultation  in  that  an  heir  to  the  crown 
might  be  expected.  A  Latin  form  of  prayer  was  penned,  quick  as 
Prolocutor  Weston  could  conceive  the  sentences,  asking  that  Queen 
Mary  might  happily,  and  in  due  time,  present  the  nation  with  an  off- 
spring, "  elegant  in  body  and  noble  in  mind."  In  another  and  much 
longer  prayer,  the  petition  ran  that  it  might  be  a  boy,  a  fine  and  witty 
one.  Happily  for  England,  the  only  issue  to  Queen  Mary  was  disap- 
pointment. God  reserved  the  throne  for  another  occupant.  After 
the  procession  at  St.  Paul's,  a  woful  pageant  was  enacted  at  Whitehall. 
Philip,  Mary,  and  Reginald  Pole,  appeared  again  in  royal  and  pontifical 
array.  The  whole  Parliament  of  England  was  in  attendance,  (November 
30th,)  every  Lord  and  every  Commoner  fell  on  his  knees,  downcast  in 
shame  ;  and  while  they  knelt  thus  abject,  a  petition  was  presented  to 
the  King  and  Queen,  and  by  them  to  the  Cardinal,  bearing  a  confes- 
sion, in  the  name  of  the  whole  realm,  of  sorrow  and  repentance  for 
the  late  schism  from  the  See  of  Rome,  a  promise  of  unreserved  sub- 
mission, and  a  prayer  for  absolution  and  release.  Pole  pronounced  a 
few  gracious  words,  gave  the  absolution,  and,  with  dusty  knees  and 
heavy  hearts,  the  supplicants  walked  back  again  to  the  place  of  legis- 
lation, having  obediently  heard  a  Te  Deum  chanted  in  the  chapel. 
King  Philip,  the  Legate,  and  Mary  indulged  awhile  in  congratula- 
tion, and  then  caught  the  golden  moment  to  concert  further  measures. 
Philip  wrote  a  Spanish  letter  to  the  Pope,  and  Pole  composed  one  in 
Latin,  both  of  equal  date,  narrating  the  event.  It  had  taken  place 
on  St.  Andrew's  day ;  St.  Andrew  had  brought  Peter  to  Christ ;  there 
was  a  coincidence  imagined,  and  St.  Andrew's  day  was  commanded  to 
be  thenceforward  kept  with  great  rejoicing  in  England,  as  the  Feast 
of  the  Reconciliation.  When  the  courier  reached  Rome,  that  city 
resounded  with  songs  of  gladness,  and  there,  too,  the  Clergy  made  a 
great  procession.  - 

Pole  sent  a  summons  to  both  Houses  of  Convocation,  who  went 
to  him  at  Lambeth,  (December  6th,)  knelt  down  in  his  presence, 
received  absolution  from  the  sins  of  perjury,  schism,  and  heresy  ;  and 
after  hearing  his  gratulation  for  their  conversion  to  "  the  Catholic 
Church,"  departed.  It  is  said  that  he  advised  them  to  deal  gently 
with  heretics  ;  that  he  much  displeased  Gardiner  by  frequently  speak- 
ing against  extreme  measures  ;  and  that  the  Queen  advised  him, 
therefore,  to  give  his  chief  care  to  the  reformation  of  the  Clergy,  and 
Gardiner  his  to  the  punishment  of  heretics.  But  whatever  may  have 
been  his  gentleness  at  first,  it  would  seem  that  it  soon  vanished  away ; 
for,  if  he  did  not  accelerate,  neither  did  he  check,  the  fury  of  perse- 
cution. 

As  yet,  no  one  had  been  put  to  death  on  account  of  religion ;  but 

VOL.    III.  2    L 


258  CHAPTER    IV. 

the  Marian  martyrdoms  began  immediately  after  the  formal  restoration 
of  Papal  supremacy,  following  as  a  natural  consequence.  Julius  III. 
issued  a  Bull  offering  plenary  indulgence  to  all  who  would  give  thanks 
to  God  for  the  restoration  of  England,  and  pray  for  the  recovery  of 
such  as  were  still  in  error.  Pope  and  Legate  were  equally  careful  to 
speak  gently.  They  left  it  to  Philip  and  Mary  to  offer  the  bloody 
sacrifices,  reserving  to  the  Church  the  ministration  of  the  unbloody 
sacrifice  on  the  altars.  So  each  party  proceeded  to  its  appropriate 
work. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  first  recorded  act  of  persecution,  after  the 
crisis  above  described,  took  place  on  the  first  day  of  the  following 
year,  (A.D.  1555,)  a  date  sadly  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  England. 
In  the  evening  of  that  day,  a  congregation  of  thirty  persons,  with 
Master  Rose,  their  Minister,  were  found,  by  two  of  Gardiner's  men, 
in  a  house  in  Bow-church-yard,  celebrating  the  communion  of  the 
Lord's  supper.  They  were  all  taken  into  custody,  fifteen  of  them  laid 
in  the  Compter  in  Bread-street,  and  fifteen  in  another  prison.  Their 
Minister  was  committed  to  the  Tower. 

Here  begins  the  long  series  of  witnesses  to  the  grace  of  Christ  and 
the  infamy  of  Queen  Mary.*  How  to  abbreviate,  and  yet  not  obscure, 
the  recital  of  their  sufferings,  is  not  easy  to  determine  ;  but  perhaps 
perspicuity  may  be  best  attained  by  following  the  order  of  days  dis- 
tinguished by  their  martyrdom,  as  far  as  dates  are  ascertained,  pre- 
mising, however,  that  the  slaughter  was  not  hastened  by  any  sudden 
provocation,  but  began,  to  borrow  an  apt  figure  of  good  old  Fuller, 
after  the  butchers  had  been  sharpening  their  knives  for  nearly  two 
years.  The  system  of  Popish  government  was  now  consolidated,  and 
nothing  remained  but  to  slay  the  victims.  Accordingly,  several 
Reformed  preachers  then  in  prison  were  brought  together  (January 
22d,  1555)  before  Gardiner,  assisted  by  some  others,  as  Queen's  Com- 
missioners, in  his  house  at  St.  Mary  Overey's,  and  asked  whether 
they  would  "  convert "  and  enjoy  the  Queen's  pardon,  or  abide  by 
their  confession.  They  chose  the  better  alternative,  one  alone  excepted, 
and  were  committed  to  straiter  prison,  with  a  charge  to  the  keeper 
that  none  should  speak  with  them.  Cardinal  Pole,  on  the  day  after 
the  Chancellor  (January  23d)  had  made  that  general  inquisition 
of  the  prisoners,  called  together  the  whole  body  of  Bishops  and  Clergy 
in  Convocation,  and,  after  addressing  them,  as  it  must  be  presumed, 
on  the  state  of  religion,  exhorted  them  "  to  entreat  the  people  and 
their  flock  with  all  gentleness ;  and  to  endeavour  themselves  to  win 
the  people  rather  by  gentleness  than  by  extremity  and  rigour."  But 
these  two  assemblages  must  be  taken  together.  Pole,  representing 
the  spiritual  estate,  spoke  gently.  Gardiner,  albeit  a  Bishop,  as  Lord 
Chancellor,  represented  the  temporal  power,  and  executed  the  law. 
The  soft  words  were  but  a  formulary,  and  were  so  to  be  understood. 
The  policy  was  to  shield  the  Clergy 'from  the  disgrace  of  bloodshed  ; 

*  Some  easy,  heartless  dilettanti,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  whose  first  care  is  to  seem 
liberal,  though  it  be  in  the  teeth  of  history,  undertake  to  wash  "  the  bloody  Queen 
Mary"  white.  So  does  Mr.  Tytler;  and  the  last  words  of  his  "  Conclusion,"  adopted 
from  Bishop  Godwin,  are  amusingly  insignificant.  «  She  was  a  lady  very  godly,  MKRCI- 
FUL,  chaste,  and  every  way  praiseworthy,  if  you  regard  not  the  errors  of  her  religion." 


JOHN    ROGERS,    FIRST    MARIAN    MARTYR.  259 

and  Protestants,  blinded  by  this  policy,  have  accorded  to  Cardinal 
Pole  a  credit  for  humanity  which  he  might  possibly  have  deserved, 
had  he  not  been  pillar  of  a  Church  on  whose  altars  humanity  must 
be  sacrificed.  On  the  Friday  following,  (January  25th,)  the  Clergy, 
in  a  general  and  solemn  procession  through  London,  celebrated  the 
union  of  England  with  Rome.  The  Cardinal  and  the  King  took  part 
in  the  festivities.  Bonfires  for  rejoicing  were  made  by  royal  order ; 
but  the  people  knew  not  with  what  reason.  On  Monday  (January 
28th)  and  two  following  days,  the  Cardinal  having  empowered  them 
by  a  commission,  issued  after  the  first  summons  of  the  prisoners,  the 
Chancellor  and  others  resumed  their  sittings,  and  examined  and 
condemned  several  of  the  persecuted  brethren. 

Master  John  Rogers  *  was  the  first  martyr  of  this  dreadful  reign. 
Well  educated  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  he  accepted  an  invita- 
tion of  the  merchant  adventurers  at  Antwerp,  and  became  their  Chap- 
lain. During  his  residence  there,  which  was  for  many  years,  he  asso- 
ciated much  with  William  Tyndale  and  Miles  Coverdale,  by  whose 
means  he  attained  to  a  better  knowledge  of  Christian  doctrine,  and 
assisted  them  in  preparing  the  English  Bible  known  as  "  the  Transla- 
tion of  Matthewe."  Having  learned  from  the  word  of  God  that 
priestly  celibacy  was  contrary  to  the  divine  law,  he  married,  and 
proceeded  to  Wittemberg,  where  he  soon  attained  to  so  much  proficiency 
in  German,  as  to  be  called  to  take  charge  of  a  Lutheran  congregation. 
Under  Edward  VI.  he  returned  to  England,  and  received  from  Ridley 
a  prebend  in  St.  Paul's,  with  an  appointment  to  read  the  divinity 
lesson  there.  On  Sunday,  August  6th,  1553,  while  Queen  Mary  was 
yet  in  the  Tower,  he  preached  at  Paul's-Cross,  earnestly  exhorting  the 
people  to  beware  of  "pestilent  Popery,  idolatry,  and  superstition." 
The  Council  summoned  him  to  answer  for  the  sermon,  and  confined 
him  prisoner  in  his  own  house,  whence  Bonner  sent  him  to  Newgate, 
where  he  remained  for  more  than  a  year,  together  with  murderers 
and  thieves,  until  his  appearance  before  the  Commissioners  (January 
22d,  1555).  Gardiner  offered  him  the  choice  of  mercy  or  justice; 
mercy  if  he  would  be  again  united  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  or  justice 
if  he  persisted  in  schism.  The  conversations,  as  recorded  by  him- 
self, were  little  becoming  the  dignity  of  a  judicial  court,  the  interlo- 
cutors desiring  nothing  more  than  to  put  him  to  death,  as  a  person 
already  marked  for  execution.  When  it  was  evidently  impossible  to 
induce  him  to  recant,  the  Chancellor  read  the  sentence  condemnatory, 
of  which  the  most  remarkable  part  is  a  profession  of  "  sorrow  of 
mind  and  bitterness  of  heart,"  borrowed,  no  doubt,  from  the  certifi- 
cate of  conviction  of  Joan  Bocher,  addressed  by  Cranmer  to  the  King, 
where  the  very  same  words  occur,  as  we  believe,  for  the  first  time  in 
such  a  document,  and,  no  doubt,  express  the  feeling  excited  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Archbishop  when  his  humanity  and  conscience  revolted 
against  an  inveterate  conviction  that  such  heretics  ought  to  die. 

*  "  John  Rogers  appears  to  have  been  the  son  of  a  father  of  the  same  name,  and 
born,  not  in  Lancashire,  as  it  has  sometimes  been  stated,  but  in  Warwickshire,  at 
Deritend,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Birmingham." — Anderson,  Annals  of  the  English 
Bible,  vol.  ii.,  p.  286. 

2    L    2 


260  CHAPTER    IV. 

Rogers  would  not  yield  the  least  point,  but  asked  Gardiner  a  single 
favour, — permission  to  speak  with  his  wife,  a  foreigner,  and  soon  to  be 
a  widow  with  ten  fatherless  children  :  for  he  would  fain  "  counsel  her 
what  were  best  for  her  to  do."  "  No,"  quoth  he,  "  she  is  not  thy 
wife."  Entreaty  and  remonstrance  were  unavailing  :  the  request  was 
brutally  denied.  Bishop  Hooper,  who  was  condemned  the  same  day, 
and  he,  were  taken  from  the  Chancellor's  presence  to  the  Clink  in 
Southwark,  and  thence,  after  dark,  each  in  the  custody  of  a  Sheriff, 
led  through  Southwark  and  the  city  into  Newgate.  Early  on  the  fol- 
lowing Monday  morning,  the  keeper's  wife  came  into  his  cell,  aroused 
him  from  a  sound  sleep,  and  bade  him  make  haste  and  prepare  for 
the  fire.  "Then,"  said  he,  "if  it  be  so,  I  need  not  tie  my  points," 
and  so  was  taken  to  Bonner  to  be  degraded.  That  ceremony  being 
finished,  he  asked  of  Bonner  what  Gardiner  had  refused, — permission 
to  speak  with  his  wife.  It  was  again  denied,  and  the  Sheriffs  hurried 
him  away  to  Smithfield.  One  of  them  asked  him  to  revoke  his 
abominable  doctrine,  reviled  him  as  a  heretic,  and  said  he  would  not 
pray  for  him.  "But,"  answered  Rogers,  "  I  will  pray  for  you"  He 
proceeded  on  the  way,  reciting  a  penitential  psalm  ;  and  the  people 
cheered  him  as  he  went.  A  pardon  awaited  him  at  the  stake,  on 
condition  that  he  would  revoke.  His  wife  stood  there,  with  the  ten 
children,  one  hanging  on  her  breast ;  but,  unconquered  by  pleadings 
of  natural  affection,  and  by  love  of  life,  he  endured  the  fire,  even 
seemed  to  be  above  pain,  and,  in  the  hottest  of  the  burning,  raised 
his  arms  as  if  to  receive  the  ascending  flames  (February  4th). 

While  the  leaven  of  Gospel  truth  was  penetrating  the  mass  of  Eng- 
lish society,  notwithstanding  the  hostility  of  men  in  power,  Laurence 
Saunders,  a  youth  of  honourable  parentage,  successfully  prosecuted 
his  studies  at  Eton,  and  afterwards  in  King's  College,  Cambridge. 
Together  with  secular  learning  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  that  pure 
religion  which  had  many  witnesses  in  Cambridge ;  and,  being  so  pre- 
pared for  the  service  of  his  heavenly  Master,  returned  to  the  place  of 
his  birth.  That  he  might  learn  to  make  good  use  of  a  handsome 
patrimony,  he  was  bound  apprentice,  by  his  widowed  mother,  with 
Sir  William  Chester,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  London.  But  God 
appointed  otherwise  ;  and  the  merchant,  a  man  of  high  integrity,  per- 
ceiving his  distaste  of  commercial  occupations,  and  devotion  to  study 
and  prayer,  gave  him  back  his  indenture,  and,  with  the  approbation 
of  his  friends,  he  returned  to  college,  made  considerable  proficiency 
in  Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  then  gave  himself  entirely  to  the  study 
of  the  holy  Scriptures,  hoping  to  become  a  preacher  of  the  truth  that 
had  wrought  in  him,  by  the  energy  of  its  divine  Author,  an  entire 
change  of  heart.  Early  in  the  reign  of  Edward,  he  obtained  a  licence 
to  preach,  then  a  lectureship  at  Fotheringay,  in  a  college  soon  after- 
wards dissolved,  and,  after  its  dissolution,  lectured  in  Lichfield 
minster.  Fervent  piety,  attested  by  holy  conversation,  gave  weight 
to  his  theological  teaching  ;  and  he  soon  obtained  the  benefice  of 
Church-Langton,  in  Leicestershire,  where  he  laboured  with  fidelity, 
until  removed  to  the  All-Hallows,  in  Bread-street,  London.  The 
death  of  King  Edward  determined  him  to  retain  both  benefices,  ;u 


LAURENCE    SAUNDERS.  261 

order  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  occupation  of  either  pulpit  by  a 
Popish  preacher  ;  and  he  preached,  with  redoubled  earnestness,  against 
the  reviving  superstition.  At  Northampton  he  gave  so  great  offence, 
by  a  faithful  sermon,  to  the  adherents  of  the  Queen,  that  his  friends 
advised  him  to  flee  from  England  ;  but,  unwilling  to  lay  down  the 
charge  at  a  time  when  the  truth  of  Christ  alone  could  save  this 
country,  although  it  was  no  longer  safe  to  be  at  Langton,  he  deter- 
mined to  use  the  last  opportunity,  and  set  out  for  London,  hoping  to 
minister  to  his  parishioners  in  Bread-street.  Within  a  short  distance 
from  London,  Sir  John  Mordant,  a  Councillor  of  the  Queen,  overtook 
him,  joined  in  company,  ascertained  that  he  intended  to  preach  next  day 
(Sunday),  and  significantly  admonished  him  to  refrain  from  doing  so ; 
but  no  sooner  had  they  separated  than  Mordant  went  to  Bonner,  and 
informed  him  that  Saunders,  whom  he  had  heard  preach  heretically  in 
All-Hallows,  intended  to  preach  there  again  the  next  day.  For  his 
part,  he  went  to  his  lodgings,  expecting  to  suffer  persecution,  and 
only  anxious  to  preach  Christ,  if  it  were  but  once  more,  at  whatever 
cost.  "  I  am  in  prison,"  said  he,  "  till  I  be  in  prison," — unquiet 
until  his  soul  could  be  disburdened  by  once  more  offering  salvation  to 
dying  sinners. 

The  Lord's  day  came,  and  no  official  forbade  him  to  proceed.  He 
therefore  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  preached  to  his  flock  from  these 
words  of  St.  Paul :  "  '  I  have  coupled  you  to  one  man,  that  ye  should 
make  yourselves  a  chaste  virgin  unto  Christ.  But  I  fear,  lest  it  come 
to  pass,  that  as  the  serpent  beguiled  Eve,  even  so  your  wits  should  be 
corrupt  from  the  singleness  which  ye  had  towards  Christ.'  He  recited 
a  sum  of  that  true  Christian  doctrine,  through  which  they  were 
coupled  to  Christ,  to  receive  of  him  free  justification  through  faith  in 
his  blood.  The  Papistical  doctrine  he  compared  to  the  serpent's 
deceiving  ;  and,  lest  they  should  be  deceived  by  it,  he  made  a  com- 
parison between  the  voice  of  God  and  the  voice  of  the  Popish  serpent ; 
descending  to  more  particular  declaration  thereof,  as  it  were,  to  let 
them  plainly  see  the  difference  that  is  between  the  order  of  the  Church 
service  set  forth  by  King  Edward  in  the  English  tongue,  and  com- 
paring it  with  the  Popish  service  then  used  in  the  Latin  tongue."  * 
Here  was  an  overt  act  of  disobedience  to  the  ruling  power  ;  Bonner 
was  informed  of  it,  no  doubt ;  and  when  the  preacher  returned  in  the 
afternoon,  one  of  the  Bishop's  officers  was  there,  and  summoned  him, 
on  pain  of  disobedience  and  contumacy,  to  appear  forthwith  before 
his  master.  In  a  few  minutes  Laurence  Saunders  found  himself  in 
Bonner's  palace,  in  company,  again,  with  Sir  John  Mordant  and  some 
Chaplains,  having  Bonner  at  their  head.  The  Bishop  pronounced  him 
guilty  of  treason  for  breaking  the  Queen's  proclamation,  and  of  heresy 
and  sedition  in  the  sermon.  It  was  heresy,  he  insisted,  to  teach  that 
that  administration  is  the  most  pure  which  comes  nearest  to  the  order 
of  the  primitive  church,  whereas  the  church  was  rude  and  imperfect 
in  the  times  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles  ;  but  perfection  came  later, 
and  the  Church  of  Eome  is  therefore  greater  and  better  than  the 
church  of  the  New  Testament.  His  Lordship,  after  long  debate,  bade 

*  Foxe. 


262  CHAPTER    IV. 

Saunders  write  what  he  believed  as  to  transubstantiation.  He  did  so, 
saying,  "  My  Lord,  ye  do  seek  my  blood,  and  ye  shall  have  it.  I  pray 
God  that  ye  may  be  so  baptized  in  it,  that  ye  may  thereafter  loathe 
blood-sucking,  and  become  a  better  man."  The  spiritual  Judge  then 
sent  him  to  the  temporal.  In  an  ante-chamber  of  the  Lord  Chancel- 
lor's mansion,  the  condemned  preacher  found  gentlemen  of  the  house- 
hold gambling,  with  one  of  his  Chaplains,  it  being  then  Sunday 
evening.  After  some  time,  Gardiner  came  home  from  court,  des- 
patched several  suitors  in  about  half  an  hour,  and  then  came  into  the 
room  where  Saunders  stood  waiting,  took  his  seat  at  the  table,  and 
having  perused  a  paper  presented  by  the  person  who  had  brought 
him,  asked,  "Where  is  the  man?"  Saunders  approached,  and, 
in  the  usual  manner  of  a  Clergyman  towards  an  ecclesiastical  superior, 
knelt  down.  The  Chancellor  questioned  him  harshly  as  to  his  preach- 
ing, notwithstanding  the  Queen's  proclamation.  He  replied,  that 
"  forsomuch  as  he  saw  the  perilous  times  now  at  hand,  he  did  but 
according  as  he  was  admonished  and  warned  by  Ezekiel  the  Prophet, 
— exhort  his  flock  and  parishioners  to  persevere  and  stand  steadfastly 
in  the  doctrine  which  they  had  learned  ;  saying,  also,  that  he  was 
moved  and  pricked  forward  thereunto  by  the  place  of  the  Apostle, 
wherein  he  was  commanded  rather  to  obey  God  than  man  ;  and,  more- 
over, that  nothing  more  moved  or  stirred  him  thereunto  than  his  own 
conscience."  Gardiner  derided  the  plea  of  conscience :  Saunders 
ventured  to  remind  him,  that,  as  to  the  supremacy,  he  had  written  a 
book,  to  get  the  favour  of  Henry  VIII.,  wherein  he  had  plainly 
declared  Mary  to  be  a  bastard.  This  was  unanswerable :  therefore 
Gardiner  closed  the  conversation  with,  "  Carry  away  this  phrensy  fool 
to  prison."  "  I  thank  God,"  said  Saunders,  "  which  hath  given  me 
at  last  a  place  of  rest  and  quietness,  where  I  may  pray  for  your 
conversion." 

Fifteen  months  passed  away  before  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  put 
any  more  of  the  Gospellers  to  death.  It  was  not  yet  decided  what  mea- 
sure of  blood  should  be  spilt,  nor  how  the  amount  of  terror  should  be 
adapted  to  the  degree  of  weakness,  or  of  resistance  in  the  public. 
This  was  frequently  debated  in  Council  ;  and  the  following  answer 
of  Mary  to  the  Minute  of  Council  is  an  example  of  the  coolness 
of  that  woman  in  contemplation  of  the  sanguinary  work  : — "  Touch- 
ing the  punishment  of  heretics,  we  thinketh  it  ought  to  be  done  with- 
out rashness,  not  leaving,  in  the  meantime,  to  do  justice  to  such  as, 
by  learning,  would  seem  to  deceive  the  simple  :  and  the  rest  so  to  be 
used  that  the  people  might  well  perceive  them  not  to  be  condemned 
without  just  occasion  :  by  which  they  shall  both  understand  the 
truth,  and  beware  not  to  do  the  like.  And,  especially  within  London, 
I  would  wish  none  to  be  burnt  without  some  of  the  Council's  pre- 
sence ;  and  both  there  and  everywhere,  good  sermons  at  the  same 
time."  *  Here  is  the  prudent  suspension  of  the  stroke,  the  selection 
of  the  most  learned  and  eminent  as  first  victims,  and  the  wholesale 
slaughter  of  the  rest,  over  a  great  part  of  England,  that  should  follow. 

*  Collier,  Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  ii.,  p.  371 , 


LAURENCE    SAUNDERS    BURNT.  263 

The  entire  plan  was  thus  concerted,  and  thus  carried  into  execution. 
Saunders  was  one  of  the  first  class  :  his  learning  and  influence  were 
considerable.     From  the  Marshalsea  he  had  written  letters  of  argu- 
ment and  remonstrance  to  his  persecutors,  and  of  encouragement  to 
his   "companions  in  tribulation,   and  in  the  kingdom  and  patience 
of  Jesus  Christ."     His   conduct,  meanwhile,   was  most   exemplary ; 
and  his  firmness  rose  in  proportion  to  the  nearness  of  the  final  proof. 
It  is  related,  that  one  day  his  wife  came  to  the  prison-gate,  wishing 
to  visit  her  husband,  with  their  youngest  child  in  her  arms.     The 
keeper  durst  not  admit  her,  but,  taking  the  babe,  carried  him  to  his 
father.     Laurence  Saunders  never  more  felt  himself  to  be  a  father. 
He  "  rejoiced  more  to  have  such  a  boy  than  if  two  thousand  pounds 
were  given  him  ;"  and  to  a  company  of  prisoners  who  gathered  round 
him,  he  appealed  whether  a  man  ought  not  rather  to  lose  his  life  than 
prolong    it   by  adjudging    such    a   child  to  be    a   bastard,    and    his 
mother  a  dishonest  woman.      "Yea,  if  there  were  no  other  cause  for 
which  a  man  of  my  estate  should  lose  his   life,  yet  who  would  not 
give  it,  to  avow  this  child  to  be  legitimate,  and   his  marriage  to  be 
lawful  and  holy  ?"     His  interviews  with  the  Commissioners  resembled 
those  of  his   companions.     They   were  not  examined,  or   tried,   but 
interrogated  whether  they  would  or   would   not   come   back  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.     While  waiting  in  the  street  for  his  fellow-prison- 
ers, that  they  might  all  be  taken  away  together,  he  exhorted  the  peo- 
ple to  forsake  Antichrist,  and  turn  to  Christ.     The  Sheriff  of  London 
then   took   him   to  the  Compter  in  Bread-street,  where,  as  he  had 
preached  to  his  parishioners  from   the  pulpit,  so   his  imprisonment 
among  them  testified  more  powerfully  than  ever  ;  and  in  the  short 
remaining  interval  he  wrote  them  a  letter  in  language  of  extraordinary 
earnestness  and  piety.     It  was  addressed  to  his  wife,  "  and  all  his 
fellow-heirs  of  the  everlasting  kingdom,"  and  concluded  thus  :   "  Be 
most  careful,  good  wife  ;  cast  your  care  upon  the  Lord,  and  commend 
me  unto  him  in  repentant  prayer,  as  I  do  you  and  our  Samuel ;  whom, 
even  at  the  stake,  I  will  offer  as  myself  unto  God.      Fare  ye  well,  all 
in  Christ,  in  hope  to  be  joined  with  you  in  joy  everlasting :  this  hope 
is  put  up  in  my  bosom.     Amen,  Amen,  Amen  !     Praised  be  the  Lord. 
Pray,  pray!"     During  those  last  few  days   he  wrote  many  shorter 
letters,  which  were  widely  distributed.  At  last  Bonner,  perhaps  to  save 
the  trouble  of  a  public  ceremony,  or  to   avoid  too  much  publicity, 
came  to  the  Compter,  and  there  degraded  him  from  the  priesthood. 
Yet  he  was   not  of   their  priesthood,  having   been  ordained    under 
Edward  VI. ;  and  when  the  Bishop  had  finished,  he  said,  "  I  thank 
God,  I  am  none  of  your  Church."     The  Sheriff  then  delivered  him  to 
a  party  of  the  Queen's  guard,  to  be  taken  to  Coventry,  there  to  be 
burnt.    Clad  in  an  old  gown  and  shirt  only,  and  bare-footed,  they  led 
him  out  of  that  town  towards  the  place  of  execution.      Several  times, 
on  the  way,  he  fell  prostrate  on  the  ground  and  prayed  ;  and  after 
enduring  much  offensive  language  from  the  officer  appointed  to  oversee 
the  burning,  who  offered  him  the  Queen's  pardon  if  he  would  revoke 
his  heresies,  he  quickened  his  pace,  embraced  the  stake,  kissed  it,  and 
said,   "Welcome,   the  cross   of  Christ!    Welcome,   everlasting  life!" 


264  CHAPTER    IV. 

They  burned  him  with  green  wood ;   but,  standing  erect,  and  without 
audible  complaint  of  pain,  he  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord  (February  8th). 

Another  martyr,  and  of  higher  station  in  the  Church,  followed 
Saunders  into  the  world  of  life.  John  Hooper,  graduate  in  the 
University  of  Oxford,  was  there  brought  to  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
On  the  enactment  of  the  law  of  the  "  Six  Articles,"  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.,  finding  himself  marked  for  persecution,  he  left  the 
place,  and  became  house-steward  to  Sir  Thomas  Arundel,*  who  dis- 
covered his  doctrine  to  be  that  of  the  Reformation,  and  sent  him  to 
Gardiner,  with  a  letter,  of  the  contents  of  which  he  knew  nothing, 
"  to  be  taught  better."  Hooper  was  retained  for  four  or  five  days  in 
Gardiner's  house,  with  whom  he  had  long  conferences,  but  returned 
to  Sir  Thomas  as  true  a  Gospeller  as  ever  ;  and,  having  an  intimation 
that  force  would  be  employed  after  the  failure  of  argument,  he  made 
his  way  to  the  sea-side,  and  embarked  for  France.  After  a  short  stay 
in  Paris,  he  returned  to  England,  and  found  a  situation  similar  to  that 
which  lie  had  occupied  in  the  household  of  Sir  Thomas  Arundel ;  but 
soon  heard  that  persons  were  watching  opportunity  to  apprehend  him 
for  heresy,  and,  disguising  himself  as  Captain  of  an  Irish  vessel,  got 
out  to  sea,  altered  his  course  for  the  Continent,  and  escaped,  by  way 
of  France,  into  Switzerland  and  Germany.  At  Zurich  he  married ; 
and  also  departed  from  the  customs  of  Romish  Priests  in  another 
way,  by  diligently  studying  Hebrew.  On  the  accession  of  Edward 
VI.,  he  prepared  to  return  to  England,  to  the  regret  of  his  friends  at 
Zurich.  They  honoured  him  with  a  solemn  valediction,  when  Bullin- 
ger,  in  the  name  of  the  rest,  entreated  him  not  to  forget  them  in 
happy  England,  when,  as  they  predicted,  he  should  rise  to  honour, 
and  perhaps  become  a  Bishop.  He  promised  that  they  should  often 
hear  from  him  ;  but,  probably  considering  that  so  great  a  Reforma- 
tion could  not  be  effected  in  England  until  after  many  struggles, 
added,  as  he  grasped  the  hand  of  Bullinger,  "  The  last  news  of  all  I 
shall  not  be  able  to  write  ;  for  there,  where  I  take  the  most  pains, 
there  shall  you  hear  of  me  to  be  burned  to  ashes.  And  that  shall  be 
the  last  news  which  I  shall  not  be  able  to  write  unto  you  ;  but  you 
shall  hear  it  of  me."  When  he  really  became  Bishop  of  Worcester  and 
Gloucester,  and  received  his  arms  from  the  herald,  they  were,  proba- 
bly by  his  own  choice,  a  lamb  in  a  burning  bush,  with  sunbeams 
falling  on  it.  This  represented  the  same  idea.  As  a  preacher  he 
was  exceedingly  popular.  His  benevolence  was  only  bounded  by  his 
means ;  and,  in  diligence,  as  well  as  hospitality  and  every  other 
virtue,  he  was  a  model  worthy  of  imitation  by  every  Bishop.  But  his 
manners  were  grave,  almost  to  austerity ;  and  his  long  persistence  in 
refusing  to  wear  episcopal  vestments,  at  a  time  when  the  greater 
questions  of  doctrine  and  discipline  ought  to  have  engaged  the  undi- 
vided care  of  all  parties,  can  scarcely  be  commended.  Ridley  and  he 
led  the  controversy  on  opposite  sides ;  but,  under  persecution  and  in 
martyrdom,  became  fully  reconciled.  At  Frankfort  and  at  Gloucester, 
while  intervals  of  rest  from  external  persecution  were  wasted  in  con- 

*  Afterwards  beheaded  as  accessory  to  the  alleged  crimes  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset. 


BISHOP    HOOPER.  265 

tantions  about  forms  and  vestments,  lessons  were  prepared  for 
extreme  parties  in  every  age,  that  should  rebuke  the  bigotry  of 
licence,  as  well  as  the  bigotry  of  ceremonial  and  of  system.  But 
Hooper,  when  Bishop,  proved  his  sincerity  by  a  course  of  self-denying 
faithfulness  that,  even  if  his  name  had  not  been  enrolled  in  our 
Martyrologies,  would  have  placed  him  high  above  censure  as  a  man 
of  God. 

No  sooner  was  Mary  crowned,  than  Dr.  Heath,  who  had  been 
deprived  on  account  of  Papistry,  was  reappointed  to  the  see  of 
Worcester  and  Gloucester,  and  Hooper  was  summoned  to  answer  to  a 
charge  of  having  injured  Bonner,  when  convicted  of  disobedience  in 
the  preceding  reign,  Hooper  being  one  of  his  accusers.  He  disdained 
to  flee,  immediately  went  up  to  London,  was  seized  on  his  first 
appearance,  and  taken  before  the  Queen  and  Council.  Under  pre- 
tence that  he  owed  some  sums  of  money  to  the  crown,  he  was  thrown 
into  the  Fleet  (September  1st,  1553).  On  entering  that  prison,  he 
paid,  according  to  custom,  a  Baron's  fee  for  "  the  liberty ; "  but,  after 
three  months,  found  himself  restricted  to  his  chamber,  persecuted  by  the 
warden  at  the  instigation  of  Gardiner,  who  owed  him  a  grudge,  and 
locked  up  in  a  filthy  chamber,  with  a  ditch  stagnant  on  one  side,  and 
a  sewer  on  the  other.  There  he  sickened,  and  often  moaned  and 
cried  for  help  ;  but  the  warden  would  not  suffer  any  of  his  men  to 
afford  him  the  attendance  for  which  exorbitant  fees  had  been  exacted. 
His  next  trial  was  from  the  insolence  of  Gardiner  and  his  fellow  Com- 
missioners, before  whom  he  appeared  (March  19th,  1554)  to  answer 
on  charges  of  heresy.  Gardiner  first  asked  if  he  was  married ;  to 
whom  he  answered,  "  Yea,  my  Lord  ;  and  will  not  be  unmarried  till 
death  unmarry  me."  A  person  present  endeavoured  to  take  notes 
of  their  proceedings;  but  every  attempt  to  justify  his  belief  was 
clamoured  down  with  so  much  uproar,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  be  heard.  Again,  on  January  22d,  (1555,)  and  two  other  days,  he  was 
brought  from  prison  to  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  together  with  his 
brethren  Rogers  and  Saunders,  and  offered  the  usual  choice  of  life  or 
death  ;  but  he  refused  to  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope, 
and  the  Bishops  told  him  that  the  Queen  would  show  no  mercy  to 
the  Pope's  enemies.  He  was,  therefore,  condemned,  and,  with  Rogers, 
taken  to  the  Clink  until  after  dark,  when  they  might  be  secretly  taken 
to  Newgate.  One  of  the  Sheriffs  then  took  Hooper  in  charge, 
attended  by  a  strong  party  with  "  bills  and  weapons,"  and  preceded 
by  Sergeants,  who  put  out  the  costermongers'  candles,  at  that  time 
the  only  luminaries  that  broke  the  pitchy  darkness  of  a  London 
street,  lest  people  should  recognise  him,  and  rescue  him  by  force. 
But  a  report  of  their  procedure  had  gone  before  the  Sergeants,  people 
listened  for  their  approach,  came  out  into  the  streets  with  candles, 
respectfully  saluted  the  good  Bishop,  praised  God  for  his  constancy  in 
the  true  doctrine  that  he  had  taught  them,  and  prayed  that  he  might 
have  grace  to  persevere  therein  unto  the  end.  He  bade  them  perse- 
vere in  that  prayer  ;  and  so  passed  through  Cheapside  to  the  place 
appointed,  and  was  delivered  as  close  prisoner  to  the  keeper  of 
Newgate,  where  he  remained  six  days.  Bonner,  Fecknam,  Chedsey, 


266  CHAPTER    IV. 

Harpsfield,  and  others,  troubled  him  with  many  visits,  almost  every 
person  but  themselves  being  excluded,  and,  assuming  the  language 
of  friendship,  laboured  to  bring  him  to  recantation.  They  even  raised 
a  report  that  he  had  recanted,  and  the  tale  began  to  be  believed ; 
until,  hearing  of  it,  he  wrote  a  letter,  addressed  to  "his  dear  brethren 
and  sisters  in  the  Lord,  and  fellow-prisoners  for  the  cause  of  God's 
Gospel,"  to  assure  them  of  his  unwavering  readiness  to  suffer  death, 
thereby  to  confirm  the  truth  he  had  taught  with  his  tongue  and  with 
his  pen.  The  last  visit  of  Bonner  to  Newgate,  on  his  account,  was  to 
degrade  him  and  Rogers  in  the  chapel ;  and,  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  his  keeper  told  him  that  he  would  be  sent  to  Gloucester  to 
suffer  death.  He  received  the  intelligence  with  joy  that  he  should 
be  permitted  to  confirm,  by  his  death,  the  people  of  Gloucester  whom 
he  had  instructed  in  the  truth,  and,  thanking  God  for  this,  doubted 
not  but  He  would  give  him  strength  to  perform  the  same  to  His  glory. 
That  no  time  might  be  lost,  he  sent  for  his  boots,  spurs,  and  cloak, 
and  held  himself  in  readiness  to  ride  when  required.  Still  dreading 
daylight,  the  keeper  and  his  men  awoke  him  at  four  o'clock  next  morn- 
ing, when  they  searched  his  person  and  his  bed  for  writings,  but  found 
none  :  the  Sheriffs  of  London  and  their  officers  led  him  out  of  New- 
gate to  a  place  near  St.  Dunstan's  church  in  Fleet-street,  where  six 
of  the  Queen's  guards  were  waiting  to  receive  him,  and  take  him  to 
Gloucester.  At  Gloucester  the  Sheriffs,  Lord  Chandos,  Master  Wicks, 
and  others,  were  appointed  to  see  execution  done.  The  guards  took 
him  to  the  "Angel,"  where  horses  were  waiting,  and  there  he  break- 
fasted heartily,  and,  having  a  hood  on  his  head,  that  he  might  not  be 
known,  mounted  a  horse  about  day-break,  and  rode  away  cheerfully 
towards  Gloucester  (Tuesday,  February  5th).  About  five  o'clock  in 
the  evening  of  the  Thursday  following,  he  approached  Gloucester.  A 
mile  out  of  town  a  multitude  of  people  met  him,  wept  aloud,  and 
filled  the  air  with  lamentations.  One  of  the  guards,  in  alarm, 
galloped  into  Gloucester,  and  required  aid  of  the  Mayor  and  Sheriffs, 
who  mustered  all  force  available,  marched  out  at  the  gate,  and  drove 
the  people  to  their  houses.  But  no  one  had  attempted  violence. 
They  took  him  to  the  house  of  one  Ingram,  where  he  ate  supper  in 
silence,  slept  soundly  the  first  sleep,  and  then  rose,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  the  night  in  prayer  ;  when,  to  be  delivered  from  the 
presence  of  the  guard,  who  were  all  in  the  same  room  with  him,  he 
obtained  permission  to  occupy  an  adjoining  chamber,  and  passed  the 
day  alone  in  meditation  and  prayer,  except  when  taking  a  hasty  meal, 
or  exchanging  a  few  words  with  such  as  the  guards  would  allow  to 
see  him. 

One  of  these  visiters  was  Sir  Anthony  Kingston,  formerly  an  inti- 
mate friend,  now  one  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Queen 
to  burn  him.  After  the  first  salutation,  Sir  Anthony  began,  as  usual, 
to  solicit  him  to  consider  that  life  is  sweet,  and  death  bitter.  He  thanked 
his  old  friend,  and  proceeded  to  show  his  estimate  of  life. — "  True  it 
is,  Master  Kingston,  that  death  is  bitter,  and  life  is  sweet :  but,  alas ! 
consider  that  the  death  to  come  \»  more  bitter,  and  the  life  to  come  is 
more  sweet.  Therefore,  for  the  desire  and  love  I  have  to  the  one, 


BISHOP  HOOPER'S  MARTYRDOM.  267 

and  the  terror  and  fear  of  the  other,  I  do  not  so  much  regard  this 
death,  nor  esteem  this  life;  but  have  settled  myself,  through  the 
strength  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  patiently  to  pass  through  the  torments 
and  extremities  of  the  fire  now  prepared  for  me,  rather  than  to  deny 
the  truth  of  his  word  ;  desiring  you,  and  others,  in  the  mean  time, 
to  commend  me  to  God's  mercy  in  your  prayers."  Sir  Anthony 
attempted  no  more  persuasion  ;  but  professed  that,  by  means  of  the 
Bishop's  teaching,  he  had  forsaken  and  detected  his  former  sins. 
"  If  you  have  had  the  grace  so  to  do,"  said  his  spiritual  father,  "  I  do 
highly  praise  God  for  it ;  and  if  you  have  not,  I  pray  God  ye  may 
have,  and  that  you  may  continually  live  in  his  fear."  Hooper  wept 
abundantly,  telling  Sir  Anthony  that  all  the  troubles  of  his  hard 
imprisonment  had  not  caused  him  to  give  such  an  expression  of 
sorrow. 

From  the  Queen's  guards  he  was  now  to  be  delivered  over  to  the 
Sheriffs  of  Gloucester,  Jenkins  and  Bond,  who,  with  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  repaired  to  his  lodging.  The  Mayor  gave  him  his  hand. 
The  Sheriffs  made  somewhat  more  of  their  office.  The  guards  treated 
him  with  reverence.  With  unaffected  dignity  he  reminded  the  Mayor 
of  his  former  station  in  Gloucester,  as  a  Bishop  appointed  by  the 
godly  King  Edward.  "  And  now,  Master  Sheriffs,  I  understand  by 
these  good  men,  and  my  very  friends,"  (the  guard,)  "  at  whose  hands 
I  have  found  so  much  favour  and  gentleness,  by  the  way  hitherward, 
as  a  prisoner  could  reasonably  require, — for  the  which  also  I  most 
heartily  thank  them, — that  I  am  committed  to  your  custody,  as  unto 
them  that  must  see  me  brought,  to-morrow,  to  the  place  of  execution. 
My  request,  therefore,  to  you  shall  be  only,  that  there  may  be  a 
quick  fire,  shortly  to  make  an  end ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  I  will  be 
as  obedient  unto  you  as  yourselves  would  wish.  If  you  think  I  do 
amiss  in  anything,  hold  up  your  finger,  and  I  have  done."  He  then 
descanted  on  the  cause  for  which  he  was  about  to  die,  most  of  them 
weeping  as  they  heard  ;  but  the  two  Sheriffs,  more  intent  on  courting 
royal  favour  than  on  discharging  the  obligations  of  humanity,  went 
aside  to  consult,  and  determined  to  lodge  him  in  Northgate,  the 
common  jail.  Here  the  guard  interposed,  declared  that  "  any  child 
might  keep  him  well  enough,"  and  that  they  would  rather  stay  and 
watch  with  him,  than  that  he  should  be  sent  to  the  common  prison. 
For  very  shame  the  Sheriffs  could  not  but  yield ;  and  he  was  suffered 
to  lodge  in  the  same  house  for  one  more  night,  and  allowed  undis- 
turbed retirement,  that  he  might  pour  out  his  soul  to  God  in  prayer. 
At  eight  o'clock  next  morning  came  the  Commissioners,  but  waited 
an  hour,  as  if  dreading  the  moment  wherein  they  should  have  to 
discharge  their  office  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  Sheriffs  were  near  at 
hand  that  they  gave  him  the  signal  to  prepare.  The  Sheriffs,  sparing 
not,  hastened  to  his  chamber,  and  brought  him  out.  Finding  himself 
surrounded  by  a  large  body  of  armed  men,  he  rebuked  the  vain 
parade :  "  Master  Sheriffs,"  said  he,  "  I  am  no  traitor ;  neither 
needed  you  to  have  made  such  a  business  to  bring  me  to  the  place 
where  I  must  suffer.  For  if  ye  had  willed  me,  I  would  have  gone 
alone  to  the  stake,  and  troubled  none  of  you  all."  Seven  thousand 

2  M  2 


268  CHAPTER    IV. 

people,  as  it  was  estimated,  were  waiting  to  see  their  beloved  Bishop 
for  the  last  time, — not  to  hear  him,  for  he  had  been  forbidden  to 
speak.  So  he  went  forward,  led  between  the  two  Sheriffs,  wearing  a 
gown  of  his  host's,  his  hat  on  his  head,  and  helping  himself  onward 
with  a  staff,  being  disabled  by  sciatica,  caught  in  the  Fleet  prison. 
The  multitude  only  broke  silence  by  sobs,  a  sound  that  rose  with 
heart-rending  solemnity, — a  dirge  of  lamentation.  He  said  nothing  ; 
but,  on  recognising  familiar  countenances,  gave  them  cheerful  smiles, 
for  he  could  not  be  sad  :  the  divine  gift  of  constancy,  the  power  over 
death,  bestowed  on  him  that  day,  raised  him  above  sadness.  "  Near 
unto  the  great  elm-tree,  over  against  the  College  of  Priests,  where  he 
was  wont  to  preach,"  the  stake  was  most  appropriately  planted. 
Every  surrounding  space  was  full  of  spectators.  Even  the  elm-tree 
bent  its  boughs  under  the  living  load.  In  the  chamber  over  the 
college-gate  stood  the  Priests  of  the  college. 

A  death-like  silence  brooded  over  the  throng.  The  martyr  gazed 
upon  the  stake,  and  smiled  a  welcome.  Speech  was  forbidden ;  yet 
he  would  fain  pray.  Six  or  seven  times  he  beckoned  to  one  whom 
he  well  knew,  and  who  at  length  ventured  to  approach.  Hooper 
rested  his  head  on  his  shoulder,  and,  in  a  very  low  voice,  so  that  this 
friend  alone  could  hear,  put  words  of  confession  into  the  form  of 
prayer,  trusting  that,  after  his  departure,  that  testimony  might  be 
related.  In  a  few  moments  a  small  box  was  brought  and  laid  before 
him,  containing  the  Queen's  pardon,  if  he  would  recant ;  but,  shud- 
dering at  the  sight,  he  cried,  "  If  you  love  my  soul,  away  with  it ! 
If  you  love  my  soul,  away  with  it ! "  The  box  was  removed,  and  the 
Lord  Chandos,  irritated,  gave  orders  to  the  executioners,  "  Seeing 
there  is  no  remedy,  despatch  him  quickly."  "  Good,  my  Lord," 
Hooper  ventured  to  reply,  "  I  trust  your  Lordship  will  give  me  leave 
to  make  an  end  of  my  prayers."  Chandos  gruffly  bade  the  young 
man*  who  was  listening  to  his  prayer  take  heed  that  he  did  nothing 
but  pray,  or  he  would  quickly  despatch  him.  One  or  two  drew  near 
to  listen,  and  heard  a  few  sentences  of  profound  humiliation,  and 
most  child-like  trust.  But  they  were  driven  away.  Prayer  being 
ended,  he  undressed  himself,  partially,  for  the  stake,  wishing  to  avoid 
unseemly  exposure.  But  the  greedy  Sheriffs  would  leave  him  nothing 
but  his  shirt,  counting,  no  doubt,  on  the  price  that  relics  of  such  a 
man  might  bring  them.  They  stripped  him  of  their  perquisite. 
Then  he  was  fastened  to  the  stake  with  iron  hoops,  and  being  tall, 
and  made  to  stand  on  an  elevation,  could  survey  the  dense  crowd  that 
stood  around.  Lifting  up  his  hands  and  eyes  towards  heaven,  again 
he  prayed,  but  silently,  until  interrupted  by  the  man  appointed  to 
make  the  fire,  who  came  to  ask  him  forgiveness  for  the  deed. 
"  Therein,"  said  he,  "  thou  dost  not  offend  me.  God  forgive  thee 
thy  sins ;  and  do  thine  office,  I  pray  thee."  The  reeds  were  then 
brought :  he  received  two  bundles  of  them  in  his  own  hands, 
embraced  them,  drew  one  under  each  arm,  and  directed  the  execu- 
tioner how  to  pile  the  rest.  He  had  asked  but  one  favour,— dry  wood. 
But  the  Sheriffs  had  sent  two  heavy  horse-loads  of  green  faggots,  and 

*  Edmuiid,  son  of  Sir  Edmund  Bridges. 


DR.    ROWLAND    TAYLOR.  269 

did  the  pleasure  of  their  royal  mistress  by  protracting  his  bodily 
torment.  He  lived  in  the  fire  three  quarters  of  an  hour  ;  but,  to 
borrow  the  language  of  his  own  prayer,  God  strengthened  him  of  his 
goodness,  that  he  broke  not  the  rules  of  patience  ;  or,  He  assuaged 
the  terror  of  the  pains.  To  Him  be  the  glory!  (February  9th,  1555.) 
But  this  first  company  of  martyrs  is  not  yet  complete.  The 
market-town  of  Hadleigh,  in  Suffolk,  was  one  of  the  first  that  received 
the  Gospel  in  those  times.  The  venerable  Bilney  preached  there,  and 
taught  the  inhabitants  to  apply  to  the  holy  Scriptures  as  the  rule 
of  faith  and  guide  of  life.  They  did  as  he  advised ;  and  many  of 
them  had  often  read  the  sacred  volume  through.  Their  memory  was 
enriched  with  its  sentences  ;  and  so  skilled  were  they,  both  old  and 
young,  servants  as  well  as  masters,  that  "  the  whole  town  seemed 
rather  a  university  of  the  learned,  than  a  town  of  cloth-making  or 
labouring  people ;"  and  the  conduct  of  the  inhabitants  was,  generally, 
in  correspondence  to  their  religious  knowledge.  The  Parson  of 
Hadleigh  was  Dr.  Rowland  Taylor,  Doctor  of  Canon  and  Civil  Law, 
and  a  good  theologian.  Preferring  the  duties  of  a  country  cure,  he 
quitted  the  household  of  Archbishop  Cranmer,  and,  in  that  quiet 
town,  presented  a  lovely  example  of  pastoral  diligence.  He  was  one 
of  those  happy  men  in  whom  piety  shines  the  more  as  it  is  adorned 
by  an  amiable  natural  disposition.  His  parishioners  were  his  family, 
and  they  loved  him  as  if  he  had  been  their  father.  During  all  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI.  he  prosecuted  his  ministerial  labours  without 
interruption,  and  under  manifest  tokens  of  the  divine  blessing  ;  but 
shortly  after  the  death  of  Edward,  some  Popish  zealots  conspired  to 
invade  the  parish,  and  restore  the  mass.  First  of  all  they  managed 
to  fit  up  an  altar ;  but  others  demolished  the  erection,  and,  to  their 
mortification,  it  had  to  be  set  up  again.  This  time  it  was  done  by 
force.  One  morning,  as  Dr.  Taylor  was  seated  in  his  study,  he  heard 
the  bells  ring,  and,  supposing  that  his  presence  was  required,  went  to 
the  church,  but  found  the  doors  barred,  the  chancel-door  excepted, 
which  he  opened,  and,  to  his  amazement,  saw  "  a  Popish  sacrificer  in 
his  robes,  with  a  broad,  new-shaven  crown,"  just  proceeding  to  say 
mass,  and  guarded  by  a  company  of  armed  men.  Startled  and  indig- 
nant at  the  forcible  intrusion  of  those  men  into  his  church,  he 
exclaimed,  "  Thou-  devil  !*  who  made  thee  so  bold  to  enter  into  this 
church  of  Christ  to  profane  and  defile  it  with  this  abominable 
idolatry  ?  "  One  Foster,  a  sort  of  petty  gentleman,  an  empiric  law- 
yer, a  mere  litigious  peddler,  who  had  undertaken  to  introduce  the 
Priest  with  his  mass,  started  up,  and  retorted,  "  Thou  traitor !  what 
dost  thou  here,  to  let  and  disturb  the  Queen's  proceedings  ?  "  The 
intruders  had  power  on  their  side,  and  Dr.  Taylor  was  forcibly  ejected 
from  his  own  church.  His  wife,  who  had  followed  him,  was  thrust 
out  into  the  churchyard  ;  the  chancel-door  was  fastened,  to  keep  out 
the  people,  who  began  to  collect,  and  were  not  again  suffered  to  enjoy 
the  Reformed  worship  until  after  the  death  of  Mary ;  and  the  inci- 

#  Besides  the  force  of  sudden  provocation,  the  rude  style  of  those  times  may 
extenuate  this  impropriety  of  language.  Let  him  who  censures  put  himself  in  Dr. 
Taylor's  place. 


270  CHAPTER    IV. 

dent  stands  as  an  example  of  the  violence  used  by  Papists  for  the 
repairing  of  their  system. 

Foster  and  one  of  his  accomplices  forthwith  complained  of  Dr. 
Taylor  in  a  letter  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  who  sent  a  missive  to  the 
Doctor,  commanding  him,  on  his  allegiance,  to  appear  before  him  in 
London.  Gardiner  was  too  well  known  for  Dr.  Taylor's  friends  not 
to  dread  his  appearing  there  ;  and  they  entreated  him  to  go  out  of 
England :  but  he  told  them  that  he  was  already  old,  and  had  lived 
too  long,  since  such  evil  days  were  come  upon  them  ;  that  they  might 
flee,  and  would  be  justified  in  escaping  certain  persecution,  but  that 
his  duty  was  to  beard  the  Bishop,  and  tell  him  he  did  naught,  than 
which,  he  believed,  he  could  not  do  a  better  service.  A  good  old 
Priest,  Richard  Yeoman,  took  charge  of  his  flock,  and  was  afterward 
burnt  at  Norwich.  A  townsman  of  Hadleigh,  named  Alcock,  used  to 
go  daily  to  the  church  after  Yeoman  was  driven  away,  and  read  a 
chapter  in  the  English  Bible,  and  the  Litany  in  English.  He,  too, 
was  apprehended,  and  died  in  Newgate. 

Dr.  Taylor  went  to  London  without  loss  of  time,  attended  by  an 
old  and  faithful  servant,  John  Hull,  and  presented  himself  before  the 
Lord  Chancellor.  Gardiner  received  him  with  characteristic  brutality. 
"  Knave !  traitor !  villain  !  Art  thou  come,  thou  villain  ?  Knowest 
thou  who  I  am?" — "Yes ;  I  know  who  you  are  :  ye  are  Dr.  Stephen 
Gardiner,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  Lord  Chancellor ;  and  yet 
but  a  mortal  man,  I  trow.  But,  if  I  should  be  afraid  of  your  lordly 
looks,  why  fear  not  you  God,  the  Lord  of  us  all  ?  How  dare  ye,  for 
shame,  look  any  Christian  man  in  the  face,  seeing  ye  have  forsaken 
the  truth,  denied  our  Saviour  Christ  and  his  word,  and  done  contrary 
to  your  own  oath  and  writing?  With  what  countenance  will  ye 
appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  answer  to  your  oath, 
made  first  unto  that  blessed  King,  Henry  VIII.,  of  famous  memory, 
and  afterward  unto  blessed  King  Edward  VI.,  his  son?"  Gardiner 
must  have  been  stunned  for  a  moment  by  the  force  of  those  just 
interrogations ;  but,  on  recovery,  having  an  unconquerable  propensity 
to  talk,  fell  into  disputation  with  his  prisoner,  and  endeavoured  to 
exculpate  himself.  From  this  he  proceeded  to  accuse  him  of  resisting 
the  Parson  of  Aldham,  in  Hadleigh  church,  when  saying  mass ; 
taunted  him  on  his  marriage,  which  the  godly  Priest  defended  like  a 
man,  a  husband,  a  father,  and  a  Christian ;  and  wrangled  with  him 
about  the  real  presence.  His  ire  or  his  patience  being  exhausted,  he 
ended  by  calling  to  his  men,  "  Have  this  fellow  hence,  and  carry  him 
to  the  King's  Bench,  and  charge  the  keeper  he  be  straitly  kept." 
Dr.  Taylor  then  knelt  down  and  prayed  :  "  Good  Lord,  I  thank  thee  ; 
and  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  all  his  detestable 
errors,  idolatries,  and  abominations,  good  Lord,  deliver  us ;  and  God 
be  praised  for  good  King  Edward."  To  the  King's  Bench  they  took 
him;  and  there  he  lay  for  about  two  years.  With  the  others,  as 
already  described,  he  was  brought  before  Gardiner  and  the  Commis- 
sioners, rejected  their  offer  of  life,  was  sentenced  to  be  delivered  over 
to  the  secular  arm  as  a  heretic,  taken  to  the  Clink  until  dark,  and 
thence  removed  to  the  Compter  in  the  Poultry.  Thither  came  Bon- 


DR.    ROWLAND    TAYLOR.  271 

ner,  on  the  4th  of  February  (1555),  the  day  on  which  he  made  a  round 
for  the  degradation  of  Hooper,  Rogers,  and  Saunders,  and  proceeded 
to  degrade  Taylor  also.  After  asking  him,  as  usual,  to  repent,  and 
receiving  a  prompt  refusal,  "  Well,"  quoth  the  Bishop,  "  I  am  come 
to  degrade  you  :  wherefore,  put  on  these  vestures," — a  suit  of  priestly 
robes.  "  No,"  said  Taylor  ;  "  I  will  not." — "  Wilt  thou  not  ?  I 
shall  make  thee,  ere  I  go." — "You  shall  not,  by  the  grace  of  God." 
However,  they  were  put  on  perforce ;  and,  when  fully  arrayed,  he 
set  his  hands  on  his  sides,  and,  walking  up  and  down,  said,  "  How 
say  you,  my  Lord  ?  Am  I  not  a  goodly  fool  ?  How  say  you,  my 
masters?  If  I  were  in  Cheap,  should  I  not  have  boys  enough  to 
laugh  at  these  apish  toys,  and  toying  trumpery?"  Bonner  tore  off 
the  vestments  canonically,  scraped  his  fingers  and  thumbs,  obliterated 
the  tonsure,  and  so  unmade  the  Priest.  By  this  time  Bonner  was 
hot  for  an  assault,  and  was  raising  his  crosier  to  strike  the  excommu- 
nicate, when  his  Chaplain,  rightly  estimating  the  comparative  powers 
of  the  two,  stayed  his  courage  by  exclaiming,  "  My  Lord,  strike  him 
not;  for  he  will  sure  strike  again." — "Yea,  by  St.  Peter,  will  I," 
said  Dr.  Taylor ;  and  Bonner  slunk  back.  Then,  assuming  another 
tone,  satisfied  that,  if  he  was  degraded  ceremonially,  the  choleric 
Bishop  was  degraded  in  reality,  and  sufficiently  humbled,  he  closed 
the  colloquy  with  such  words  as  these :  "  Though  you  do  curse  me, 
yet  God  doth  bless  me.  I  have  the  witness  of  my  conscience  that  ye 
have  done  me  wrong  and  violence ;  and  yet  I  pray  God,  if  it  be  his 
will,  to  forgive  you.  But  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
and  his  detestable  enormities,  good  Lord,  deliver  us!"  The  bearing 
of  Dr.  Taylor  was  certainly  not  so  lovely  as  that  of  Bishop  Hooper, 
Bilney,  and  many  other  holy  martyrs ;  but  it  displayed  the  frankness 
of  an  honest  indignation  that  commands  respect,  with  an  admirable, 
self-collected  boldness.  But,  to  know  Dr.  Taylor,  we  must  see  him  in 
the  bosom  of  his  family.* 

He  thanked  God  that  he  was  married,  and  had  nine  children,  all  in 
lawful  matrimony ;  an  honour  which  thousands  of  vassaled  Priests 
would,  at  this  moment,  rejoice  to  own.  He  was  a  good  father,  and  a 
noble  husband.  Bonner  had  scarcely  turned  his  back,  when  the 
keeper  of  the  prison — for  the  keepers  of  the  Queen's  prisoners  were 
generally  as  kind  as  they  durst  be,  not  so  the  jailers  of  the  Bishops — 

*  The  blessing  of  God  rested  on  that  family.  "  Samuel  Taylor,  Vicar  of  Quinton," 
in  Staffordshire,  one  of  those  four  Ministers  who  met  with  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  in  his 
first  Conference  (A. P.  1744),  a  devout  and  zealous  preacher  in  highways  and  hedges, 
shared  with  the  first  Methodists  in  labours  and  reproach,  in  Quinton,  Wednesbury, 
Darlaston,  and  other  parts  of  the  county.  When  surrounded  with  danger  in  the  prose- 
cution of  his  mission,  he  derived  strength  from  the  example  of  his  martyred  ancestor, 
and  is  said  once  to  have  exclaimed,  "  Were  1  but  called  to  the  honour  of  martyrdom,  as 
my  great-grandfather  was,  I  trust  that  I  should  be  able  to  stand  in  the  day  of  trial, 
and,  like  him,  go  through  the  flames  to  glory,"  As  long  as  Mr.  Taylor  was  alive,  his 
pulpit  was  open  to  Mr.  Wesley,  and  for  some  time  afterwards.  A  "  house"  was  then 
erected,  which  yet  stands  in  nearly  its  original  condition  ;  and  thus  the  Vicar  of  Quin- 
ton is  recalled  to  memory  as  a  living  link  between  the  religions  revivals  of  the  sixteenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  between  the  Reformation  under  Edward  VI.  and  early 
Methodism.  How  far  is  the  latter  to  be  attributed  to  the  prayer  and  faith  that  made 
the  former  so  glorious  ?  For  a  notice  of  this  descendant  of  our  martyr,  see  the  Wesleyan- 
Methodist  Magazine  for  April,  1850 


272  CHAPTER    IV. 

admitted  his  wife,  one  of  his  children,  and  the  trusty  servant,  John 
Hull,  to  sup  with  him.  As  soon  as  they  had  entered  they  all  knelt 
down  together  and  prayed,  saying  the  English  Litany.  After  supper  they 
walked  up  and  down  in  the  prison-house,  talking  together  for  the  last 
time,  almost,  on  earth.  The  good  man  thanked  God  for  his  grace, 
that  had  so  strengthened  him,  and,  turning  to  his  son  Thomas,  said, 
"My  dear  son,  Almighty  God  bless  thee,  and  give  thee  his  Holy 
Spirit  to  be  a  true  servant  of  Christ,  to  learn  his  word,  and  constantly 
to  stand  by  his  truth,  all  thy  life  long.  And,  my  son,  see  that  thou 
fear  God  always.  Flee  from  all  sin  and  wicked  living :  be  virtuous, 
serve  God  with  daily  prayer,  and  apply  thy  book.  In  any  wise,  see 
that  thou  be  obedient  to  thy  mother,  love  her  and  serve  her :  be 
ruled  by  her  now  in  thy  youth,  and  follow  her  good  counsels  in  all 
things."  After  some  further  exhortation,  he  addressed  his  wife : 
"  My  dear  wife,  continue  steadfast  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God  :  keep 
yourself  undefiled  from  their  Popish  idolatries  and  superstitions.  I 
have  been  unto  you  a  faithful  yokefellow,  and  so  have  you  been  unto 
me ;  for  the  which  I  pray  God  to  reward  you,  and  doubt  not,  dear 
wife,  but  God  will  reward  it."  A  few  more  sentences  of  counsel  were 
all  that  he  could  give.  They  surrendered  each  other  to  God,  knelt 
down  again,  and  prayed.  He  gave  her  a  copy  of  King  Edward's 
Prayer-Book,  that  he  had  used  during  two  years  in  prison  ;  and  to  his 
son  a  Latin  book,  containing  sentences  of  the  old  martyrs,  extracted 
from  the  Ecclesiastica  Historia ;  and,  after  one  more  embrace,  they 
parted,  not  expecting  other  converse  until  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Sheriff  of  London  and  his 
officers  came  to  the  prison,  and,  careful  to  show  no  light,  brought  out 
Dr.  Taylor,  and  led  him,  without  noise,  to  the  "  Woolsack,"  an  inn, 
without  Aldgate.  But  there  were  watchful  ears,  that  the  Sheriff's  art 
could  not  elude.  Just  as  they  were  passing  by  St.  Botolph's  porch, 
a  child's  voice  startled  them  :  "  0,  my  dear  father !  Mother !  mother  ! 
here  is  my  father  led  away."  It  was  little  Elisabeth.  The  mother, 
and  two  daughters,  expecting  that  he  would  be  taken  by  that  way, 
were  grouped  within  the  porch,  trusting  to  catch  a  sound  of  him,  if 
not  a  sight.  Then  cried  his  wife,  "  Rowland !  Rowland !  where  art 
thou?"  for  it  was  extremely  dark.  "Dear  wife,  I  am  here,"  said 
he.  The  Sheriff  had  not  the  heart  to  drag  him  away,  but  bade  his 
men  stop.  She  came  to  him ;  so  did  Elisabeth  and  Mary.  They 
knelt  down  together,  Mary  being  locked  in  her  father's  arras,  and, 
with  united  voices,  as  when  they  had  each  day  approached  God 
around  their  hearth  at  Hadleigh,  recited  the  Lord's  prayer  aloud. 
Emotions  that  could  not  create  utterance  in  any  other  language, 
breathed  in  that  divine  sentence, — "OuR  FATHER  !"  Even  the  Sheriff 
burst  into  tears ;  nor  could  the  sturdy  guards  refrain  from  weeping. 
After  they  had  prayed,  he  kissed  his  wife,  and,  clasping  her  hand, 
said,  "  Farewell,  my  dear  wife.  Be  of  good  comfort ;  for  I  am  quiet 
in  my  conscience.  God  shall  stir  up  a  father  for  my  children. — 
God  bless  thee,  Mary,  and  make  thee  his  servant. — God  bless  thee, 
Elisabeth.  I  pray  you  all  stand  strong  and  steadfast  unto  Christ  and 
his  word,  and  keep  you  from  idolatry."  The  father  imprinted,  with 


DR.    TAYLOR    MARTYRED.  273 

his  blessing,  a  kiss  on  the  moistened  cheek  of  each  fatherless  girl, — 
for  he  was  to  be  no  longer  theirs  in  this  world, — heard  his  wife  say, 
"  God  be  with  thee,  Rowland ;  I  will,  with  God's  grace,  meet  thee  at 
Hadleigh."  They  led  him  to  the  Woolsack  ;  his  wife  and  daughters 
lingered  after  them  ;  but  there  could  be  no  further  interview,  except 
that,  next  morning,  on  leaving  the  inn,  he  saw  his  son  Thomas  in  the 
crowd,  called  him,  had  him  lifted  on  his  horse,  gave  him  his  blessing, 
showed  him  to  the  bystanders  as  his  lawful  son,  and,  as  a  married 
Priest,  blessed  God  for  lawful  matrimony. 

The  Sheriff  of  Essex  conducted  him  to  Chelmsford.     At  that  place 
the  Sheriff  of  Suffolk  received  his  charge, — a  venerable  Minister  of 
Christ,  long  known  and  honoured  in  the  country,  now  a  prisoner,  set 
on  horseback,  with  a  close  hood  over  his  head,  with  slits  for  the  eyes 
and  mouth,  that  he  might  not  be  recognised  and  rescued.     That  pre- 
caution was  taken  by  the  Sheriff  at  Brentwood,  and  betrayed  a  con- 
sciousness of  danger  from  the  men  of  Essex ;  for  people  there  began 
to  recognise  the  Doctor,  and  show  him  honour.     Both  at  Chelmsford 
and  at  Lavenham — where  a  numerous  company  of  Justices  and  other 
gentlemen,  well  mounted  and  armed,  came  by  appointment  to  aid  the 
Sheriff — much  persuasion  was  tried  to  divert  him  from  his  constancy ; 
life,  honour,  even  a  bishopric,  was  offered  him,  if  he  would  submit  to 
the  Romish  Church  ;  but,  resting  on  Christ,  as  on  a  rock  immovable, 
he  abode  unshaken.     After  two  days'  delay  at  Lavenham,  the  caval- 
cade set  out  for  Aldham,  beyond   Hadleigh,  where  he  was  to  suffer. 
When  within  two  miles  of  his  own  town,  he  obtained  permission  to 
dismount,  and,  to  the  amazement  of  the  armed  magistracy,  who  were 
waiting  on  their  horses,  leaped  and  danced  with  joy.      "  Why,  Master 
Doctor,"  quoth  the  Sheriff,   "how  do  you  now?" — "Well,   God  be 
praised,  good   Master   Sheriff,   never   better ;  for  now  I  know  I   am 
almost  at  home.     I  lack  not  two  stiles  to  go  over,  and  I  am  even  at 
my  father's  house."     His  heart  never  failed.     Throughout  the  journey 
he  had  been  right  merry,  singing  hymns  and  psalms,  and  now  rejoiced 
that  he  should  once  more  pass  through  Hadleigh,  and  exchange  salu- 
tations with  his  beloved  parishioners.     The  streets  were  crowded  with 
people,  through  whom  the  horsemen  made  their  way ;  and  loud  were 
the  cries  of  sorrow  and  sentences  of  blessing  poured  on  him  by  peo- 
ple, from  town  and  country ;  but  loudest  far  the  recognitions  of  the 
poor.      He   had    ever  been  the  rich  men's  almoner  for  them  ;  and, 
although  he  might  have  bestowed  on  his  own  family,  now  homeless, 
the  remainder  of  moneys  in  his  possession, — for  they  were  poor, — he 
had  carefully  reserved  it,  and,  on  approaching  the  town,  put  it  in  a 
glove,  which  he  threw  in  at  a  window  of  the  almshouses  in  passing. 

They  were  soon  on  Aldham  Common,  which,  amidst  the  close- 
pressed  retinue  of  horse,  and  under  the  dark  hood,  he  scarcely  knew. 
The  people  were  keeping  pace,  and  collecting  from  all  the  country 
round ;  and,  as  the  guards  halted  thus  amidst  the  crowd,  he  asked 
where  they  were,  and  what  meant  that  concourse.  "  This  is  Aldham 
Common,"  said  one,  "  the  place  where  you  must  suffer ;  and  people 
are  come  to  look  upon  you." — "  Thanked  be  God,"  said  he,  "  I  am 
even  at  home,"  and,  alighting,  with  both  hands  rent  off  the  hood,  and 

VOL.    III.  2    N 


274  CHAPTER    IV. 

disclosed  his  ancient  face,  with  silvery  beard,  and  hair  jagged  by  the 
scissors  of  Bishop  Bonner,  pitiful  to  look  upon.  The  sight  so  wrought 
upon  the  multitude,  that  they  burst  into  a  loud  and  continuous  wailing  ; 
and,  as  the  cry  subsided,  well-familiar  voices  from  the  flock  greeted 
their  smitten  shepherd  :  "  God  save  thee,  good  Dr.  Taylor ! — Jesus 
Christ  strengthen  thee  and  help  thee! — the  Holy  Ghost  comfort 
thee."  He  would  have  answered.  He  began  to  speak  ;  but  the  yeo- 
men brandished  their  tipstaves,  and  the  Sheriff  reminded  him  that  he 
had  promised  the  Council  not  to  speak  to  the  people ;  for  the  Coun- 
cil, if  report  be  true,  had  extorted  that  promise  from  all  the  martyrs, 
under  a  threat  of  cutting  out  their  tongues.  "Well,"  he  answered, 
"  promise  must  be  kept."  So  he  sat  down  and  undressed  himself, 
all  except  his  shirt,  and  gave  the  clothes  away ;  when,  forgetting  the 
promise,  he  rose,  looked  on  the  people,  and  said,  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  Good  people,  I  have  taught  you  nothing  but  God's  holy  word,  and 
those  lessons  that  I  have  taken  out  of  God's  blessed  book,  the  Holy 
Bible ;  and  I  am  come  hither  this  day  to  seal  it  with  my  blood." 
And  this  was  all  he  could  say ;  for  a  heavy  stroke  of  a  cudgel  from 
the  hand  of  one  Homes,  a  yeoman,  who  had  already  dealt  brutally 
with  him,  put  him  to  silence.  Yet  he  was  permitted  to  pray. 
Kneeling  on  the  ground,  he  committed  himself  to  the  God  of  all  conso- 
lation ;  and  a  poor  woman  of  the  crowd,  passing  between  the  horses, 
knelt  down,  and  prayed  with  him.  The  yeomen  raged ;  but  she 
prayed  on.  They  spurred  their  horses,  and  threatened  to  trample  her 
under  the  hoofs ;  but  she  still  prayed  on,  and,  restrained  by  Him 
who  bowed  down  his  ear  to  listen,  they  could  not  do  more  than 
threaten.  She  mingled  her  supplications  with  those  of  the  martyr, 
who,  when  he  had  finished,  went  readily  to  the  stake,  kissed  it,  got 
into  a  pitch-barrel,  which  they  had  set  for  him  to  stand  in,  folded  his 
hands,  looked  up  towards  his  Father's  house,  and  prayed  in  silence 
while  the  Sheriff  chained  him.  The  man  commanded  to  bring  faggots 
refused.  Two  vagabond  fellows  were  employed  for  that  service,  of 
whom  the  more  zealous  flung  a  faggot  at  his  head.  As  the  blood 
streamed  down  his  face  he  meekly  asked  the  man,  "  0,  friend,  I  have 
harm  enough!  what  needed  that?"  One  of  the  impatient  ruffians 
shortened  his  suffering  ;  for,  as  the  fire  began  to  burn,  and  he  was 
singing,  "  In  God  have  I  put  my  trust,  I  will  not  fear  what  man  can 
do  unto  me,"  he  clave  his  skull  with  a  halbert ;  and  the  body  fell 
dead  into  the  fire  (February  9th,  1555).  His  successor  in  the  incum- 
bency of  Hadleigh,  formerly  a  Protestant,  now  a  Papist,  and  after- 
wards a  Protestant  again,  had  made  haste  to  drive  Mrs.  Taylor  and 
her  children  out  of  the  parsonage,  and  was  preaching  against  heresy  to 
the  mourning  and  disgusted  population  of  that  town. 

Rogers,  Hooper,  Saunders,  and  Taylor  were  thus  martyred  within 
six  days,  in  London,  Gloucester,  Coventry,  and  Hadleigh,  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  Commissioners,  and  express  desire  of  the  Queen.  And 
on  the  last  of  those  days,  six  others  received,  from  the  same  Com- 
missioners, sentence  to  be  burnt.  Yet,  on  the  very  day  following 
that  sentence,  King  Philip's  Chaplain,  Alfonso  de  Castro,  in  a  sermon 
preached  before  His  Majesty,  inveighed  against  the  Bishops  for  putting 


THOMAS    TOMKINS,  275 

heretics  to  death,  which  he  affirmed  to  he  contrary  to  Scripture.  If 
nothing  more  were  known  of  the  preacher,  we  might  fancy  him  to  be 
somewhat  more  enlightened  than  his  brethren,  benevolent,  and  exceed- 
ing bold.  For  punishment  of  heresy  by  death  was  then  required  by 
the  law  of  England ;  the  Council  had  determined  that  the  time  was 
come  to  execute  the  law ;  the  Queen  had  approved  of  that  determina- 
tion, and  signified  her  approbation  in  writing,  as  cited  above.  And  it 
is  certain  that  Philip  and  Mary  were  then  desiring  the  death  of  Cran- 
mer.  But  Alfonso  was  well  known  as  a  valiant  warrior  against  here- 
tics. He  had  written  a  book  "  against  all  heresies,"  and  another 
book  to  prove  that  "  all  the  punishments  appointed  for  heretics  in  the 
civil  and  canon  laws  were  just."  In  that  book,  as  Bradford  expressed 
it,  he  had  written  that  it  was  "  not  meet  nor  convenient  that  heretics 
should  live."  The  book,  in  several  editions,  had  then  extensive  cir- 
culation ;  it  was  read  and  quoted  all  over  Europe.*  To  appoint  such 
a  man  to  preach  against  burning  heretics,  was  a  trickery  too  gross  to 
blind  the  public  ;  but  it  produced  a  momentary  impression,  and  was 
intended  to  provide  a  loop-hole  of  retreat,  that,  if  the  zeal  of  Mary 
should  be  found  to  have  endangered  the  throne  by  its  excess,  the 
mercy  of  Philip  might  serve  to  placate  England,  and  enable  the  Clergy 
to  change  their  course,  under  a  decent  cover  of  royal  interposition. 
Accordingly,  the  execution  of  the  last  sentence  was  deferred  for  about 
five  weeks,  until  it  should  be  known  whether  the  country  would 
quietly  submit  to  such  proceedings.  At  any  rate,  the  sermon  of  De 
Castro  contradicted  the  doctrine  of  his  Church ;  and,  therefore,  when 
a  book,  printed  on  the  Continent  by  the  refugees,  was  circulated  in 
England  to  prove  the  wickedness  of  putting  people  to  death  on 
account  of  religion,  some  one  was  employed  to  write  another  book  to 
prove  the  contrary. 

As  barbarian  huntsmen  beat  the  field  to  rouse  game  from  their 
coverts,  so  Bonner  set  all  the  Priests  of  his  diocese  on  the  look-out 
for  heretics.  The  hunt  was  to  be  in  Lent.  Every  layman  was 
required  to  come  to  confession,  or,  if  troubled  with  doubts,  to  apply 
to  a  Priest ;  some  more  clever  Ecclesiastics  were  appointed  to  allay 
scruples,  and  the  "  Pastors  and  Curates  of  every  parish  "  commanded 
by  their  Archdeacons  to  certify  to  Bonner,  "  in  writing,  of  every  man 
and  woman's  name  that  had  not  been  so  reconciled." 

Having  waited  to  observe  how  far  it  might  be  safe  to  carry  his 
design,  he  began  again  by  burning  Thomas  Tomkins,  a  weaver.  This 
was  an  uneducated,  but  deeply  pious,  man,  who  might  have  been 
sheltered  by  obscurity  of  station,  had  not  piety  made  him  conspicuous 
among  his  neighbours  in  Shoreditch.  For  about  six  months  the 
Bishop  had  kept  him  in  prison  at  Fulham  ;  but,  as  it  was  the  custom 
of  Ecclesiastics  to  make  the  most  of  their  prisoners  in  busy  times, 
Tomkins  was  turned  out  into  the  hay-field  in  the  summer  of  1554, 

*  The  Rev.  George  Townsend,  in  his  invaluable  edition  of  Foxe's  Acts  and  Monu- 
ments, vol.  vii.,  pp.  44,  179,  191,  763,  provides  full  evidence,  in  the  absence  of  Castro's 
book,  which  is  become  exceeding  rare,  of  the  character  of  the  Monk  and  his  productions. 
Dr.  Lingard,  vol.  v.,  p.  86,  affects  to  partake  of  the  general  surprise,  and  attributes  the 
five  weeks'  intermission  to  the  effect  of  De  Castro's  sermon.  But  he  must  have  known 
who  the  preacher  was. 

2  N   2 


2/G  CHAPTER    IV. 

and  there  worked  so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  Lordship,  that  lie 
almost  obtained  forgiveness  of  his  heresy.  Conner,  walking  over  a 
hay-field,  saw  the  Gospeller  labouring  as  heartily  as  if  he  had  been  a 
hired  servant,  and,  throwing  himself  on  a  heap  of  mown  grass,  beck- 
oned him  to  come  near,  and  entered  into  conversation.  "  Well," 
began  the  Bishop,  "  I  like  thee  well,  for  thou  labourest  well :  I  trust 
thou  wilt  be  a  good  Catholic." — "  My  Lord,  St.  Pan!  saith,  '  He  that 
doth  not  labour  is  not  worthy  to  eat.' "  Poor  Tomkins  could  not 
have  appealed  to  a  less  welcome  authority  :  Bonner's  countenance 
fell,  and  he  gruffly  muttered,  "  Ah !  St.  Paul  is  a  great  man  with 
thee."  The  poor  prisoner  had  a  beard  of  six  months'  growth,  which 
Bonner  then  made  subject  of  remark,  wishing  his  beard  off',  that  he 
might  look  like  a  Catholic.  "  My  Lord,"  said  the  weaver,  "  before 
my  beard  grew  I  was,  I  trust,  a  good  Christian ;  and  so  I  trust  to  be, 
my  beard  being  on."  The  Prelate  flew  into  a  rage,  seized  him  by  the 
beard,  pulled  out  a  handful,  sent  him  back  to  his  dungeon,  and  had 
him  shaven  there.  When  his  face  was  healed,  solicitations  to  be  a 
good  Catholic  were  renewed,  but  without  effect ;  and  at  last  Bonner 
bethought  himself  of  a  stronger  argument.  One  evening,  having 
Harpsfield,  his  Archdeacon,  and  other  Priests  sitting  with  him  in  the 
hall  at  Fulham,  he  commanded  Tomkins  to  be  brought,  and,  taking 
his  hand,  held  it  over  the  flame  of  a  wax  candle  fed  by  three  or  four 
wicks,  that  he  might  understand  the  pain  of  burning,  and  turn  good 
Catholic,  to  save  the  whole  body.  But  Tomkins  stood  firm  while 
Bonner  with  one  hand  held  his,  and  with  the  other  applied  the  flame, 
until  the  skin  blistered,  sinews  shrank,  veins  burst,  and  the  blood 
spirted  into  Harpsfield's  face,  who  begged  the  tormentor  to  desist. 
Unsubdued  by  those  savage  methods  of  persuasion,  the  good  man 
signed  a  confession  of  his  faith,  stood  by  it  in  a  public  examination 
before  Bonner,  (February  8th,  1555,)  underwent  further  imprisonment 
in  Newgate,  and  was  burnt  in  Smithfield  (March  16th). 

William  Hunter,  apprentice  to  a  silk-weaver  in  London,  was  com- 
manded by  the  parish  Priest  to  attend  mass  at  Coleman-street,  in 
Easter,  1554,  but  refused,  and  was  severely  threatened.  His  master, 
fearing  trouble,  desired  him  to  quit  his  house,  which  he  did,  and 
returned  to  his  father  at  Brentwood.  Five  or  six  weeks  afterwards, 
in  the  chapel  of  Brentwood,  this  youth  found  a  Bible  laid  on  a  desk, 
and  gladly  sat  him  down  to  read.  He  had  not  long  been  so 
employed,  when  an  old  man,  a  Sumner,  called  Atwell,  came  in,  and 
abruptly  entered  into  conversation.  After  giving  some  angry  threats 
and  very  hard  names,  Father  Atwell  flung  out  of  the  chapel,  saying 
that  he  was  not  able  to  reason  with  him  ;  "  but,"  said  he,  "  I  will 
fetch  one  straightway  which  shall  talk  with  thee,  I  warrant  thee,  thou 
heretic."  He  crossed  the  way,  well  knowing  where  to  find  a  Priest ; 
and,  from  an  alehouse  opposite,  brought  the  Vicar  of  South  Weald, 
Thomas  Wood,  who  found  the  youth  still  reading  the  Bible,  picked  a 
quarrelsome  controversy  with  him,  and  then  went  away  to  Sir 
Anthony  Brown,  a  Justice  of  the  peace,  and  reported  him  as  a  heretic. 
The  Justice  sent  a  Constable  to  bring  up  Hunter's  father ;  for  the  sou 
had  not  lost  a  moment  in  leaving  Brentwood.  Moved  by  the  threat- 


MARTYRS    IN    WALES.  277 

enings  of  Brown,  the  father  took  horse,  and  rode  over  the  country, 
for  two  or  three  days,  in  search  of  the  fugitive,  whom  he  found 
wandering  on  the  highway,  brought  home,  and  soon  saw  taken  into 
custody  by  the  Justice.  Thence  to  Bonner's  prison,  thence  again  to 
Newgate  ;  and,  finally,  this  faithful  youth  was  brought  back  to  Brent- 
wood,  and  burnt,  under  the  direction  of  the  Sheriff  and  Sir  Anthony 
Brown  (March  2(5th). 

The  Consistory,  assembled  in  St.  Paul's,  (February  9th,)  that  con- 
demned William  Hunter,  also  consigned  to  the  fire  two  gentlemen 
of  Essex,  Thomas  Causton  and  Thomas  Higbed.  With  much  diffi- 
culty they  obtained  permission  to  read  a  confession  of  their  faith,  in 
the  hearing  of  the  Mayor  and  Sheriffs,  who  attended  officially.  They 
attempted  to  appeal  against  the  sentence  to  Cardinal  Pole,  but  with- 
out success,  and  were  burnt,  the  one  at  Horndon-on-the-Hill,  and  the 
ether  at  Rayleigh  (March  26th).  Sir  Anthony  Brown  was  present  at 
Rayleigh,  with  a  company  of  yeomen,  by  command,  probably  fearing 
that  people  would  prevent  the  execution. 

The  county  of  Essex  was  highly  honoured.  At  Braintree  William 
Pygott,  at  Maldon  Stephen  Knight,  received  their  crowns  in  martyr- 
dom, (March  28th,)  and,  at  Colchester,  John  Laurence,  a  Priest, 
(March  29th,)  all  condemned  by  the  same  Consistory.  The  Priest 
suffered  the  severest  treatment  :  worn  with  hunger,  and  bruised  with 
fetters,  he  could  not  walk,  but  was  carried  to  the  stake  in  a  chair, 
and  there  consumed.  As  he  sat  in  the  fire,  a  number  of  young 
children  gathered  around  him,  and  cried  aloud,  "  Lord,  strengthen 
thy  servant,  and  keep  thy  promise." 

The  Duke  of  Somerset,  Lord  Protector,  had  promoted  Dr.  Robert 
Ferrar  to  the  see  of  St.  David's,  in  Wales.  When  the  Protector  fell, 
Dr.  Ferrar  shared  in  his  misfortune,  was  prosecuted  by  discontented 
Priests  on  frivolous  and  false  charges,  and  subjected  to  arrest,  under 
sureties,  and  heavy  fines.  On  the  change  of  religion  in  this  reign,  an 
accusation  of  heresy  succeeded  to  former  complaints  of  superstition, 
covetousness,  and  folly,  and  the  persecuted  Bishop  found  himself 
deprived  of  the  bishopric,  and  again  a  prisoner  in  London,  whence 
they  sent  him  into  Wales  to  undergo  final  examination,  and  be  con- 
demned. Griffith  Leyson,  Sheriff  of  the  county,  presented  him  in 
the  church  of  Caermarthen,  (February  26th,)  before  his  successor, 
Henry  Morgan,  Constantine,  one  of  his  old  accusers,  being  public 
Notary ;  and  left  him,  as  an  Ecclesiastic,  in  charge  of  the  intruded 
Prelate,  who,  having  transferred  him  to  another  keeper,  offered  him 
mercy  from  the  King  and  Queen,  if  he  would  submit  himself  to  the 
laws  of  the  realm,  and  conform  to  the  unity  of  the  Church.  He 
received  the  offer  in  silence,  and  also  refused  to  answer  questions  as 
to  marriage  of  Priests,  and  transubstantiation,  denying  the  legality 
of  that  Commission,  he  being  himself  the  real  Bishop  of  St.  David's. 
Morgan  answered  his  demurrer  by  imprisonment ;  but,  although  he 
compelled  him  to  external  submission,  could  not  extort  subscription 
to  Popish  articles,*  and,  after  a  succession  of  tedious  formalities,  and 

*  During  his  imprisonment  in  the  King's  Bench  he  so  far  gave  way  as  to  consent  to 
receive  the  host  next  day.  But  Bradford,  his  fellow-prisoner,  interposed  such  powerful 


278  CHAPTER    IV. 

in  spite  of  an  appeal  to  the  Cardinal  Legate,  be  pronounced  him  a 
heretic  excommunicate,  degraded  him,  and  gave  him  back  to  Sheriff 
Leyson  to  suffer  death.  Dr.  Ferrar  stood  unmoved  in  the  fire,  until, 
when  life  was  nearly  extinct,  the  stroke  of  a  cudgel  laid  him  at  the 
foot  of  the  stake.  The  scene  of  this  martyrdom  was  in  the  town 
of  Caermarthen,  on  the  south  side  of  the  market-cross  (March  30th). 
Romanism,  like  death,  levels  all  ranks.  Caermartben  received  the 
ashes  of  a  Bishop,  and  Cardiff  those  of  a  fisherman.  When  the 
Welsh  began  to  hear  the  rumour  of  emancipation  from  religious 
bondage,  and  confessions  of  doubt,  mingled  with  avowals  of  convic- 
tion, were  uttered  in  all  companies,  Rawlins  White,  long  a  zealot  after 
the  established  fashion,  conceived  a  desire  to  search  the  Scriptures  for 
himself.  His  only  science  lay  in  hooks  and  nets.  He  knew  not  a 
letter.  But  he  deputed  his  little  son  to  acquire  the  elements  of  all 
knowledge,  and  the  child  soon  became  an  English  reader.  Every 
night,  after  supper,  through  summer  and  winter,  the  boy  read  from 
the  Bible,  or  from  some  book  of  wholesome  doctrine.  Rawlins 
digested  as  he  heard ;  and,  as  his  knowledge  of  holy  Scripture 
increased,  his  diligence  in  fishing  languished.  He  had  gained  the 
pearl  of  great  price  ;  and,  burning  with  zeal  to  teach  others  where  to 
find  the  heavenly  treasure,  he  went  from  place  to  place,  an  itinerant 
evangelist,  a  lay-preacher,  opening  the  way  for  established  ministra- 
tions in  better  times.  As  to  books  he  was  blind  ;  but  God  compen- 
sated for  that  defect  by  the  gift  of  a  singularly  retentive  memory,  and 
he  could  "  vouch  and  rehearse "  the  text  with  admirable  accuracy. 
Five  years  had  been  spent  in  this  way  when  King  Edward  died,  and 
Rawlius  gradually  refrained  from  addressing  public  congregations  ; 
but  went  from  house  to  house,  like  the  Lollards  of  England  in  the 
preceding  century,  and,  with  prayer,  exhortation,  and  the  evidence 
of  a  spotless  life,  brought  many  to  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Persecu- 
tion approached,  and  dangers  multiplied  ;  but  he  would  not  consent 
to  flee  ;  the  officers  of  the  town  took  him,  and  carried  him  away  to 
the  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  at  Chepstow,  who  lodged  him  in  his  own 
prison  for  a  time,  and  then,  finding  that  he  would  neither  accept 
opportunities  of  escape,  nor  be  divested  of  the  character  of  a  Gos- 
peller, placed  him  in  the  Castle  of  Cardiff.  But  he  was  very  happy 
there.  Leaving  the  care  of  his  family  with  Providence,  he  preached 
incessantly  to  companies  of  friends  who  came  thither  to  visit  him, 
ever  admonishing  them  to  beware  of  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing.  One 
year  having  elapsed,  the  Bishop  had  him  back  again  to  Chepstow, 
tried  promises  and  threats  to  bring  him  to  recantation,  and  failed  in 
all.  However,  the  Bishop  was  constrained  to  persevere,  or  yield 
himself  as  an  abettor  of  heresy.  On  an  appointed  day,  therefore,  he 
went,  with  his  Chaplains,  to  the  episcopal  chapel,  and,  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation,  offered  Rawlins  the  last  alternative. 
The  unhappy  Bishop  could  not  rise  above  his  bonds,  and  knew  not 
how  to  break  them.  The  fisherman  would  not  wreck  his  conscience ; 

dissuasion,  that  he  not  only  disappointed  the  Priests  of  their  conquest,  but  recovered 
more  ground  than  he  had  lost,  and  displayed  an  undeviating  firmness  to  the  last  moment 
of  his  life. 


INSTRUCTIONS    TO    THE    JUSTICES.  279 

but  desired  him  to  proceed  in  law  in  God's  name.  "  But,  for  a 
heretic,"  added  he,  "you  never  shall  condemn  me  while  the  world 
standeth."  The  Bishop  suddenly  bethought  himself  of  a  refuge  from 
perplexity,  and,  contrary  to  the  universal  usage  of  his  Church  in  such 
matters,  bade  his  Chaplains  join  him  in  prayer,  that  God  "  would 
send  some  spark  of  grace  upon  him,"  trusting  that  he  then  might 
turn.  Rawlins  thanked  the  Bishop  for  his  great  charity  and  gentle- 
ness, reminded  him  and  the  Clergy  of  Christ's  promise  to  be  present 
with  two  or  three  gathered  together  in  his  name, — "  and  there  be  more 
than  two  or  three  of  you," — and  Bishop,  Chaplains,  and  congregation 
all  fell  on  their  knees,  these  words  of  the  confessor  resting  on  them  : 
"  If  so  be  that  your  request  be  godly  and  lawful,  and  that  ye  pray  as 
ye  should  pray,  without  doubt  God  will  hear  you.  And  therefore, 
my  Lord,  go  to  :  do  you  pray  to  your  God,  and  I  will  pray  to  my 
God.  I  know  that  God  will  both  hear  my  prayer  and  perform  my 
desire."  For  his  part,  he  turned  away  from  the  crowd,  knelt  down 
alone,  covered  his  face  with  his  bauds,  and  prayed.  After  a  while 
the  Bishop  rose,  and  all  the  rest  stood  up  in  silence,  until  he  broke  it 
by  asking,  "  Now,  Rawlins,  how  is  it  with  thee  ?  Wilt  thou  revoke 
thy  opinions,  or  no  ?  "  "  Surely,  my  Lord,"  said  Rawlins,  "  Rawlins 
you  left  me,  and  Rawlins  you  find  me  ;  and,  by  God's  grace,  Rawlins 
I  will  continue.  Certainly,  if  your  petitions  had  been  just  and  law- 
ful, God  would  have  heard  them  :  but  you  honour  a  false  god,"  (the 
host,)  "  and  pray  not  as  ye  should  pray  ;  and  therefore  hath  not 
God  granted  your  desire.  But  I  am  only  one  poor  simple  man,  as 
you  see,  and  God  hath  heard  my  complaint ;  and  I  trust  he  will 
strengthen  me  in  his  own  cause."  Clearly,  their  prayer  had  failed. 
The  Bishop  and  his  Chaplains  consulted,  and  thought  a  mass  might 
be  more  effectual  :  so  a  Priest  began  to  celebrate.  Rawlins  left  the 
choir,  and  betook  himself  to  prayer  during  the  ceremony,  until  the 
bell  rang  for  adoration,  when  he  came  to  the  choir-door,  and,  there 
standing,  called  on  any  brethren  who  might  be  present  to  bear  wit- 
ness at  the  day  of  judgment  that  he  bowed  not  to  the  idol  then 
elevated.  To  pervert  him  was  hopeless,  although  the  Bishop  again 
laboured  to  do  so  ;  sentence  was  read,  they  took  him  back  to  Cardiff, 
and  threw  him  into  the  common  jail,  a  dark,  loathsome  place.  Some 
officious  authorities  of  the  town  appointed  a  day  for  burning  him  ; 
but  the  Recorder  informed  them  that,  in  such  cases,  a  writ  De 
comburendo  was  necessary,  or  their  doing  would  be  illegal.  A  writ, 
however,  soon  arrived.  With  indomitable  patience  he  endured  the 
pangs  of  separation  from  his  wife  and  children,  whom  he  passed  on 
the  way,  the  terrible  preparations  for  death,  a  vexatious  sermon,  that 
was  preached  while  he  stood  chained  to  the  stake,  and  surrounded  by 
faggots,  and  the  fierceness  of  the  fire.  The  day  of  his  death  is  not 
recorded  ;  but  it  took  place  in  March,  hastened,  no  doubt,  by  the 
diligence  of  Gardiner. 

Our  notices  must  henceforth  be  very  brief,  giving  only  the  more 
remarkable  incidents.  The  martyrdoms  now  recorded  were  but  as 
drops  before  the  shower  ;  yet  sufficient  to  assure  the  Queen  and  her 
Council  that  they  might  venture  to  shed  blood,  that  England  might 


280  CHAPTER    IV. 

be  subdued  by  terror.  Lent,  as  usual,  was  deemed  the  most  appro- 
priate season  for  the  display  of  ecclesiastical  power  ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  but  that  it  was  intended  to  begin  the  carnage  in  earnest  as 
soon  as  Easter  should  be  past.  Easter-day,  be  it  observed,  in  1555, 
was  on  April  7th.  On  March  25th,  after  the  Lent  preachers  had 
prepared  the  way,  and  when  the  ceremonies  of  Passion-week  were 
near,  instructions,  signed  by  Philip  and  Mary,  were  sent  to  all  the 
Justices  of  England,  to  the  following  effect  : — "  ] .  The  Justices  of 
each  county  were  to  meet,  and  divide  their  county  into  districts,  with 
eight  or  ten  Magistrates  to  each.  2.  The  Magistrates  were  to  attend 
at  sermons,  use  the  preachers  reverently,  persuade  the  reluctant  to 
attend  also,  and  imprison  all  that  would  not.  3.  Preachers  and 
teachers  of  heresy,  and  procurers  of  secret  religious  meetings,  were  to 
be  dealt  with  most  severely  of  all.  4.  Justices  and  their  families 
were  to  be  exemplary  in  zeal.  5.  Freedom  of  speech  was  to  be  pre- 
vented. 6.  There  should  be  one,  or  more,  '  honest  men '  employed 
in  every  parish,  to  give  secret  information  of  the  behaviour  of  parish- 
ioners in  private.  7.  A  special  court  in  every  place  to  try  vagabonds, 
that  is  to  say,  travelling  preachers,  like  Rawlins  White.  8.  The 
statute  of  Hue-and-cry  *  should  be  faithfully  executed,  for  the 
tumultuary  seizure  of  heretics ;  and,  from  April  20th  following, 
watches  were  to  be  kept.f  9.  Justice  was  to  be  done  summarily  on 
all  offenders.  10.  Sessions  were  to  be  held  monthly,  at  least."  J  A 
commission,  to  hear  and  punish,  (Oyer  and  Terminer,)  was  issued  on 
the  27th,  in  which  Philip  and  Mary  told  the  magistracy  that,  of  late, 
the  common  sort  of  people  had  grown  into  liberty  and  insolence,  and 
remembering  that  the  time  of  the  year  was  at  hand  when  disorders 
were  wont  to  be  most  dangerous,  they  confided  to  them  the  mainte- 
nance of  peace. §  Thus  were  the  instruments  prepared  for  such  a 

*  Hucr,  "  to  shout,  and  cry."  By  the  old  common  law  of  England,  and  then  by 
statutes,  3  Edw.  I.,  c.  10  ;  4  Edw.  I.,  De  officio  coronatorif,  and  13  E.dw.  I.,  c.  1  and 
4,  Winchester,  it  was  required  of  every  one  who  heard  the  cry  to  pursue  and  take  felous 
fugitive. 

t  This  instruction  demands  a  note.  Besides  the  hue-and-cry,  already  explained, 
there  was  to  be  a  watch  kept  from  April  20th  ensuing.  Not  only  were  heretics  to  be 
chased  from  place  to  place,  from  town  to  town,  from  county  to  county,  by  day,  but  so 
hemmed  in  at  night,  that  it  should  be  impossible,  even  under  darkness,  to  hide  them- 
selves. The  statute  last  quoted  (13  Edw.  I.,  c.  4,  Winchester)  required  the  gates  of 
all  walled  towns  to  be  shut  from  sunset  to  sunrise ;  forbade  persons  to  lodge  iu  the 
suburbs,  or  anywhere  out  of  town,  except  under  surety  of  a  host  ;  obliged  Bailiffs  to 
inquire,  once  every  week  or  fifteen  days,  whether  any  persons  had  lodged  in  the  suburbs 
or  foreign  places  of  towns  ;  bound  them  to  punish  all  who  lodged  strangers  or  suspected 
persons  ;  placed  a  guard  at  each  gate,  of  four,  six,  or  twelve  meu,  according  to  the  >ize 
of  the  town  ;  authorized  those  armed  guards  to  take  whomsoever  they  might  suspect, 
and  commit  him  to  the  Sheriff,  neither  watchmen  nor  Sheriffs  being  liable  to  punishment 
for  false  imprisonment ;  and  required  that  all  who  fled  should  be  pursued  with  hue-and- 
cry  by  night,  as  well  as  by  day.  And,  by  the  same  law,  (c.  2,)  all  householders  were  to 
be  armed,  in  order  to  act  effectively  on  such  occasions.  Nothing  could  be  more  severe 
and  oppressive  than  the  law  of  Edward,  revived  by  Mary  after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy  years,  as  if  to  resume  the  despotic  power  exercised  by  that  Prince,  and  to 
replunge  the  nation  into  the  deeper  barbarism  of  his  time.  Not  only  does  the  revival 
of  that  extraordinary  law  show  the  intensity  of  persecution  at  this  period,  but  exhibits 
Alary  herself  acting  in  the  character  of  a  consummate  tyrant,  whose  measures  indicate 
haste,  suspicion,  and  excess,  a  hardened  heart,  and  a  guilty  conscience. 

t   Burnet,  part  ii.,  book  ii.  ;' Collections,  No.  19. 

§  Strype,  Queen  Mary  I.,  chap.  27. 


FLOWER    ASSAULTS    A    PRIEST.  281 

general  and  sanguinary  persecution  as  this  country  never  knew  before, 
nor  since. 

And  here  it  may  be  noted,  that  Pope  Julius  III.  having  died, 
diriffies*  were  commanded  to  be  sung  in  all  churches  for  the  repose 
of  his  soul.  A  woman,  who  spoke  lightly  of  the  ceremony  in  St. 
Magnus's  church,  was  put  into  the  cage  at  London-bridge,  and  bidden 
to  cool  herself  there.  He  had  excommunicated  all  who  retained 
church-lands ;  and,  although  those  in  power  in  this  country  could  not 
venture  to  acknowledge  that  Bull,  the  Queen  determined  to  promote 
a  gradual  restitution,  or  the  obtaining  of  an  equivalent  for  the  Clergy, 
and  therefore  surrendered  (March  28th)  all  that  were  in  possession 
of  the  crown.  She  fancied  herself  pregnant,  expected  to  be  confined 
about  Easter-day ;  and,  by  way  of  preparation,  sent  for  her  sister 
Elizabeth,  to  offer  her  good  words,  made  this  gift  to  the  Church, 
prepared  death  for  all  dissentients,  and  retired  to  Hampton  Court  to 
keep  her  chamber  there.  But,  after  making  new  calculations,  and 
waiting  four  months  beyond  the  time  first  set,  expectation  died  ;  and 
Priests  who  had  sung  Te  Deum  in  London  for  the  birth  of  a  Prince 
— one  of  whom  even  preached  a  flowery  sermon,  wherein  he  described 
minutely  every  feature  of  the  new-born  boy — desired  that  the  prema- 
ture rejoicings  might  be  forgotten.  Her  Grace  then  (August  2d)  left 
Hampton  Court ;  and  Philip,  weary  of  her  and  of  England,  soon  left 
the  country,  only  to  visit  it  once  again. 

George  Marsh,  native  of  Dean,  in  Lancashire,  sometime  Curate  in 
Langton,  Leicestershire,  to  Laurence  Saunders,  was  imprisoned  suc- 
cessively at  Latham,  Lancaster  Castle,  in  the  house  of  the  Bishop,  at 
Chester,  and  in  a  dungeon  in  the  north  gate  of  that  city,  where  he 
was  burnt  (April  24th).  A  small  barrel  full  of  tar  was  hung  over 
him,  that  its  dripping  might  feed  the  flames,  and  aggravate  his 
suffering. 

William  Flower,  once  a  Monk  in  the  abbey  of  Ely,  then  a  Priest, 
sometimes  acting  as  a  surgeon  also,  sometimes  as  a  schoolmaster, 
apparently  a  sincere  but  unsettled  person,  sacrificed  his  life  by  an 
act  of  extreme  temerity.  Haunted  by  an  inclination  to  assault  a 
Priest  in  the  act  of  saying  mass,  and  persuaded  that  such  an  act 
would  be  agreeable  to  God,  as  a  testimony  against  that  idolatry,  he 
went  into  St.  Paul's  church,  having  a  knife  ready ;  but  conscience,  it 
would  seem,  restrained  him,  and  he  walked  away.  The  propensity, 
however,  returned  with  greater  force  ;  while  the  prospect  of  a  shame- 
ful death,  as  the  inevitable  consequence  of  the  meditated  crime,  rose 
before  him  ;  but  he  believed  that  even  the  murder  of  a  Priest 
in  such  a  situation  would  be  no  crime.  The  insane  purpose 
gained  strength,  as  he  dwelt  upon  presumed  examples,  in  the 
histories  of  Moses,  Aaron,  Phinehas,  Joshua,  Zimri,  Jehu,  Judith, 
Mattathias,  and  others  ;  and  he  imagined  himself  impelled  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the  sake  of  bearing  one  prac- 
tical testimony  against  the  idolatry  of  the  mass.  Passing  by  the 
Gate-house  in  Westminster,  he  turned  in,  and  gave  two  groats  to  the 

#  As  they  were  then  called  ;  now,  more  commonly,  dirges  ;  dirige  being  the  first 
word  of  the  antiphone. 

VOL.    III.  2  O 


282  CHAPTER    IV. 

prisoners,  as  if  to  introduce  himself  favourably  to  their  acquaintance, 
thence  proceeded  to  St.  Margaret's  church,  and  waited  there  until  the 
officiating  Priest  began  to  give  the  wafers  to  the  people.  Then,  draw- 
ing his  knife,  he  rushed  on  him  furiously,  wounded  him  in  the  head, 
arm,  and  hand,  and  would,  indeed,  have  killed  him,  if  he  had  not 
been  seized  by  the  bystanders.  The  consecrated  hosts  were  sprinkled 
•with  blood,  which  flowed  profusely,  the  wounded  Priest  was  carried 
into  a  vestry,  the  congregation  quitted  the  church  with  horror ;  the 
building,  defiled  with  blood,  was  shut  up  until  it  could  be  "  recon- 
ciled "  with  the  appointed  ceremonies,  and  Flower  was  thrown  into 
the  Oate-house,  laden  with  heavy  irons.  At  his  first  examination 
before  Bonner,  he  would  not  acknowledge  the  deed  to  be  criminal ; 
but  his  view  changed  on  calm  reflection.  He  saw  that  death  was 
near  indeed  ;  as  a  married  Priest,  and  one  who  entertained  and 
taught  doctrines  prohibited,  he  was  sure  to  die ;  his  thoughts  rose  to 
higher  objects,  and,  in  prospect  of  the  tribunal  of  Christ,  he  became 
penitent  for  the  mad  outrage,  and  confessed  his  guilt  ;  but  would  not 
concede  a  single  point  of  Christian  faith,  although  offered  pardon. 
His  right  hand  was  cut  off  at  the  stake,  because  with  it  he  had 
assaulted  a  Priest ;  and  he  was  then  slowly  burnt,  calling  upon  God, 
through  Christ,  for  mercy,  (April  24th,)  in  the  sanctuary,  by  St. 
Margaret's  church-yard.  The  Reformed  were  grieved  at  his  outrage, 
because  it  was  calculated  to  give  their  enemies  an  unreasonable 
advantage,  and  to  bring  dishonour  on  the  cause  of  Christ. 

Gardiner  and  Bonner  figure,  above  all  others,  as  leaders  of  the 
Marian  persecution  ;  but,  in  justice  to  the  English  Prelates  in  general, 
it  must  be  said  that  they  were  far  from  being  united  in  the  san- 
guinary enterprise.  We  have  just  seen  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff  strug- 
gling with  his  own  sense  of  humanity  before  the  condemnation  of 
Rawlins  White,  and  have  observed  the  magistracy  of  England 
employed  as  a  check  upon  the  clergy  in  prosecuting  the  Gospellers 
for  sedition,  and  the  populace,  in  districts  where  ignorance  and  super- 
stition were  dominant,  required  to  be  ready  to  pursue  Christian 
"  brethren  "  with  hue-and-cry,  as  if  they  were  felons.  Hence  it  is 
evident  that  before  a  humane  or  enlightened  Bishop  or  Priest  could 
refuse  to  proceed  against  a  reported  heretic,  he  must  have  been  willing 
to  incur  peril  of  death,  as  an  abettor  of  heresy.  If  neighbouring 
Magistrates  did  not  court  the  Government  by  officious  inquisition,  or 
if  the  populace  were  not  set  on  to  hunt  the  victims,  if  all  were  agreed 
to  be  quiet,  then,  and  only  then,  could  the  royal  mandate  be  evaded. 
And  even  if  evaded  for  a  time,  a  fresh  proclamation  or  letter  would 
urge  some  one  to  make  inquisition.  This  state  of  things  was  well 
understood  at  Court  ;  and  a  letter  from  Philip  and  Mary  (May  24th) 
affords  evidence  honourable  to  a  part  of  the  English  Bishops,  even 
after  the  more  conspicuous  Reformers  had  been  sifted  out.  In  that 
circular  letter  each  Bishop  was  reminded  of  the  injunction  laid  upon 
the  Justices  to  admonish  "  such  disordered  persons  as  leaned  to  any 
erroneous  and  heretical  opinions,"  and,  failing  to  reform  them  by  fair 
means,  to  deliver  them  t.o  the  Ordinary,  in  order  to  examination  and 
sentence.  But  "  understanding  now,"  says  the  letter,  "  to  our  no 


MARTYRDOM  OF  JOHN   CARDMAKER  AND  JOHN  WARNE,  TN  SMITFFTELD. 


MORE    BURNINGS.  283 

little  marvel,  that  divers  of  the  said  disordered  persons,  being,  by  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace,  for  their  contempt  and  obstinacy,  brought  to  the 
Ordinaries  to  be  used  as  is  aforesaid,  are  either  refused  to  be  received 
at  their  hands,  or,  if  they  be  received,  are  neither  so  travelled  with  as 
Christian  charity  requireth,  nor  yet  proceeded  withal  according  to  the 
order  of  justice  ;  but  are  suffered  to  continue  in  their  errors,  to  the 
dishonour  of  Almighty  God,  and  dangerous  example  of  others,"  &c. 
Then  follows  a  stern  admonition  to  proceed  against  all  persons  pre- 
sented by  the  Magistrates.*  Burnet  found  one  of  these  circulars  in 
Bonner's  register ;  and,  overlooking  the  fact  that  every  Bishop 
received  a  similar  letter,  supposes  that  Bonner  had  grown  weary  of 
persecution,  or  that  he  solicited  this  verbal  reproof  to  justify  renewed 
activity.  The  latter  is  most  improbable.  The  former  conjecture  is 
contradicted  by  many  facts ;  for,  weeks  before  this  date,  he  was  hotly 
raging  both  against  living  and  dead,  and  was  then  proceeding  judi- 
cially against  several.  Yet  it  is  caught  by  Popish  writers,  as  if  it 
were  history ;  and  Dr.  Lingard,  for  one,  founds  thereon  a  long 
apologetic  note,  carefully  overlooking  Strype,  who  affirms  that  each 
Bishop  had  the  letter,  and  as  carefully  concealing  the  internal  evidence 
of  the  passage  here  cited.  Bonner  was  anything  but  averse  from 
bloodshedding ;  but  the  truth  is,  that  many  of  the  Bishops  of  Eng- 
land abhorred  the  obligation  laid  on  them  by  their  Church,  and  by 
their  Queen.  Neither  Bonner,  nor  Gardiner,  nor  Pole,  nor  Alfonso  de 
Castro  can  be  exculpated  in  the  least. 

On  the  same  day,  (May  25th,)  four  confessors  stood  before  Bonner 
at  Fulharn,  and  soon  received  sentence.  They  were  John  Cardmaker, 
Prebendary  of  Wells  ;  John  Warne,  upholsterer,  of  Walbrook  ;  John 
Simsou  of  Colchester,  and  John  Ardeley  of  Great- Wigborough,  Essex, 
both  husbandmen.  Cardmaker  had  endured  long  imprisonment ;  for 
at  his  first  examination  before  Gardiner  and  the  Commissioners,  he 
either  seemed  to  retract  some  points  of  his  belief,  or  they  wished  to 
make  it  appear  that  he  had  done  so.  But  he  stood  firm,  and  main- 
tained the  truth  in  many  conferences  and  in  correspondence  by  letter. 
From  the  Bishop's  palace  at  Fulhaui  he  was  taken  to  Newgate,  under 
charge  of  the  Sheriffs,  and  suffered  patiently  in  Smithfield  (May  30th). 
Warne  was  consumed  at  the  same  stake. 

The  body  of  a  thief  who  had  been  hung  at  Charing- Cross,  and 
there  spoke  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  cited,  at  the  desire 
of  Cardinal  Pole,  to  answer  to  an  accusation  of  heresy ;  but  failing  to 
appear,  and  the  proxies  failing  to  disprove  the  charge,  the  said  body 
was  solemnly  excommunicated,  exhumed,  and  burnt  in  real  fire  in 
Smithfield,  on  the  4th  day  of  June,  1555. 

Simson  suffered  at  Rochford,  and  Ardeley  at  Rayleigh,  in  Essex, 
both  on  the  same  day  (June  10th). 

Thomas  Haukes,  a  gentleman  of  good  family,  for  some  time  in  the 
household  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  refused  to  have  his  child  baptized 
with  Popish  ceremonies,  was  reported  to  the  Earl,  sent  by  him  to 
London  to  be  examined  by  Bonner,  with  whom,  and  with  his  Chap- 
lains, he  had  many  conversations,  serving  to  establish  the  fact  of  his 

*  Burnet,  part  ii.,  book  ii. ;  Collection,  No.  20. 
2  o  2 


284  CHAPTER    IV. 

dissent,  and  was  burnt  at  Coggeshall  (June  I Oth).  A  multitude  of 
brethren  surrounded  the  place  ;  and  when  he  raised  his  hands,  and 
clapped  them  in  the  flame,  in  signal  that  his  soul  was  happy  in  the 
peace  of  God,  they  raised  a  loud  and  long  shout  in  signal  of  joy,  to 
the  amazement  of  Lord  Riche  and  his  armed  companions,  who  were 
there  to  keep  guard  during  the  execution,  and  prevent  disturbance. 
Other  gentlemen  came  to  help  them,  in  event  of  tumult,  and  had 
the  thanks  of  the  Council. 

Thomas  Wats,  another  of  the  Essex  brethren,  a  native  of  Billericay, 
had  been  established  in  London  as  a  linen-draper,  but,  expecting  that 
his  life  would  be  taken,  sold  his  stock,  and,  probably,  returned  to  his 
native  place.  By  a  court  of  Commissioners  in  Chelmsford,  he  was 
convicted  of  heresy,  and  sent  up  to  Bonner,  who,  at  that  time,  was 
exceedingly  anxious  to  obtain  recantations  ;  but  Wats  yielded  not,  and, 
being  delivered  to  the  secular  arm,  finished  his  course  at  Chelmsford 
(June  10th). 

Nicholas  Chamberlaiu,  weaver,  was  executed  at  Colchester  (June 
14th)  ;  Thomas  Osmond,  fuller,  at  Manningtree,  and  William  Bamford, 
alias  Butler,  weaver,  at  Harwich  (June  15th).  These  were  all 
natives  of  Coggeshall ;  as  were  Thomas  Osborne,  fuller,  Thomas  Brode- 
hill,  and  Richard  Webb,  weaver,  condemned  by  Bonner  at  the  same 
time,  but  whose  execution  is  not  on  record. 

An  English  book,  printed  abroad,  under  the  title  of  "  A  Warning  to 
England,"  was  found  to  be  circulated  ;  and  a  severe  proclamation, 
commanding  all  possessors  of  evangelical  or  anti-Popish  books  to  give 
them  up  within  three  days,  issued  from  the  press  of  Cawood,  (June 
13th,)  with  instructions  to  the  Warders  of  companies  to  keep  watch 
on  foreigners,  and  report  concerning  them. 

Few  names  are  more  deeply  engraven  in  the  memory  of  the  church 
of  Christ  in  England,  than  that  of  John  Bradford.  He  comes  next  in  the 
train  of  witnesses,  and  we  must  stay  with  him  a  few  moments.  He  was 
born  and  educated  in  Manchester  ;  his  mastery  of  Latin  and  general 
proficiency  recommended  him  to  Sir  John  Harrington,  Treasurer 
of  the  royal  camps  in  Calais,  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  and  Edward,  who 
made  him  a  confidential  servant  ;  but,  as  might  have  been  expected 
of  such  a  man,*  ill  repaid  his  fidelity.  He  next  studied  law  in 
the  Temple ;  but,  becoming  more  deeply  impressed  with  sacred 
truths,  went  to  Cambridge,  and,  after  rapid  progress  in  study, 
attained  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  and  a  Fellowship  in  Pem- 
broke Hall.  Urged  by  Martin  Bucer  to  employ  his  talent  in  preach- 
ing, and  encouraged  to  do  so,  notwithstanding  much  diffidence, 
by  Ridley,  then  Bishop  of  London,  he  received  ordination  as  Deacon  ; 
but,  by  the  indulgence  of  Ridley,  the  use  of  some  part  of  the  ceremo- 
nial which  he  thought  to  be  superstitious  was  dispensed  with.  From  his 
ordination  to  the  death  of  Edward,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  many  parts  of  England.  "  Sharply  he  opened 
and  reproved  sin,  sweetly  he  preached  Christ  crucified,  pithily  he 
impugned  errors  and  heresies,  earnestly  he  persuaded  to  godly  life." 
Before  the  death  of  Edward,  Master  Bradford  was  advanced  to  a  pre- 

*  Who  falsified  his  accounts. 


BRADFORD.  285 

bend  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Paul's,  where  he  grew  deservedly  popular 
with  the  people  of  London.  While  Mary  and  her  new  court  were  yet 
in  the  Tower,  Bourne,  Bishop  of  Bath,  preached,  as  we  have  said,  a 
sermon  at  Paul's-Cross,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  so  offensive  to  the 
audience,  that  they  made  great  uproar,  and  the  affrighted  preacher, 
trembling  for  his  life,  turned  to  Prebendary  Bradford,  who  sat 
behind  him  in  the  pulpit,  and  entreated  him  to  speak  to  the  people. 
Bradford  stood  up,  just  at  the  moment  when  the  Bishop  was  stooping 
to  avoid  a  dagger  flung  by  some  one  in  the  crowd,  which  narrowly 
missed  himself,  and  beckoned  to  the  people,  who  instantly  shouted, 
"Bradford!  Bradford!  God  save  thy  life,  Bradford!"  In  a  few 
seconds  the  tumult  subsided ;  he  so  effectually  exhorted  them  to  quiet 
and  patience,  that  they  dispersed  in  silence,  each  man  to  his  house. 
Bourne  prayed  him  not  to  depart  until  he  had  seen  him  safely  under 
cover  ;  and,  placing  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  worthy  Pre- 
bendary, made  a  hasty  retreat  to  his  lodgings.  A  party  of  angry 
citizens  followed ;  and  Bradford,  throwing  his  gown  over  Bourne, 
protected  him  from  further  violence.  One  gentleman  walking  beside 
them,  could  not  refrain  from  saying,  "Ah,  Bradford,  Bradford,  thou 
savest  him  that  will  help  to  burn  thee.  I  give  thee  his  life.  If  it 
were  not  for  thee,  I  would  run  him  through  with  my  sword."  The  same 
afternoon  Bradford  preached  in  the  Bow  church,  Cheapside,  reproved 
the  people  severely  for  their  misconduct,  which  he  called  seditious 
not  fewer  than  twenty  times  in  the  course  of  his  sermon,  until  many 
began  to  manifest  impatience ;  and  he  nearly  lost  his  credit  as  a 
Reformed  Minister.  Thus  did  he  hazard  life  and  reputation  to  screen 
a  man  who  indeed  helped  to  burn  him  ;  and  in  endeavouring  to  pro- 
tect the  Papists  from  an  outbreak  which  a  word  would  have  excited, 
and  which,  if  he  had  chosen  to  lead  it,  might  have  crushed  them  all 
at  once. 

Mark  his  reward.  On  the  Wednesday  following  he  was  taken  to 
the  Tower,  to  answer  to  the  Queen's  Council  on  a  charge  of  sedition. 
Malapertly,  said  they,  he  had  conducted  himself  at  the  Cross ;  saving 
Bourne,  indeed,  but  discovering  a  popularity  that  was  to  be  dreaded. 
They  committed  him,  forthwith,  to  the  King's  Bench  in  Southwark, 
where  many  brethren  were  soon  brought,  Gospellers  and  felons  being 
crowded  together;,  and  Bradford,  for  several  months,  preached  to  the 
profane,  held  sweet  conference  with  the  persecuted,  by  an  exhibi- 
tion of  unfeigned  and  fervent  piety  won  the  respect  of  all,  and  had 
so  much  confidence  of  the  keeper,  that  he  was  permitted,  without  any 
guard  beyond  his  own  inviolable  word,  to  go  out  at  night  and  visit 
the  sick.  He  was  even  offered  means  to  escape,  but  would  not  so 
have  liberty,  and  awaited  patiently  the  course  of  events.  Cheerful  in 
the  joy  of  Christianity,  he  appears  not  once  to  have  been  troubled 
with  fear  of  death  ;  yet  often  and  again  did  he  weep  for  the  calamity 
that  had  befallen  the  country  and  the  church  of  God.  On  the 
memorable  22d  day  of  January,  1555,  the  Under-Marshal  of  tbe 
King's  Bench  brought  him  into  the  presence  of  the  Commissioners, 
with  Gardiner  at  their  head.  They  were  seated  at  a  table.  The 
good  man  dropped  on  one  knee,  until  Gardiner  bade  him  stand 


286  CHAPTER    IV. 

up,  and  fixed  his  eye  keenly  on  him,  as  if  to  overwhelm  his  courage 
under  the  gaze  of  dignity.  Bradford  stood,  and  also  fixed  his  eye 
searchingly  on  that  of  the  Lord  Chancellor,  only  relieving  the  visual 
grasp  by  one  prayerful  glance  heavenward,  imploring  wisdom.  The 
Chancellor,  half  daunted,  began  incoherently,  but  came  round  to  the 
point  that  his  prisoner  had  been  justly  imprisoned  (August  16th, 
1553)  for  seditious  behaviour  at  Paul's-Cross,  false  preaching,  and 
arrogancy.  But  the  time  of  mercy,  he  said,  was  come,  and  the 
Queen's  Highness  offered  mercy  if  he  would  return  to  the  true 
Church,  as  they  had  done.  Bradford  denied  the  charge  of  sedition, 
reminded  Gardiner  of  his  book  written  in  support  of  the  King's 
supremacy,  and  of  the  oaths  they  had  taken  to  withstand  the  autho- 
rity of  the  Pope.  Those  oaths  he  had  taken  six  times,  and  he  would 
not  commit  perjury.  Already  he  had  suffered  long  imprisonment, 
having  committed  no  breach  of  any  law ;  and  he  would  rather  stay  in 
prison,  or  yield  up  his  life,  than  act  against  his  conscience.  Gardiner 
grew  violent,  reiterated  offers  of  mercy  on  the  condition  of  apostasy, 
and,  at  last,  bade  the  Under-Marshal  take  him  back  to  whence  he 
came,  keep  him  close,  allow  him  no  correspondence  by  writing,  nor 
interviews  with  friends  ;  for,  said  he,  "  he  is  of  another  manner 
of  charge  to  you  now  than  he  was  before."  Bradford  followed  the 
official,  looking  as  if  he  preferred  confinement  in  the  King's  Bench, 
to  vexation  before  the  Queen's  Commissioners.  Yet  twice  again  he 
appeared  at  their  bar,  and  maintained  a  good  confession  with  a  patience 
and  dignity  that  constrained  admiration,  even  while  mercy  was  denied. 
Their  sentence  was,  that  he  should  be  delivered  to  the  Sheriff  of  Lon- 
don, and  transmitted,  through  the  Earl  of  Derby,  to  his  native  town, 
there  to  be  silenced  by  death. 

But  the  eminence  of  Bradford,  acknowledged  all  over  England, 
together  with  other  considerations  of  policy,  induced  them  to  labour 
for  his  perversion  with  extraordinary  diligence.  Bonner  himself,  cap 
in  hand,  came  to  him  in  the  Compter,  proposed  conference,  and  intro- 
duced Archdeacon  Harpsfield,  as  ready  to  undertake  that  service,  even 
with  a  rebel  and  heretic  excommunicate.  Harpsfield  thus  forced  him- 
self into  conversation  with  him  many  times,  supported  or  followed  by 
the  Archbishop  of  York,  the  Bishop  of  Chichester,  Chaplain  Wilier- 
ton,  Prolocutor  Weston,  Dr.  Pendleton,  Alfonso  de  Castro,  who  pom- 
pously disputed  in  Latin,  and  other  personages  of  lesser  note.  Subtlety 
of  argument,  smiles,  promises,  compliments,  threats,  the  reiteration 
of  every  conceivable  method,  prosecuted  during  five  months,  could  not 
overcome  his  integrity.  In  the  afternoon  before  his  martyrdom,  as 
he  was  walking,  with  a  friend,  in  the  keeper's  chamber,  the  keeper's 
wife  came  to  him,  almost  breathless  with  haste  and  sorrow,  and  told 
him  that  on  the  morrow  he  must  be  burnt,  that  his  chain  was  a  buy- 
ing, and  soon  he  must  go  to  Newgate.  Raising  his  cap,  he  thanked 
God  for  it,  and  prayed  to  be  made  worthy  ;  and,  thanking  her  for 
her  gentleness,  took  his  friend  into  his  chamber,  joined  with  him  in 
prayer,  and  gave  some  papers  into  his  charge.  A  small  party  of 
friends  came  in  the  evening,  with  whom  he  spent  the  time  in  prayer 
and  solemn  conversation,  put  on  his  "  wedding  garment,"  as  he  called 


MARTYRS    IN    KENT.  287 

it,*  offering  a  prayer  so  divinely  eloquent — for  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit 
who  taught  him — that  all  eyes  were  fixed  on  him.  He  also  gave  money 
to  every  servant  and  officer  in  the  house,  and  exhorted  them  all  to 
fear  and  serve  God,  and  continually  labour  to  eschew  all  manner 
of  evil.  It  was  near  midnight  when  the  Sheriff's  officers  came  to 
take  him  away ;  and  as  he  was  leaving  the  place,  the  prisoners  all 
called  out  to  him,  giving  their  farewell.  The  report  of  his  removal 
had  been  spread,  and  the  Sheriff  was  surprised  when,  in  spite  of  his 
precaution,  large  companies  of  people,  with  lights,  assembled  in 
Cheapside,  and  other  places,  saluted  him,  as  he  passed,  with  audi- 
ble lamentations.  Next  morning  a  strong  military  force,  greater  thau 
had  ever  been  brought  out  in  London  on  a  similar  occasion,  kept  the 
multitude  in  awe,  being  stationed  from  Newgate  to  Smithfield,  and 
around  the  stake.  The  Sheriff  betrayed  his  fear  by  extreme  severity 
in  enforcing  order ;  and  Bradford,  after  a  few  moments  spent  in 
silent  prayer,  was  stripped  and  burnt,  (July  1  st,)  together  with  John 
Leaf,  a  young  man  of  about  twenty  years  of  age.  He  was  not  suf- 
fered to  address  the  people,  but,  turning  his  head  to  his  companion, 
chained  to  the  same  stake,  said,  "  Be  of  good  comfort,  brother, 
for  we  shall  have  a  merry  supper  with  the  Lord  this  night;" 
and,  embracing  the  reeds,  uttered  the  last  sentence  that  could  be 
heard  from  his  lips :  "  Strait  is  the  way,  and  narrow  is  the  gate,  that 
leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  The  letters  of 
Bradford  to  the  City  of  London,  to  the  University  and  town  of  Cam- 
bridge, to  Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  to  Manchester,  to  his  mother,  to 
Cranmer,  Ridley,  and  Latimer,  and  to  a  wide  circle  of  friends,  were 
circulated  extensively,  and,  with  his  other  productions,  contributed  to 
the  maintenance  of  experimental  religion  at  a  time  when  its  public 
exercise  was  impossible.  The  Earl  of  Derby  complained  of  the  writer 
iu  Parliament,  and  Gardiner  included  the  letters  with  his  other  offensive 
doings  ;  but  no  magisterial  power  could  prevent  their  distribution, 
and  they  are  still  extant  among  the  valued  writings  of  our  English 
Reformers. 

At  Canterbury,  (July  12th,)  at  two  stakes,  but  in  one  fire,  were 
burnt  John  Bland, — a  Priest,  having  been  first  imprisoned,  then  inter- 
rogated at  various  times  and  places,  and  convicted  of  heresy  on  con- 
fession thus  elicited, — Nicholas  Sheterdon,  John  Frankesh,  and  Hum- 

*  Among  the  marks  of  contumely  inflicted  on  the  martyrs,  was  that  of  stripping  off  their 
clothes  before  the  stake.  To  reduce,  in  some  degree,  the  indecency  of  such  an  expo- 
sure, a  shirt  was  usually  prepared  that  would  cover  the  person  to  his  feet,— a  shroud  for 
the  living  man.  The  preparation  of  this  shirt  devolved  on  some  faithful  friend,  often  on. 
the  wife  of  the  sufferer  ;  and  some  of  the  allusions  to  this  mournful  service  are  most  affect- 
ing. A  hasty  letter  from  Laurence  Saunders,  in  one  of  his  last  days,  to  his  wife,  is  an 
example.  "  Grace  and  comfort . in  Christ,  Amen — Dear  Wife,  be  merry  in  the  mercies 
of  our  Christ,  and  also  ye,  my  dear  friends.  Pray,  pray  for  us,  everybody.  We  be 
shortly  to  be  despatched  hence  unto  our  good  Christ.  Amen,  Amen.  Wife,  I  would 
you  send  me  my  shirt,  which  you  know  whereunto  it  is  consecrated.  Let  it  be  sewed 
down  OR  both  sides,  and  not  open.  O  my  heavenly  Father,  look  upon  me  in  the  face 
of  thy  Christ,  or  else  I  shall  not  be  able  to  abide  thy  countenance,  such  is  my  fil  thine  ss. 
He  will  do  so,  and  therefore  I  will  not  be  afraid  what  sin,  death,  hell,  and  damnation 
can  do  against  me.  O  wife  !  always  remember  the  Lord.  God  bless  you !  Yea,  he 
will  bless  thee,  good  wife,  and  thy  poor  boy  also.  Only  cleave  thou  unto  him,  and  he 
will  give  thee  all  things.  Pray,  pray,  pray  ! " — Townsend's  Foxe,  vol.  vi.,  p.  635. 


288  CHAPTER    IV. 

phrey  Middleton.  At  Rochester,  (July  19th,)  Nicholas  Hall,  a  brick- 
layer. At  Dartford,  about  the  same  time,  Christopher  Wade  and 
Margaret  Policy,  a  widow,  of  Tuubridge.  The  Bishops  of  Dover  and 
Rochester  were  exceedingly  zealous  in  the  condemnation  of  these  per- 
sons ;  and  the  exhibition  at  Dartford  was  not  only  disgraceful  to  the 
chief  actors,  but  to  the  populace.  Early  in  the  morning  a  cart-load 
of  faggots  and  a  stake  were  taken  to  a  place  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
out  of  town,  called  the  Brimpt,  where  was  a  gravel-pit,  the  Golgotha 
of  Dartford,  in  which  criminals,  real  or  reputed,  surrendered  their 
lives  to  the  sanguinary  justice  of  that  age.  Another  heavy  load  of 
faggots  and  brush-wood  followed.  Then  people  began  to  congregate 
from  the  neighbouring  places ;  and  fruiterers,  with  many  horse- 
loads  of  cherries,  made  their  best  profit  of  that  delicious  fruit, 
so  abundant  in  the  county.  About  ten  o'clock  the  Sheriff  of 
Kent  came  in  sight,  with  a  retinue  of  gentry  bravely  mounted,  and 
yeomen  in  their  train,  well  horsed  and  armed.  Christopher  Wade, 
pinioned,  with  Margaret  Polley  sitting  behind  him,  on  a  led 
horse,  followed  the  Sheriff.  Their  voices  were  heard  above  the 
trampling  of  the  cavalry,  singing  a  psalm,  until,  having  penetrated 
into  the  midst  of  the  multitude,  they  ceased,  and  the  good  woman, 
surveying  the  scene,  cheerfully,  and  in  a  loud  voice,  bade  him  rejoice 
to  see  so  great  a  company  gathered  to  celebrate  his  marriage  that  day. 
They  then  rode  into  the  town,  Wade  undressed  himself  at  an  inn, 
put  on  "  a  fair  long  white  shirt"  made  for  him  by  his  wife,  and  was 
led  back  on  foot  to  the  place  of  execution,  Margaret  Polley  waiting 
there  until  the  Kentish  gentlemen  had  seen  him  duly  executed.  The 
Sheriff  then  proceeded  with  the  widow  to  Tunbridge,  and  had  the 
distinction  of  putting  to  death  the  first  woman  martyred  for  Christ's 
sake  by  the  savage  Queen,  his  mistress. 

Dirick  Carver,  a  brewer,  in  Brighthelmstone,  (Brighton,)  had  accu- 
mulated considerable  property,  which  he  employed  charitably,  succour- 
ing the  poor  and  the  persecuted,  and  had  meetings  in  his  house  for 
the  reading  of  the  word  of  God  and  prayer.  He  could  not  himself 
read,  but  devoutly  listened  to  the  brethren  who  could,  until  one  even- 
ing, when  about  twelve  persons  were  so  assembled,  one  Edward  Gage, 
probably  a  Magistrate,  came  into  the  house,  apprehended  the  whole 
company,  sent  them  up  to  the  Commissioners,  then  sitting  as  a  per- 
manent court  inquisitorial,  and  the  Commissioners  threw  them  into 
Newgate,  there  to  await  the  pleasure  of  Bonner.  After  eight  months' 
imprisonment  had  tested  their  faith,  Bonner  commanded  them  to  be 
brought  into  his  presence,  offered  the  unvaried  alternative,  perversion 
or  death  ;  and  three  of  the  twelve  chose  the  latter.  These  were,  first, 
Carver  himself,  who  was  burnt  at  Lewes,  (July  22d,)  and  of  whom  it 
should  be  recorded  that,  in  order  to  draw  strength  from  the  word 
of  God  when  unable  to  hear  it  read  with  freedom,  he  learned  to  read 
in  prison,  and  spent  much  time  in  studying  his  Bible.  Then  John 
Launder  at  Steyning,  (July  23d,)  and  Thomas  Iveson  at  Chichester. 
About  the  end  of  the  month  John  Aleworth  died  in  prison  at  Reading, 
being  then  in  bonds  for  conscience'  sake. 

But  the  holy  courage  of  the  martyrs,   their  confession  of  a  pure 


INSURRECTION    ATTEMPTED.  289 

faith, — often  made  to  the  Judges  in  the  presence  of  crowded  assem- 
blies,— their  letters  and  other  writings,  and,  above  all,  their  super- 
human patience  under  the  pains  of  burning,  aroused  the  spirit 
of  England,  and  people  met  together  to  devise  how  they  might  cast 
off  the  insufferable  yoke.  Such  combinations  were  discovered  in 
several  counties,  but  especially  in  Dorsetshire  and  Essex  ;  and  persons 
known  or  suspected  to  have  taken  part  in  them  were  apprehended, 
sent  up  to  London,  and  committed  to  the  Tower.  Friar  Peto,  too, 
the  Queen's  Confessor,  and  a  brother  Franciscan,  were  stoned  by  peo- 
ple on  shore  as  they  were  going  down  the  Thames ;  and  although  Her 
Highness  sent  the  Lord  Treasurer  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  requiring  him 
to  offer  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of  the  offenders,  no  one  would 
inform.  King  Philip,  seeing  the  rising  disaffection,  meditated  a  retreat 
from  England.  Mary,  disappointed  of  a  heir  to  the  throne,  mortified 
at  the  coolness  of  her  husband,  and  alarmed  at  the  appearance  of 
insurrection,  resolved  .to  pursue  no  middle  course  towards  the  opposers 
of  either  her  government  or  her  religion,  and  sent  two  or  three 
Privy  Councillors  to  the  Tower,  with  a  letter  from  the  Council  to  the 
Lieutenant,  ordering  him  to  put  the  prisoners  to  the  question  at  their 
discretion :  but  of  the  dark  doings  within  that  citadel  there  was  no 
effect  perceptible  without ;  the  rack,  if  employed,  extorted  nothing 
available  for  further  cruelties  towards  the  discontented,  nor  is  there 
any  record  in  the  archives  of  that  time. 

The  next  month,  August,  so  many  persons  were  driven  to  the 
stake,  that  the  task  of  narrating  their  sufferings  is  contemplated  with 
repugnance.  Nay,  it  cannot  be  done.  And  the  general  reader  will 
forgive  the  omission  of  details  that  would  only  produce  weariness  and 
horror. 

James  Abbes,  a  young  man  who  had  long  wandered  from  place  to 
place,  to  avoid  death,  was  detected,  brought  before  Dr.  Hopton,  Bishop 
of  Norwich,  and  in  a  moment  of  weakness  signed  a  recantation.  The 
Bishop,  pleased  with  so  rare  a  conquest,  (for  the  Gospellers  of  these 
times  were  very  far  superior  to  the  Lollards  of  the  preceding  century,) 
gave  the  poor  young  man  money,  and  dismissed  him.  But  scarcely 
had  he  left  the  palace,  when  his  conscience  awoke  terribly  ;  he  ran 
back,  threw  down  the  money,  surrendered  himself  to  the  Bishop  as  a 
true  believer  in  -the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  was  burnt  at  Bury  St. 
Edmund's  (August  2d). 

Edmund  Tyrrel,  Esq.,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Essex,  had  just 
attended  at  the  execution  of  two  martyrs,  and,  returning  homeward, 
met  two  persons  who,  he  thought,  looked  like  heretics.  On  accost- 
ing them,  the  suspicion  was  confirmed  ;  and,  having  unbounded  autho- 
rity, he  seized  them,  searched,  found  papers  that  proved  more  than 
enough  to  substantiate  a  charge  of  heresy,  and  immediately  sent  them 
to  London  in  custody  of  some  poor  men,  who,  according  to  the  old 
law  of  hue  and  cry,  just  revived,  were  bounden  to  assist  in  the  taking 
of  heretics,  thieves,  or  any  breakers  of  the  peace.  They  were  two 
brethren  of  Maidstone,  on  their  way  to  quit  the  country,  had  they  not 
been  thus  detected  ;  and  one,  a  gentleman,  John  Denley,  carried  letters, 
and  a  confession  of  faith  written  by  his  own  hand.  His  companion 

VOL.    III.  '2    P 


290  CHAPTER    IV. 

was  John  Newman.  Denley  underwent  the  usual  treatment,  and 
suffered,  triumphantly,  at  Uxbridge  (August  8th).  The  same  day, 
and  in  the  same  place,  Robert  Smith,  formerly  a  Clerk  of  Windsor, 
crowned  his  confession  in  like  manner. 

Elisabeth,  widow  of  John  Warne,  martyr,  both  having  been  of  the 
company  surprised  when  at  prayer  and  communion  in  a  house  in 
Bow-church-yard,  on  New  Year's  day,  followed  her  husband  by  the 
same  path  to  glory,  at  Stratford-le-Bow  (August  12th).  Her  com- 
panion in  martyrdom  was  Stephen  Harwood.  About  the  same  time 
Thomas  Fust  was  burnt  at  Ware. 

George  King,  Thomas  Leyes,  and  John  Wade,  sickened  under 
severe  treatment  in  the  Lollards'  Tower,  and,  not  to  cause  the  trouble 
of  removal  when  dead,  were  discharged,  but  died,  and,  being  denied 
ecclesiastical  burial,  were  interred,  at  night,  in  a  field.  William 
Andrew,  a  prisoner  in  Newgate,  was  also  buried  privately,  as  a  per- 
son excommunicate. 

Six  men  were  burnt  in  pairs  at  Canterbury  in  one  day  towards  the 
end  of  the  month.  Their  names  were  William  Coker,  William  Hopper, 
Henry  Laurence,  Richard  Colliar,  Richard  Wright,  and  William  Stere. 
About  the  same  time,  William  Hale,  of  Thorp,  in  Essex,  was  burnt  at 
Barnet. 

George  Tankerfield,  a  cook  in  London,  had  been  a  Papist  until 
Mary  and  her  Priests  began  to  take  the  lives  of  the  Reformed.  He 
then  suspected  that  such  a  religion  could  not  be  of  God,  and  prayed 
for  divine  influence  to  resolve  his  doubts.  With  prayer,  he  had 
recourse  to  the  New  Testament,  and  soon  became  utterly  alienated 
from  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  converted  to  lively  faith  in  Christ. 
His  zeal  was  irrepressible  ;  and  an  earnest  godly  conversation  marked 
him  for  the  hatred  of  those  whose  communion  he  had  left.  A  fit 
of  sickness  followed,  wherein  it  is  likely  that  his  views  of  eternal 
verities  became  yet  more  vivid,  and  his  dissent  from  the  dominant 
sect  more  evident.  One  day,  when  convalescent,  while  he  was  walk- 
ing in  the  Temple  fields,  Beard,  a  yeoman  of  the  guard,  came  to  his 
house  under  the  pretext  of  inviting  him  to  prepare  a  banquet  for 
Lord  Paget.  His  wife,  gratified  with  such  a  call,  gave  the  gen- 
tleman a  welcome,  offered  him  refreshment,  and  hastened  to  bring 
home  her  husband.  The  good  man  suspected  a  plot.  "A  banquet, 
woman!"  said  he:  "indeed  it  is  such  a  banquet  as  will  not  be  very 
pleasant  to  the  flesh  ;  but  God's  will  be  done."  To  her  horror,  she 
saw  him  seized  on  his  return,  and  taken  away  to  Newgate.  Bonner 
spent  but  few  words  :  with  little  delay  he  was  sent  to  St.  Alban's, 
and  received  by  tbe  High  Sheriff  of  Hertfordshire,  there  to  suffer,  but 
left  under  guard  at  an  inn,  while  the  Sheriff,  with  several  knights  and 
gentlemen,  went  to  dine  at  a  neighbouring  mansion.  Having  obtained 
of  the  host  the  indulgence  of  a  private  room,  he  called  for  bread 
and  wine,  and,  kneeling  down,  devoutly  pronounced  the  words  of 
consecration,  confessed  his  sinfulness,  and  prayed  for  grace.  "0 
Lord,"  said  he,  "  thou  knowest  it,  I  do  not  this  to  derogate  authority 
from  any  man,  or  in  contempt  of  those  which  are  thy  Ministers,  but 
only  because  I  cannot  have  it  ministered  according  to  thy  word." 


MARTYRS.  291 

And  then  he  received,  with  thanksgiving.  He  would  accept  no  more 
food  after  this  eucharistic  meal.  The  Sheriff  and  his  party,  having 
ended  their  dinner,  quickly  had  him  to  the  flames.  But  one  of  them, 
far  otherwise  minded  than  his  companions,  took  him  aside,  grasped 
his  hand,  and  whispered  in  his  ear  :  "  Good  brother,  be  strong  in 
Christ."  "  0  Sir,"  he  answered  softly,  "  I  thank  you  :  I  am  so,  I 
thank  God."  Having  bidden  the  people  to  pray  for  him,  he  strug- 
gled victoriously  with  the  last  enemy  (August  26th).  Another,  Patrick 
Packingham,  suffered  immediately  after  him  in  the  same  town,  (August 
28th,)  for  not  lifting  his  cap  at  mass.* 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Ipswich,  f  a  married  Priest,  named 
Samuel,  expelled  from  his  benefice,  in  common  with  many  others, 
taught  his  flock  privately,  from  house  to  house,  residing  at  Ipswich 
with  his  wife,  but  probably  assembling  them  at  night  in  their  own 
village.  A  zealous  Justice,  named  Foster,  of  Cobdock,  employed 
spies  to  trace  him  to  his  lodgings  in  Ipswich,  which  they  entered  at 
night,  fearing  to  apprehend  him  by  day-light,  found  him  with  his 
wife,  and,  attended  by  a  strong  body  of  armed  men,  carried  him  to  the 
gaol,  where  he  found  many  Christian  brethren,  and  after  some  time 
was  taken  to  Dr.  Hopton,  Bishop  of  Norwich.  This  Bishop,  and  Dr. 
Dunnings  his  Chancellor,  both  notorious  for  cruelty,  chained  him  in 
the  prison  to  a  post,  so  that  he  could  only  stand  tip-toe,  the  weight 
of  his  body  bearing  on  the  chain,  and  allowed  him  daily  but  three 
mouthfuls  of  bread  and  three  spoonfuls  of  water.  Exhausted  with 
pain  and  hunger,  after  some  days  and  nights,  he  fell  into  a  torpor, 
dreamed  of  angels  and  divine  communication,  and,  forgetting  pain, 
gathered  strength  of  soul  to  endure  martyrdom  (August  31st).  John 
Newman,  a  pewterer  of  Maidstone,  a  man  of  established  piety  and  no 
common  intelligence,  suffered  at  Saffron  Walden  (August  31st)  ;  and 
about  the  same  time,  Richard  Hook,  at  Chichester. 

Early  in  September,  five  persons,  at  least,  were  burnt.  William 
Allen,  a  labouring  man,  for  not  walking  in  procession,  and  refusing  to 
join  the  "  Catholic  Church,"  at  Walsingham.  Roger  Coo,  of  Mel- 
ford,  an  aged  man,  after  long  imprisonment,  for  not  going  to  mass, 
and  denying  transubstantiation,  at  Yoxford.  Thomas  Cob,  a  butcher 
of  Haverhill,  for  the  same  cause,  at  Thetford.  Thomas  Hayward  and 
John  Goreway,  at  Lichfield.  In  honour  of  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Altar,  five  were  burnt  in  one  fire  at  Canterbury  (September  6th). 
Their  names  were  George  Catmer  and  Robert  Streater,  of  Hythe  ; 
Anthony  Burward,  of  Calete  ;  J  George  Brodbridge,  of  Bromfield  ;  and 
James  Tutty,  of  Brenchley. 

Not  only  the  persons,  but  the  fortunes,  reputation,  and  families,  of 
good  men  became  the  prey  of  persecution  ;  and  when  nothing  more 

*  Foxe  says  be  suffered  at  Uxbridge,  Burnet  says  at  St.  Alban's. 

t  Foxe  says  at  Barbolt;  and  in  subsequent  editions,  Barfold.  Similarity  of  sound 
would  indicate  Bramford.  Townsend  suggests  Bargholt.  But  none  of  these  are  names 
of  parishes.  Might  it  not  be  Brooks-Hall,  a  hamlet  within  the  liberty  of  Ipswich?  If 
BO,  notwithstanding  the  nightly  watch  commanded  by  Mary,  the  Charter  might  have 
allowed  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  and  its  liberty  to  have  free  ingress  and  egress  at 
all  times,  which  would  account  for  these  nocturnal  visits. 

J  Or  Caley's  Grange,  in  the  Isle  of  Tlianet — Townsend. 

2   p  2 


292  CHAPTER    IV. 

remained,  even  their  graves  were  violated.  John  Glover,  a  gentleman 
of  good  family  and  extensive  patrimonial  estates  at  Mancetter,  and 
elsewhere,  in  the  county  of  Warwick,  and  resident  in  Coventry, 
enjoyed  universal  esteem  in  that  neighbourhood  on  account  of  sincere 
piety  and  unblemished  integrity.  He  never  took  part  in  controversy, 
nor  did  he  mingle  in  public  life.  The  greater  part  of  his  lands  he 
divided  between  two  younger  brothers,  Robert  and  William,  confiding 
the  management  of  the  remainder  to  servants,  that  he  might  enjoy 
retirement,  perform  works  of  piety,  and  spend  much  time  in  undis- 
tracted  meditation.  Having  a  tender  conscience  agitated  by  an  erro- 
neous view  of  a  sentence  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,*  he  suffered 
much  anguish,  intermitted  only  as  now  and  then  a  gleam  of  hope 
shone  in  upon  his  soul.  Such  a  person  might  have  been  spared ;  but 
the  Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry,  knowing  that  there  was  a  godly 
gentleman  in  the  town,  wrote  to  the  Mayor  and  officers  to  apprehend 
him  without  delay.  The  Mayor,  however,  first  sent  him  private 
information  and  advice  to  be  out  of  the  way,  and  then  proceeded,  as 
if  to  execute  the  Bishop's  pleasure,  by  communication  with  the  Sheriff. 
John  and  his  brother  William  had  left  Coventry  when  the  Sheriff's 
officer  entered  the  house,  and,  not  finding  him,  took  Robert,  who  lay 
in  bed  sick,  and  carried  him  to  his  master.  The  Sheriff  refused  to 
receive  a  gentleman  against  whom  there  had  been  no  complaint ;  but 
the  officer  who  had  seized  him  contended  that,  as  a  known  heretic,  he 
should  be  kept  under  arrest  until  the  arrival  of  the  Bishop.  They 
threw  him  into  prison  until  his  Lordship  came,  who  would  not  hear 
his  complaint  of  injustice,  but  engaged  him  in  conversation,  noted  an 
acknowledgment  of  dissent  from  the  dominant  Church,  and  had  him 
recommitted  to  prison.  With  other  prisoners  he  was  taken  publicly 
to  Lichfield,  thrown  into  a  filthy  dungeon,  visited,  examined,  subjected 
to  the  usual  vexatious  solicitations,  and  at  length  burnt,  together  with 
Cornelius  Bungey,  a  tradesman  of  Coventry  (September  20th).  His 
brother  John  wandered  from  place  to  place,  hiding  himself  in  woods, 
until  compelled  by  disease  to  return  home,  where,  after  a  short  con- 
cealment, he  expired.  Grief  hastened  his  death ;  for  although  he 
had  evaded  a  second  search,  the  officers,  missing  him,  dragged  away 
his  wife  to  prison  at  Lichfield,  and  an  ague-fit  delivered  him  from  the 
dwelling  now  made  desolate.  Some  friends,  without  a  Priest,  interred 
his  body  in  the  churchyard ;  and  Dr.  Dracot,  the  Chancellor,  would 
have  had  it  exhumed,  and  thrown  into  the  highway,  if  any  one 
could  have  been  found  to  endure  the  stench  that  must  have  risen 
from  the  recent  grave.  But  the  Chancellor  gained  his  point.  He 
gave  the  Parson  of  the  town  a  written  order,  with  the  following 
injunction  : — "  Take  this  bill,  and  pronounce  him  in  the  pulpit  a. 
damned  soul ;  a  twelvemonth  after,  take  up  his  bones, — for  then  the 
flesh  will  be  consumed, — cast  them  over  the  wall,  that  carts  and  horses 
may  tread  upon  them,  and  then  will  I  come  and  hallow  again  the 
place  in  the  churchyard  where  he  was  buried."  William,  the  third 
brother,  having  died  at  Wem,  in  Shropshire,  was  denied  burial  in  the 

*  Heb.  vi.  4—8. 


GENERAL    CONDITION    OF    THE    GOSPELLERS.  293 

churchyard  ;  and,  after  long  delay,  his  body  was  drawn  with  horses  into 
a  broom-field,  and  there  put  out  of  sight. 

William  Wolsey  and  Robert  Pygott,  of  Wisbeach,  were  burnt  at  Ely. 
The  former  refused  to  quit  the  prison,  when  Dr.  Fuller,  the  Chan- 
cellor, offered  him  permission  to  do  so  ;  and  the  latter  courted  mar- 
tyrdom by  a  bold  confession,  even  when  his  Judges  were  disposed  to 
let  him  go  free,  as  if  he  were  not  a  dissentient  from  their  doctrine. 
Rather  than  be  thought  to  have  made  shipwreck  of  his  faith,  he  made 
so  clear  an  avowal  of  it  that  they  condemned  him  to  die  with  his 
companion  (October  16th). 

The  general  condition  of  the  Gospellers  at  this  time  might  be  stated 
thus  :  — A  great  multitude  had  complied  with  Popery ;  too  great  a 
multitude  to  be  subjected  to  penances,  as  in  some  foreign  countries,  or 
in  England  in  the  preceding  century,  and  not  sufficiently  earnest  to 
bear  the  character  of  penitents.  Some  who  had  been  sincerely  zealous, 
but,  having  no  root  in  themselves,  in  time  of  temptation,  had  fallen 
away,  became  conspicuous  in  saying  or  hearing  mass.  Not  a  few  com- 
plied externally,  persuading  themselves  that  in  such  times  God  would 
accept  inward  faith,  and  dispense  with  confession  before  men.  Those 
persons  must  have  laboured  hard  to  forget  many  declarations  of  holy 
Scripture  to  the  contrary.  Some,  sheltered  by  remoteness  of  situation 
and  disinclination  of  neighbours  to  injure  them,  or  being  too  obscure 
to  draw  attention,  held  fast  their  faith  in  secret,  without  inquisition, 
and  without  compromise.  Many,  as  we  have  already  observed,  were 
exiles  on  the  Continent.  The  prisons  still  contained  a  multitude 
of  confessors,  ready  to  die  for  Christ's  sake  ;  and  among  these  were 
the  fathers  of  the  English  Church,  chiefly  Cranmer,  Latimer,  and 
Ridley.  Ridley  and  Latimer  are  now  brought  out  to  suffer  death,  and 
Cranmer  will  soon  follow  them. 

Ridley  was  a  Northumbrian,*  of  a  highly  respectable  family,  edu- 
cated in  Newcastle,  and  afterward  Doctor  of  Divinity  and  head  of  Pem- 
broke Hall  in  Cambridge,  having  spent  some  time  in  Paris,  where  his 
uncle,  Robert  Ridley,  had  acquired  fame  as  a  scholar.  He  then  rose 
to  be  Chaplain  to  Henry  VIII.,  and  was  placed  successively,  by  that 
Monarch,  in  the  sees  of  Rochester  and  London.  His  conduct  as  a 
Bishop  was  exemplary  ;  and  never  did  the  palace  at  Fulham  undergo 
a  greater  change  than  when,  on  the  deprivation  of  Bonner,  Ridley 
took  possession  of  it  (April,  1550).  With  most  scrupulous  exactness 
he  sent  to  his  ejected  predecessor  every  article  of  personal  property, 
or  purchased  what  the  other  might  have  claimed.  "  He  continued 
Boner's  receiver,  one  Staunton,  in  his  place.  He  paid  fifty-three 
of  fifty-five  pounds  for  Boner's  own  servants'  common  liveries  and 
wages,  which  was  Boner's  own  debt  remaining  unpaid  after  his  depo- 
sition. He  frequently  sentf  for  old  Mrs.  Boner,  his  predecessor's 
mother,  calling  her  his  mother,  and  caused  her  to  sit  in  the  upper- 

*  "  The  town  where  he  was  born  was  called  Wilowmontiswick,  now  Wiilowmont." — 
Strype,  Memorials,  Mary,  chap.  29. 

t  " always  sent  for  this  said  Mrs.  Bonner,  dwelling  in  a  house  adjoining  to  his 

house,  to  dinner  and  supper,  with  one  Mrs  Mungey,  Bouiier's  sister,  saying,  'Go  for 
my  mother  Boimer.'  " — Foxe,  Man-,  A.D.  1555. 


294  CHAPTER    IV. 

most  seat  at  his  own  table,  as  also  for  his  sister,  one  Mrs.  Mungey. 
It  was  observed  how  Ridley  welcomed  the  old  gentlewoman,  and  made 
as  much  of  her  as  though  she  had  been  his  own  mother  ;  and  though 
sometimes  the  Lords  of  the  Council  dined  with  him,  he  would  not  let 
her  be  displaced,  but  would  say,  By  your  Lordships'  favour,  this 
place  of  right  and  custom  is  for  my  mother  Boner"  *  Bertramn,  the 
first  great  antagonist  of  transubstantiation  in  the  ninth  century, 
taught  him,  by  his  writings,  the  absurdity  of  that  doctrine,  at  a  time 
when  the  divines  of  this  country  were  constrained  to  give  attention  to 
the  subject,  instead  of  burning  the  Sacramentarians,  as  Henry  had 
burnt  Lambert.  Cranmer  and  Peter  Martyr  helped  him  to  find  the 
way  of  truth  more  perfectly ;  and  the  grace  of  God  crowned  all. 
During  the  happy  reign  of  Edward  VI.  he  was  equal  with  the  fore- 
most in  advancing  reformation  ;  and  on  the  death  of  that  Prince  found 
himself  involved  with  them  in  doing  what  was  legally  wrong,  while 
endeavouring  to  do  what  they  trusted  to  be  morally  right.  He  had 
once  been  sent  by  the  Council  to  endeavour  to  prevent  the  celebration 
of  mass  in  the  Lady  Mary's  household,  and  to  offer  to  preach  there  ; 
but  was  rejected  with  a  promptness,  and  even  dignity,  that  so  coercive 
a  measure  might  have  justified,  if  the  entire  conduct  of  Mary  were 
not  so  artful  and  wicked  as  to  leave  her  little  credit  for  a  momentary 
advantage.  On  the  proclamation  of  Lady  Jane  Gray,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  advocate  her  title  in  a  sermon  at  St.  Paul's,  and  to  warn 
the  people  of  what  might  be  expected  if  Mary  should  reign.  But 
after  a  day  or  two  Mary  was  Queen,  and  the  preacher,  charged  with 
treason,  became  her  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  for  about  eight  months, 
until  removed  to  Oxford,  where  he  and  his  brethren  underwent  the 
vexation  of  a  mock  debate,  as  has  been  already  related,  and  were 
ignominiously  remanded  to  their  cells  as  heretics. 

No  period  of  his  career  had  been  more  actively  employed.  On 
those  few  brethren  it  devolved  to  maintain  the  truth  by  their  pens  as 
long  as  life  might  be  spared  ;  and  in  constant  expectation  of  being 
led  away  to  the  burning,  they  made  the  best  use  of  the  uncertain 
interval.  After  the  disputation  before  the  University,  their  servants 
were  discharged,  and  orders  given  to  prevent  them  from  holding  con- 
ferences and  receiving  intelligence.  Means,  however,  were  found  by 
friends  to  supply  them  with  food,  money,  and  clothing,  which  per- 
sons, both  known  and  unknown,  contributed  ;  but  the  keepers  grew 
increasingly  severe,  not  even  allowing  them  to  see  each  other,  and 
from  the  University  came  not  a  single  expression  of  benevolence. 
This  gave  them  the  more  complete  leisure.  Good  old  Latimer  read 
through  the  New  Testament  seven  times  with  deliberation  and  prayer. 
Cranmer  wrote  a  vindication  of  his  doctrine  of  the  eucharist  against  a 
book  of  Gardiner's  ;  but  the  work  is  lost.  They  all,  like  other  breth- 
ren, wrote  many  letters,  to  friends,  to  churches,  to  exiles,  to  prison- 
ers, and  to  men  in  power  ;  and  "  the  Letters  of  the  Martyrs  "  are  yet 
read  with  reverence,  llidley  composed  three  treatises  against  Win- 
chester, of  which  one  was  written  on  the  margins  of  the  printed  book 
with  lead  of  a  window,  for  want  of  pen  and  ink  ;  one  on  "  the  Abo- 

*  Strype,  Memorials  of  Craamer,  book  ii.,  chap.  16. 


ilatimrr 


RIDLEY    AND    LATIMER.  295 

minations  of  the  Roman  See,  and  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs  ;"  and  Anno- 
tations on  Tonstal  on  Tran substantiation.  Other  smaller  pieces  are 
mentioned  by  the  historians,  but  they  were  stolen  after  his  death. 
Among  the  large  companies  of  prisoners  in  London,  notwithstanding 
that  every  week  some  were  taken  away  to  the  stake,  a  controversy  had 
arisen  from  re-action  between  the  equally  unscriptural  extremes  of 
ultra-predestinarianism  and  Pelagianism.  Bradford  was  eminently 
zealous  in  writing  in  opposition  to  that  most  unseasonable  and  humi- 
liating brawl,  and  not  without  good  effect ;  but  the  inmates  of  the 
Bocardo  bent  their  energies  towards  other  objects.  Nothing  caused 
Ridley  so  much  grief  as  the  apostasy  of  many  who  had  seemed  to  be 
good  men,  some  of  his  own  household  included  :  so  little  wheat,  as  he 
said,  remained  after  all  the  chaff  was  blown  away.  One  West,  formerly 
his  steward,  courted  life  and  favour  by  compliance,  and  wrote  him  a 
letter  of  solicitation  to  do  the  like.  Ridley's  answer  to  him  is  inimit- 
able in  earnest,  heart-stirring  solemnity.  Toward  the  end  he  says, 
"  I  like  very  well  your  plain  speaking,  wherein  you  say  I  must  either 
agree  or  die  :  and  I  think  you  mean  of  the  bodily  death,  which  is 
common  both  to  good  and  bad.  Sir,  I  know  I  must  die,  whether  I 
agree  or  no.  But  what  folly  were  it  then  to  make  such  an  agreement, 
by  the  which  I  could  never  escape  this  death,  which  is  so  common  to 
all ;  and  also  that  I  might  incur  the  guilt  of  eternal  death  and  damna- 
tion ?  Lord  grant  that  I  may  utterly  abhor  and  detest  this  damnable 
agreement  as  long  as  I  live!"  *  And  he  warned  him  and  others 
who,  through  fear  or  gain,  would  play  the  apostate,  that  they  should 
die  the  death.  West  himself,  unable  to  battle  out  his  conscience,  lost 
health,  rapidly  declined,  and  died.  He  had  agreed ;  but  his  master, 
without  any  such  "  damnable  agreement,"  outlived  him. 

The  Papists  were  now  mad  against  the  Gospellers,  and  made  a 
virtue  of  their  madness.  "  Wherever,"  said  one  of  Bonner's  servants, 
"  I  meet  with  any  of  these  vile  heretics,  by  my  Maker's  blood,  I  will 
thrust  an  arrow  into  him."  But  the  hour  of  release  drew  nigh. 
Ridley  and  Latimer — Cranmer  had  appeared  before  the  Pope's  Legate 
— were  taken  from  the  Bocardo  to  the  Divinity  School  at  Oxford, 
(September  30th,)  before  the  Bishops  of  Lincoln,  Gloucester,  and 
Bristol,  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  Cardinal  Pole.  Ridley  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Pope ;  and  while  he  rendered 
every  expression  of  courtesy  to  the  Bishops,  and  raised  his  hat  at  the 
name  of  Cardinal  Pole  as  "a  man  worthy  of  all  humility,  reverence, 
and  honour,  in  that  he  came  of  the  most  regal  blood,  and  in  that  he 
is  a  man  endued  with  manifold  graces  of  learning  and  virtue," 
remained  covered  and  stern,  when  the  Commissioners  spoke  and  pro- 
ceeded to  act  as  representatives  of  Papal  authority.  He  suffered  a 
beadle  to  remove  his  cap  :  the  Bishops  paid  him  as  much  respect  as 
they  could  well  render  to  a  prisoner,  and  spared  no  effort  to  persuade 
him  to  recant ;  but,  as  a  Christian,  he  stood  firm,  and,  as  a  scholar  and 
divine,  argued  to  the  last.  But  we  must  now  mention  his  venerable 
companion,  Hugh  Latimer. 

Son  of  a  husbandman,  or  small  farmer,  in  Thurcaston,  Leicester- 

*  Strype,  Memorials  of  Cranmer,  Appendix,  Ixxxvi. 


296  CHAPTER    IV. 

shire,  he  entered  the  University  of  Cambridge  at  the  early  age  of 
fourteen  years,  and  became  remarkable  for  zeal  against  heresy,  an 
especial  dislike  of  Master  Stafford,  the  devoted  Reader  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  that  University,  public  opposition  to  the  writings  of  Philip 
Melancthon,  and  a  painfully  scrupulous  observance  of  the  ceremonies 
of  his  Church.  He  was  a  fine  young  man,  graced  the  processions  as 
cross-bearer,  and  was  on  the  high-way  towards  popularity,  when  Bil- 
ney,  earnest  in  the  propagation  of  true  religion,  set  his  heart  on  extri- 
cating him  from  error,  visited  him  in  his  study,  drew  him  into  reli- 
gious conversation,  and  gave  him  an  impulse  in  the  new  career  which 
afterwards  became  so  brilliant.  By  that  time  he  had  become  an 
acceptable  preacher,  and  forthwith  began  to  discourse  against  the 
errors  of  divines,  and  the  sins  and  superstitions  of  the  people.  Others 
preached  against  him,  but  he  defended  himself  and  his  doctrine ;  and 
the  people  lost  nothing  by  familiar  discussion  of  his  sermons  and 
those  of  his  antagonists,  always  leaving  to  him  the  larger,  share  of 
approbation.  Some  inhibited  him  from  preaching  in  their  churches, 
others  gave  licence.  Some  appealed  to  Cardinal  Wolsey ;  but  Wolsey, 
to  their  surprise,  applauded  the  zeal  of  the  young  preacher,  admired 
his  eloquence,  and  armed  him  with  his  high  permission  to  preach 
anywhere.  Cambridge  had  already  had  the  benefit  of  his  sermons, 
example,  and  influence  for  three  years,  when  he  obtained  this  licence. 
Becoming  known  at  court,  he  was  called  up  to  London,  and  laboured 
to  promote  the  cause  of  royal  supremacy  over  the  Church  of  England, 
until,  weary  of  the  society  of  courtiers,  he  asked  and  obtained  a 
country  benefice  at  West  Kington,  Wiltshire,  where  his  congregations 
were  crowded,  and  his  priestly  adversaries  many.  With  tongue  and 
pen  they  laboured  to  refute  him,  but  in  vain,  and  then  had  recourse 
to  the  more  powerful  method  of  a  citation  to  appear  before  Warham, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Stokesley,  Bishop  of  London  ;  and 
after  being  long  detained  there  and  wearied  with  vexatious  and  often- 
repeated  examinations,  he  was  induced  to  subscribe  articles  contradic- 
tory of  propositions  which  were  reported  from  his  sermons  ;  but 
probably  the  subscription  was  given  with  some  reservations.  The 
truth  is,  that  he  was  favoured  by  Henry  VIII.,  to  whom  he  had  writ- 
ten a  long  letter  of  remonstrance  the  year  before,  (A.D.  1530,)  on 
account  of  the  King's  prohibition  of  good  books  ;  but  he  expressed 
himself  with  such  transparent  honesty  and  sound  religious  feeling,  that 
the  letter  gave  no  offence,  but  raised  him  in  the  estimation  of  Henry, 
who,  with  all  his  defects,  could  value  an  upright  man.  John  Stokes- 
ley, on  the  contrary,  lost  patience,  and  forbade  his  preaching  in  the 
diocese  of  London  (October  4th,  1533);  but  the  King  compensated 
Hugh  Latimer  by  giving  him  the  see  of  Worcester.  That  see,  how- 
ever, he  resigned,  and  ceased  to  perform  the  functions  of  Bishop,  after 
his  royal  master  had  enacted  those  six  persecuting  articles  that  no  good 
man  could  conscientiously  enforce.  Shaxton,  Bishop  of  Salisbury, 
resigned  at  the  same  time,  (July,  1539,)  and  for  the  same  reason. 
Latimer  had  not  sought  preferment,  neither  did  he  desire  preaching 
before  King  and  courtiers,  nor  would  have  willingly  remained  where 
many  sought  his  life.  Once,  for  instance,  when  Henry  had  called  many 


LATIMER.  297 

of  them  together  to  take  their  counsel,  Latimer  being  among  the  rest, 
one  knelt  down  and  accused  him  of  sedition ;  but  he  also  knelt, 
rebutted  the  accusation,  appealed  to  the  King  for  leave  to  discharge 
his  conscience,  and  found  protection  for  that  time. 

Gladly  did  Latimer  throw  off  his  rochette.  When  his  shoulders 
were  lightened,  and  his  mind  relieved  of  the  burden  of  a  bishopric, 
he  almost  danced  for  joy ;  and  as  Wycliffe  had  withdrawn  to  Lutter- 
\vorth  to  avoid  the  dangers  of  a  too  public  life,  so  did  he  retire  to  a 
country  cure  in  hope  of  quiet.  But  having  been  injured  by  the  fall 
of  a  tree,  end  going  to  London  for  surgical  assistance,  some  freedom 
of  speech  there  afforded  the  Bishops  a  pretext  for  persecution,  and  he 
was  sent  to  the  Tower,  where  he  remained  for  six  years,  until  the  reign 
of  Edward,  who  not  only  released  him,  but  showed  him  special  favour, 
and  restored  him  to  Worcester,  which  see  he  occupied  without  any 
relaxation  of  zeal,  or  declension  from  apostolic  simplicity.  His  ser- 
mons, which  are  extant,  and  well  known,  tell  more  clearly  in  his 
praise  than  any  eulogy  which  could  now  be  written.  While  Edward 
lived,  Gardiner  was  powerless,  being  in  disgrace  or  in  prison ;  but 
when  at  large  again,  on  the  accession  of  Mary,  he  lost  no  time  in 
procuring  the  apprehension  of  Latimer,  who,  six  hours  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Pursuivant,  had  received  warning  by  a  friend,*  but,  instead 
of  making  his  escape,  employed  the  interval  in  preparing  for  the 
journey,  and,  when  that  officer  arrived,  addressed  him  cheerfully  : — 
"  My  friend,  you  be  a  welcome  messenger  to  me.  And  be  it 
known  unto  you,  and  to  all  the  world,  that  I  go  as  willingly  to  Lon- 
don at  this  present,  being  called  by  my  Prince  to  render  a  reckoning 
of  my  doctrine,  as  ever  I  was  at  any  place  in  the  world.  I  doubt 
not  but  that  God,  as  he  hath  made  me  worthy  to  preach  his  word 
before  two  excellent  Princes,  so  he  will  enable  me  to  witness  the  same 
unto  the  third,  either  to  her  comfort  or  discomfort  eternally."  The 
Pursuivant  delivered  his  letters  and  returned,  leaving  the  good  Bishop 
to  obey  the  citation  or  elude  it  by  flight ;  but  he  needed  no  further 
compulsion  to  meet  his  enemies,  and  was  soon  in  London.  Passing 
through  Smithfield  on  his  way,  he  observed  that  Smithfield  had  long 
groaned  for  him  ;  and,  being  taken  before  the  Council,  received  sen- 
tence of  incarceration  without  a  murmur,  and  endured  severe  treat- 
ment in  the  Tower  with  equal  patience.  It  is  related  of  him,  that  one 
day  in  the  depth  of  winter,  when,  notwithstanding  his  age  and  dig- 
nity, he  was  not  even  allowed  a  fire,  he  pleasantly  told  the  Lieutenant 
that  instead  of  living  to  be  burnt,  he  should  be  likely  to  deceive  his 
expectation  by  starving  there  of  cold. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  he  was  taken  to  Oxford  with  Ridley 
and  Cranmer  to  go  through  the  forms  of  a  disputation,  but  without 
its  reality,  and  then  transferred  to  the  prison  of  the  Bocardo,  where 
they  were  confined  separately.  He  made  unceasing  prayer  there  for 
three  things  : — for  grace  to  endure  unto  the  end,  and  give  his  life  for 
the  Gospel ; — that  the  Gospel  might  be  restored  to  England  yet  once 
again,  reiterating  with  reverential  earnestness  the  ejaculation,  "  Once 

*  John   Careless,  of  Coventry,  who  afterwards  died  in  prison,  and  was  buried  in  a 
dunghill. 

VOL.     III.  2    Q 


298  CHAPTER    IV. 

again  !  once  again  !" — that  God  would  preserve  the  Lady  Elizabeth, 
and  "  make  her  a  comfort  to  his  comfortless  realm  of  England."  To 
each  of  these  petitions  a  signal  answer  followed. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  town  of  Oxford,  as  it  then  stood,  in  a 
ditch  opposite  Balliol  College,  the  place  of  execution  was  appointed 
for  Latimer  and  Ridley.  The  Lord  Williams,  by  command  of  the 
Queen,  attended  by  householders  of  the  city,  all  armed,  and  "  suffi- 
ciently appointed,"  took  their  station  round  the  spot  to  prevent 
uproar.  The  Mayor  and  Bailiffs  then  took  their  share  of  civic  honour 
by  bringing  forth  the  prisoners.  Ridley  came  out  of  the  Mayor's 
house,  where  he  and  his  companion  had  been  in  custody  after  their 
degradation,  dressed  in  the  ordinary  apparel  of  a  Bishop,  exhibiting 
the  same  air  of  self-respect  that  had  distinguished  him  throughout  ; 
but  wearing  slippers,  that  he  might  undress  the  sooner,  and  walked 
between  the  Mayor  and  an  Alderman.  Master  Latimer  also,  in  his 
proper  character,  bearing  costume  of  extreme  simplicity,  with  the 
remarkable  addition  of  a  new  long  shroud — the  oft-mentioned  "  wed- 
ding garment  " — underneath,  and  hanging  over  his  hose.  Ridley,  to 
whom  precedence  had  always  been  awarded,  went  first,  and,  passing 
the  Bocardo,  slackened  his  pace,  and  looked  up  towards  Cranmer's 
chamber,  hoping  to  catch  a  sight  of  him  ;  but  the  Archbishop  was 
held  in  disputation  by  Soto,  a  Spanish  Friar,  and  saw  him  not,  until, 
as  the  procession  advanced,  he  perceived  it  through  the  window, 
when  he  fell  on  his  knees,  and  "  prayed  God  to  strengthen  their  faith 
and  patience  in  that  their  last,  but  painful,  passage."  Ridley,  while 
looking  for  Cranmer,  caught  sight  of  Latimer  coming  after,  some- 
what lame,  in  consequence  of  the  hurt  that  sent  him  to  London  many 
years  before,  and  weary  with  old  age.  "  0,  be  ye  there  ?  "  cried  he. 
"  Yea,"  answered  his  aged  fellow,  "  have  after  as  fast  as  I  can 
follow."  A  few  minutes  brought  them  to  the  resting-place,  where 
Ridley  raised  his  hands  in  prayer,  and  for  some  time  appeared  uncon- 
scious of  all  except  his  pleading  at  the  mercy-seat,  until,  seeing 
Latimer  again,  he  ran  to  him,  embraced  him,  kissed  him,  and  encou- 
raged him  in  the  most  affectionate  language  to  abide  the  last  ordeal. 
"  Be  of  good  heart,  brother,"  said  he ;  "  for  God  will  either  assuage 
the  fury  of  the  flame,  or  else  strengthen  us  to  abide  it."  The  two 
martyrs  then  knelt  together  at  the  stake,  which  they  embraced  as  the 
instrument  of  their  deliverance,  and  exchanged  a  few  more  sentences 
of  brotherly  consolation.  One  Dr.  Smith,  once  a  sort  of  Gospeller, 
but  always  a  lover  of  this  present  evil  world,  made  a  short  and  bitter 
sermon,  according  to  the  direction  given  for  the  more  decorous  con- 
summation of  discipline ;  and  when  Ridley  would  have  spoken  in 
reply,  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  Bailiffs  stopped  his  mouth  with  their 
hands.  Master  Shipside,  Ridley's  brother-in-law,  who  had  lodged  in 
Oxford  during  the  whole  period  of  imprisonment,  that  he  might 
supply  his  wants,  through  the  Sergeant,  stood  by,  and  received  his 
gown  and  fur-tippet.  Some  of  his  clothes  were  taken  by  the  Bailiffs  ; 
but  several  gentlemen,  their  faces  wet  with  tears,  pressed  in  to  receive 
from  his  hands  the  most  trifling  article,  and  tore  the  remaining 
garments  into  shreds  for  memorials  of  him.  As  for  Latimer,  he  let  his 


LATIMER    AND    RIDLEY    MARTYRED.  299 

keeper  take  everything,  and,  when  undressed  to  the  shroud,  stood 
erect,  seeming  to  be  stronger,  lighter,  and  even  younger  than  before. 
A  burning  faggot  was  first  laid  at  Ridley's  feet,  to  whom  Latimer 
then  exclaimed :  "  Be  of  good  comfort,  Master  Ridley,  and  play  the 
man.  We  shall  this  day  light  such  a  candle,  by  God's  grace,  in 
England,  as  I  trust  shall  never  be  put  out"  While  life  lasted,  they 
both  called  on  the  Lord  Jesus  to  receive  their  souls.  Latimer  soon 
expired,  his  death  being  accelerated  by  gunpowder.*  Ridley  suffered 
much  ;  for  his  brother-in-law,  who  certainly  knew  not  how  to  act  the 
executioner,  thought  to  diminish  his  sufferings  by  heaping  on  much 
fuel,  but  pent  down  the  flames,  so  that  his  legs  were  consuming  while 
the  body  was  untouched.  Piteously  did  he  cry,  "  Let  the  fire  come 
to  me,  I  cannot  burn  ;  "  and  when  a  bystander,  perceiving  the  cause 
of  his  extreme  anguish,  opened  the  pile,  and  a  strong  flame  rushed 
up,  he  threw  himself  on  one  side  to  catch  it,  that  a  speedier  death 
might  launch  him  into  the  world  where  there  is  no  more  pain 
(October  16th). 

Mary  and  her  Council  would  have  displayed  prudence  if  they  had 
not  added  to  the  reproach  of  other  misdeeds  that  of  gross  injustice. 
When  Ridley  entered  on  the  see  of  London,  after  the  deprivation 
of  Bonner,  he  guarded  his  personal  interests  as  carefully  as  if  they 
had  been  his  own,  and  showed  his  mother  and  sister  the  utmost 
courtesy  and  benevolence.  But  now  Bonner  refused  to  acknowledge 
the  leases  he  had  granted,  and  threatened  to  eject  several  families, 
who  therefore  expected  to  be  utterly  ruined.  His  sister  and  her 
excellent  husband,  Shipside,  were  involved  in  the  same  calamity. 
When  he  had  been  degraded  in  the  house  of  the  Mayor  of  Oxford  by 
Dr.  Brooks,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  he  read  to  the  Bishop  a  memorial, 
addressed  to  Queen  Mary,  describing  the  case,  and  praying  that 
Bonner's  intention  might  be  overruled.  To  Lord  Williams,  the 
day  after,  when  standing  by  the  stake,  he  repeated  the  same  request, 
which  was  acknowledged  to  be  reasonable.  Nay,  going  further  still, 
he  told  the  Queen  where  his  movable  property  might  be  found,  suffi- 
cient to  pay  Bonner  a  second  fine  for  the  renewal  of  those  poor 
people's  leases,  if  that  should  be  exacted.  But  the  prayer  was  not 
heard.  No  gleam  of  generosity  ever  relieved  the  profound  blackness 
of  that  Queen's  administration. 

About  this  same  time  (October)  William  Dighel  suffered  at  Banbury. 
The  Parliament  that  met  after  the  death  of  Ridley  and  Latimer 
(October  21st)  gave  unusual  signs  of  resistance  to  the  royal  pleasure, 
refusing  a  part  of  the  supplies  demanded,  and  barely  allowing  the 
Clergy  to  be  discharged  from  the  payment  of  tenths  and  first-fruits 
to  the  crown  .f  Gardiner,  as  Lord  Chancellor,  attended  on  the  first 

*  Some  Popish  writers  carry  their  notions  of  propriety  so  far  as  to  censure  the 
martyrs  for  allowing  gunpowder  to  be  used  to  shorten  their  sufferings  ;  as,  say  they, 
Polycarp  did  not.  It  would  have  been  wonderful  if  Polycarp  had ;  but  when  a  man 
goes  so  far  as  to  die  for  his  religion,  it  is  hard,  indeed,  if  he  may  not  be  allowed  any 
expedient  to  alleviate  the  pangs.  When  we  burn  Papists,  they  may  be  sure,  we  will 
allow  them  powder. 

t  It  is  remarkable  that  Sir  Anthony  Kingston,  one  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to 
see  execution  done  on  Bishop  Hooper  at  Gloucester,  was  a  most  active  leader  of  this 

2  a  2 


300  CHAPTER     IV. 

and  second  days,  but  was  not  again  seen  in  public.  It  was  reported 
that,  on  the  day  of  the  burning  at  Oxford,  he  would  not  dine  until  he 
had  received  intelligence  of  the  execution  of  those  Bishops,  which  the 
courier  did  not  bring  until  a  late  hour,  when  he  ate  a  hearty  dinner  ; 
but  immediately  fell  sick,  grew  worse,  and  died  in  great  agony  of 
conscience,  saying  that  he  had  sinned  with  Peter,  but  with  Peter  had 
not  wept.*  The  Convocation  also  assembled,  the  Queen  having  given 
Pole  a  warrant,  for  their  satisfaction ;  and  the  Cardinal  Legate,  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  where  he  had  sat,  and 
throwing  into  the  scale  of  public  opinion  the  counterpoise  that  we 
have  seen  so  generally  resorted  to  in  times  of  persecution,  put  forth  a 
beautiful  scheme  for  reformation  of  the  Clergy.  Bishop  Burnet,  who 
seems  unable  to  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  such  matters,  attributes 
this  to  the  virtuous  disposition  of  Pole,  who,  however  amiable  in 
private  life,  was  a  thoroughly  devoted  servant  of  the  Papacy,  and 
strenuous  opponent  of  the  Reformation.  Holding  the  reins  of  church 
government  alone,  he  wisely  refused  to  admit  the  Jesuits  into  Eng- 
land, as  an  order  too  recent  to  be  received  with  confidence,  and  so 
singular  as  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion. 

John  Webbe,  gentleman,  with  George  Roper  and  Gregory  Parke, 
were  burnt  at  the  same  stake  in  Canterbury,  (November  30th,}  after 
very  brief  formalities.  William  Wiseman,  a  prisoner  in  Lollards'  Tower, 
and  James  Gore,  incarcerated  at  Colchester,  died  in  their  bonds, 
(13th  and  7th  of  December,)  and  were  denied  Christian  burial,  until 
it  was  given  them  by  their  brethren  at  night.  Such  interments  were 
frequent,  parties  of  archers  often  encircling  the  graves  to  protect  the 
mourners. 

Almost  all  the  sufferers  in  this  reign  were  persons  of  humble  birth, 
of  whom  piety  and  learning  had  raised  many  to  eminence.  John 
Philpot,  however,  was  son  of  a  Knight  in  Hampshire,  educated  first 
in  Wickham's  Grammar  School,  at  Winchester,  and  then  at  Oxford, 
where  he  attained  considerable  proficiency,  not  only  in  Latin  and 
Greek,  but  also  in  Hebrew.  To  complete  his  education  he  travelled 
on  the  Continent,  principally  in  Italy,  not  without  incurring  suspicion 
of  heresy  ;  and,  after  his  return  to  England  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  preached  with  great  boldness  in  various  parts 
of  the  diocese  of  Winchester,  to  the  annoyance  of  Gardiner,  who,  not 
then  finding  means  to  destroy  a  person  of  his  rank  and  influence, 
could  do  no  more  than  forbid  him  to  preach,  which  he  yet  continued 
to  do,  regardless  of  the  prohibition.  When  Arianism  had  spread  in 
England,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  he  wrote  a  book  in  proof  of  the 

opposition.  That  Knight  reverenced  the  martyr,  and  would  fain  have  reduced  the 
power  of  the  Church  ;  but  his  independence  in  Parliament  brought  him  to  the  Tower, 
where  he  lay  for  about  a  fortnight,  and  was  released  on  asking  pardon.  He  was  after- 
wards accused  of  treason,  with  several  others,  and  would  probably  have  been  beheaded, 
but  he  died  when  on  his  way  to  London. — Bumet,  part  ii.,  book  ii. 

*  Notwithstanding  his  great  zeal  against  heretics,  there  was  one  whom  he  always 
favoured,  and  would  not  suffer  to  be  persecuted.  Mrs.  Clarke,  great-grandmother  to 
Fuller  the  historian,  used  to  entertain  him,  when  out  of  health,  in  Farnham  Castle, 
rented  by  her  husband  ;  and,  in  compensation  for  her  attention  to  him,  as  well  as  to 
secure  the  comforts  of  the  table,  he  connived  at  her  heresy  ;  of  which  connivance 
Fuller  makes  formal  acknowledgment. — Book  viii.,  sect.  2. 


PHILPOT.  301 

divinity  of  Christ,  employed  his  pen  also  to  combat  Anabaptism,  and 
by  such  works  gave  evidence  of  perfect  orthodoxy.  But  he  could  not 
dissimulate.  His  opposition  to  Romanism  was  as  undoubted  as  his 
attachment  to  Christianity,  both  in  doctrine  and  experience.  The 
former  was  significantly  expressed  in  these  words  of  Bernard,  written 
in  his  Bible, — Spiritus  est  Vicarius  Christi  in  terris,  "  The  Spirit  is 
the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  earth  ;  "  and  the  latter  by  a  sentence  inscribed 
in  another  book, — In  me,  Johanne  Philpotto,  ubi  abundavit  peccatum, 
superabundant  et  gratia,  "  In  me,  John  Philpot,  where  sin  abounded, 
grace  did  much  more  abound."  When  Mary's  first  Convocation  were 
required  by  the  Prolocutor,  at  her  command,  to  consider  articles 
of  doctrine,  in  order  to  restore  Popery,  Archdeacon  Philpot  was  one 
of  the  few  who  argued  for  the  Gospel.  He  displayed  great  earnest- 
ness, even  kneeling  before  the  house,  and  entreating  them  with  tears ; 
and  Gardiner,  long  his  enemy,  rejoiced  in  the  occasion  of  sending  him 
to  prison  as  a  rebel  against  the  wishes  of  the  Queen.  After  eighteen 
months'  confinement  he  was  put  into  Bonner's  hands,  shut  up  in  the 
famous  coal-house,  and  subjected  to  many  examinations  ;  of  which 
reports  of  no  fewer  than  thirteen  are  extant,  written  by  himself,  and 
bearing  evidence  of  an  extensive  and  profound  acquaintance  with  the 
sacred  text,  ecclesiastical  history,  and  canon  law.  His  rank  and 
learning  would  have  told  strongly  for  the  Church  of  Rome  could  he 
have  been  induced  to  recant,  and  therefore  extraordinary  efforts  were 
made  to  overcome  him  ;  but  he  did  not  waver  for  a  moment,  and 
honourably  finished  his  course  in  Smithfield  (December  18th).  "  Shall 
I  disdain,"  said  he,  "  to  suffer  at  this  stake,  seeing  my  Redeemer 
did  not  refuse  to  suffer  a  most  vile  death  upon  the  cross  for  me  ?  " 

Sixty-seven  persons  are  counted  who  gave  their  lives  for  Christ's 
sake  in  the  year  1555,  while  a  mass  of  suffering  remained  beyond 
possibility  of  record.  "  Some  were  thrown  into  dungeons,  ugsome 
holes,  dark,  loathsome  and  stinking  corners ;  other  some  lying  in 
fetters  and  chains,  and  loaded  with  so  many  irons  that  they  could 
scarcely  stir ;  some  tied  in  the  stocks,  with  their  heels  upwards  ; 
some  having  their  legs  in  the  stocks,  and  their  necks  chained  to  the 
wall  with  gorgets  of  iron  ;  some  with  both  hands  and  legs  in  the 
stocks  at  once ;  sometimes  both  hands  in,  and  both  legs  out ;  some- 
times the  right  hand  with  the  left  leg,  or  the  left  hand  with  the 
right  leg,  fastened  in  the  stocks  with  manacles  and  fetters,  having 
neither  stool  nor  stone  to  sit  on,  to  ease  their  woful  bodies ;  some 
standing  in  Skevington's  gives,  which  were  most  painful  engines 
of  iron,  with  their  bodies  doubled  ;  some  whipped  and  scourged, 
beaten  with  rods,  and  buffeted  with  fists ;  some  having  their  hands 
burned  with  a. candle,  to  try  their  patience,  or  force  them  to  relent ; 
some  hunger-pined,  and  some  miserably  famished  and  starved."  * 
The  reign  of  Mary,  to  borrow  the  figure  of  a  poet  of  those  days,  was 
altogether  fiery  ;  Pole,  Gardiner,  Bonner,  were  like  so  many  infernal 
gods  : 

Cuncta  occupat  ignis, 
Solnrr.  clementum  ignis,  sceptrum  gestante  Maria  : 

*  Coverdale,  cited  by  Strype,  Mary,  cliup.  31. 


302  CHAPTER    IV. 

"  Everywhere  the  flames  raged,  the  only  element  was  fire,  and  Mary 
kept  up  the  conflagration."  "  When  any  are  delivered  to  be  burned," 
the  Queen  and  Council  commanded,  (January  14th,  1556,)  "let 
there  be  a  good  number  of  officers,  and  others,  appointed  to  be  at  the 
execution,  who  shall  apprehend  and  imprison  all  that  comfort,  aid,  or 
praise  those  who  are  to  be  executed.  And  let  all  householders  be 
charged  not  to  suffer  their  servants  to  be  abroad,  but  at  their  peril." 
This  was  intended  to  add  an  awful  feature  of  terror  to  the  persecu- 
tion ;  and  thenceforth  the  martyrs  were  to  be  burnt  by  companies. 
But  no  terror  could  utterly  suppress  demonstrations  of  sympathy.  A 
Priest,  a  gentleman,  three  tradesmen,  and  two  women,*  were  led 
from  Newgate  to  Smithfield,  and  burnt  at  three  stakes ;  but,  although 
the  order  in  Council  had  been  published  all  over  London  on  the 
preceding  evening,  and  young  persons  forbidden  to  be  present,  so 
great  a  crowd  of  youth  flocked  to  the  place  as  never  had  been  seen 
before  (January  27th).  Four  women  and  one  manf  were  thrown 
into  one  fire  at  Canterbury,  (January  31st,)  and  the  sound  of  a 
hymn  they  sang  together  mingled  with  the  crackling  of  the  faggots 
that  consumed  them.  "  The  good  Knight,"  Sir  John  Norton,  com- 
pelled to  be  present  at  the  execution,  wept ;  and  by  this  time  it  was 
calculated  that,  since  the  burning  of  Philpot,  twenty  thousand 
Romanists,  sickened  at  the  sight  of  such  atrocities,  had  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  Reformed.  Two  women,J  burnt  at  Ipswich,  (February 
or  March,)  come  next  on  our  catalogue. 

The  most  eminent  advocate  of  the  Gospel,  and  leader  of  the 
Reformation  in  England,  had  long  been  shut  up  in  prison.  It,  no 
doubt,  suited  the  purpose  of  Mary  and  her  servants  to  defer  his 
execution  ;  but  what  this  purpose  was,  has  been  variously  conjectured. 
The  delay  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  any  respect  of  theirs  to  his 
dignity  as  Archbishop  ;  for,  in  the  eye  of  that  Church,  heresy,  when 
followed  by  excommunication,  annihilates  all  dignity ;  .and  even  if  it 
had  been  thought  expedient  to  obtain  a  direct  sanction  from  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  for  his  trial,  that  might  have  been  had  as  soon  as  the 
Legate  landed.  Already  condemned  for  treason,  he  might  have  been 
beheaded.  But  his  great  offence  was  heresy  :  of  that  he  was  convicted 
by  the  Commissioners  at  Oxford,  and,  although  Ridley  and  Latimer 
were  burnt,  he  was  reserved  for  execution  until  a  sentence  should  be 
obtained  from  the  Pope  on  the  man  who,  before  all  others,  had 
renounced  subjection  to  his  authority.  Three  Ecclesiastics — Dr. 
Brooks,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  sub-delegate,  appointed  by  Paul  IV., 
and  Dr.  Martin  and  Dr.  Story,  royal  Commissioners — took  their  seats 
in  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  Oxford,  on  a  platform  magnificently 
furnished  for  the  occasion,  and,  in  humbler  stations,  a  crowd  of 
Doctors  and  other  Clergy,  with  the  Pope's  collector.  The  reverend 
prisoner  came  from  the  Bocardo  in  custody  of  a  body  of  armed  men, 

*  Thomas  Whittle,  of  Essex,  a  Priest ;  Bartlet  Green,  lawyer ;  Thomas  Brown, 
John  Tudsou,  John  Went,  Isabella  Foster,  and  Joan  Warne. 

t  Agnes  Snoth,  of  Smarden  ;  Anne  Albright  ;  Joan  Sole,  of  Horton  ;  Joan  Catmer, 
of  Hythe,  widow  of  George  Catmer,  burnt  also  ;  John  Lomas,  of  Tenterden. 

J  Agces  Potter,  and  Joan,  wife  of  Michael  Trunchfield,  shoemaker. 


CRANMER.  303 

wearing  a  plain  black  gown,  with  a  Doctor's  hood,  and  in  his  hand  a 
white  staff.  To  the  Papal  representative  he  paid  no  obeisance,  but 
bent  his  knee  to  each  of  the  assessors,  as  Commissioners  of  the  King 
and  Queen.  Gloucester  was  offended  ;  but  the  Archbishop,  covering 
his  head,  stood  erect,  and,  looking  him  full  in  the  face,  said  that  he 
had  taken  a  solemn  oath  never  to  consent  to  the  admitting  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome's  authority  into  this  realm  of  England  again  ;  that, 
by  God's  grace,  he  would  keep  that  oath,  and  commit  nothing,  either 
by  sign  or  token,  which  might  argue  consent  to  the  receiving  of  the 
same,  notwithstanding  the  personal  respect  he  would  be  willing  to 
show  to  Gloucester  when  not  representing  a  foreign  authority.  The 
Bishop  and  Dr.  Martin  then  each  addressed  him  in  a  formal  oration, 
exhorting  him  to  repent,  conform  to  the  Church  from  which  he  had 
fallen,  and  accept  mercy.  To  this  he  replied  by  protesting  against 
his  Judge,  refusing  to  answer  him  as  such;  but  declaring  his  readi- 
ness to  give  an  answer  of  the  hope  that  was  in  him,  if  he  might  be 
permitted  to  speak  extrajudicially.  Having  that  permission,  he  knelt 
down,  recited  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and,  rising,  repeated  the  Creed  : 
which  done,  he  delivered  a  full  declaration  of  his  principles  as  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  England,  owing  fidelity,  as  a  subject,  to  the 
crown  alone ;  demonstrated,  in  sentences  which  retain  their  force  to 
this  day,  that  the  Pope  is  contrary  to  the  crown,  and,  therefore,  that 
no  man  can  obey  both  ;  and  maintained,  with  equal  clearness,  that 
the  Pope  is  contrary  to  God,  and  "  like  the  devil  in  his  doings." 
And,  further  still,  he  required  them  to  declare  to  the  King  and  Queen 
that  their  oaths  to  the  realm  and  to  the  Pope  were  incompatible,  and 
could  not  both  possibly  be  kept.  Dr.  Story  then  made  his  oration  ; 
a  long  conversation  followed,  in  which  Cranmer  displayed  the  same 
calm  dignity  as  had  always  distinguished  him,  and  most  signally  in 
times  of  trial ;  and  they,  after  calling  on  witnesses  to  prove  what  was 
already  notorious,  to  whom  he  objected  that,  having  broken  their 
oaths  of  supremacy,  they  were  all  perjured  men  and  incapable  of 
giving  evidence,  read  a  citation  for  him  to  appear  before  the  Pope 
within  fourscore  days.  Then  they  shut  him  up  in  his  chamber.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  time  Bonner,  with  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  came  to 
Oxford,  and,  in  the  name  of  the  Pontiff,  declared  their  prisoner  con- 
tumacious, for  not  going  to  Eome ;  yet  the  Papal  commission 
affirmed  that  the  King  and  Queen  on  one  part,  and  he  on  the  other, 
had  appeared  by  Procurators  at  Rome  to  receive  sentence.  This  was 
utterly  false ;  but  it  stood  as  preface  to  the  final  condemnation,  which 
the  Bishops  pronounced  after  the  usual  manner.  Thirleby  concurred 
in  the  sentence  with  grief, — for  he  had  been  a  humble  friend  of  the 
Archbishop,  indebted  by  constant  favour  during  many  years, — but 
Bonner  with  savage  glee.  The  most  reverend  confessor  stood  before 
them  in  Archbishop's  robes,  but  made  of  canvass  and  rags,  that  con- 
tumely might  aggravate  his  suffering ;  and  Bonner,  as  junior  delegate, 
gloried  over  him  in  a  pitiless  oration  to  the  people.  "  This  is  the 
man,"  said  he,  "  that  hath  ever  despised  the  Pope's  Holiness,  and 
now  is  to  be  judged  by  him.  This  is  the  man  that  hath  pulled  down 
so  many  churches,  and  now  is  come  to  be  judged  in  a  church.  This 


304  CHAPTER    IV. 

is  the  man  that  contemned  the  blessed  sacrament  of  the  altar,  and  is 
now  come  to  be  condemned  before  that  blessed  sacrament  hanging 
over  the  altar.  This  is  the  man  that,  like  Lucifer,  sat  in  the  place 
of  Christ  upon  an  altar  *  to  judge  others,  and  now  is  come  before  an 
altar  to  be  judged  himself."  The  orator,  having  caused  the  scarlet 
robe  to  be  imitated,  thus  parodied  the  Ecce  homo,  beginning  every 
sentence  with  "  This  is  the  man,"  while  his  colleague  pulled  his  lawn, 
but  could  not  stay  the  torrent  of  vituperation.  This  ended,  they 
proceeded  to  complete  the  degradation,  first  taking  the  crosier  from 
his  hand  ;  but  he  held  it  fast,  and  drew  a  paper  from  his  sleeve, 
containing  an  appeal  from  "  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  whom  they  call 
Pope,"  to  the  next  General  Council.  Thirleby  first  refused  to  admit 
an  appeal,  as  the  commission  required  them  to  proceed  definitively ; 
(ornni  appellatione  remold  ;)  but  Cranmer  maintained  that,  as  his 
cause  was  immediately  with  the  Pope,  the  terms  of  the  Papal  com- 
mission should  not  be  allowed  to  hinder  the  appeal  to  an  authority 
that  might  arbitrate  between  the  parties  litigant  :  but  the  formality 
availed  nothing ;  and  he  was  forthwith  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a 
layman.  And  "  now,"  said  Bonner,  "  you  are  '  my  Lord '  no  more." 
Followed  by  a  crowd  of  people,  who  gazed  on  him  sorrowfully,  Cran- 
mer returned  to  the  prison,  where  he  had  spent  nearly  three  years  ; 
but  was  reserved  to  a  humiliation  unspeakably  greater  than  any  he 
had  yet  suffered. 

From  prison  they  took  him  to  the  house  of  the  Dean  of  Christ's 
Church,  supplied  him  with  every  indulgence,  placed  him  at  table 
with  the  most  dignified  Oxonians,  allowed  him  to  walk  abroad,  and 
induced  him  to  play  at  bowls  with  the  Clergy.  The  loathsome 
durance  of  the  Bocardo,  the  clamorous  disputations,  the  sentence  and 
the  degradation,  seemed  to  have  nearly  filled  up  the  measure  of 
punishment ;  his  former  rank,  his  learning  and  seniority  were  again 
courteously  acknowledged,  and  groups  of  the  most  able  polemics 
gathered  around  him  in  amicable  disputation.  They  plied  him  with 
flattery,  entreaties,  promises,  and  gentle  intimations  of  the  doom 
of  heretics  ;  and  one  of  the  most  skilful  controversialists,  Juan  de 
Villa  Garcia,  a  Dominican,  appears  to  have  figured  chiefly  in  those 
conversations.  He  fell  into  the  snare.  In  formal  controversy  he 
had  been  undaunted,  as  two  letters  written  to  the  Queen  after  his 
citation  to  Rome  testify  ;  and  those  letters  were  deemed  so  important 
that  no  less  a  personage  than  Cardinal  Pole  wrote  to  him  in  reply. 
This  might  be  considered  a  condescension,  and  it  was  followed  up  by 
redoubled  persuasions.  The  noblemen,  they  represented,  bare  him 
good  will :  the  King  and  Queen  would  be  pleased  by  his  return.  He 
might  either  regain  the  dignity  of  Archbishop,  or,  if  he  preferred  it, 
live  in  privacy  and  ease.  He  was  yet  a  strong  man,  and  might  live 
many  years  more,  if  he  would  but  save  his  life  by  setting  his  name  on 
a  piece  of  paper.  Better  do  thus  than  burn.  Then  began  a  series 
of  concessions.  First  he  subscribed  a  submission  to  the  Bishop 

*  On  a  platform  over  an  altar  in  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  some  years  before,  on  a  public 
occasion.  But  that  platform  was  erected  there  by  Bonner's  direction,  as  Craamer 
reminded  him. 


CRANMER'S  LAST  CONFESSION.  305 

of  Rome,  because  the  King  and  Queen  had  acknowledged  him  as 
chief  head  of  the  Church  of  England.  Then  he  repented,  revoked, 
but  again  wavered,  and  subscribed  obedience  to  "  the  Catholic 
Church,"  the  Pope,  and  the  King  and  Queen.  Thirdly,  he  set  his 
hand  to  an  engagement  to  "move  and  stir  all  others  to  do  the  like" 
to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  A  fourth  paper,  professing  unfeigned 
and  full  agreement  with  the  Catholic  Church  concerning  the  sacra- 
ments, next  received  his  signature.  After  this  they  obtained  it  to  a 
yet  larger  recantation,  where  he  was  made  to  renounce,  abhor,  and 
detest  the  heresies  of  Luther  and  Zuinglius,  and  all  other  teachings 
of  the  same  kind,  and  profess  belief  in  purgatory,  repentance  of  his 
schism,  and  determination  to  return  to  the  Church  of  his  persecutors. 
This  document  was  sent  to  the  Queen,  who  received  it  very  gladly ; 
but  persisted  in  her  determination  to  put  him  to  death.  Not  satisfied 
even  with  that  copious  recantation,  they  put  another  before  him,  in 
language  of  abject  grief  for  his  sins  against  the  Church,  with  supplica- 
tions for  mercy ;  and,  for  the  sixth  time  within  four  days,  (if  the 
published  dates  be  accurate,)  he  subscribed  his  name.  By  this  time 
it  was  doubtless  known  at  Oxford  that,  in  spite  of  all,  he  should  be 
put  to  death ;  and  he  was  brought  to  St.  Mary's  church  again, 
surrounded  by  the  armed  retinue  of  the  Lords  Williams  and  Chandos, 
with  several  Magistrates,  summoned  by  royal  writ,  and  placed  on  an 
elevated  stage  to  hear  the  last  sermon  from  Dr.  Cole.  Cranmer  held 
a  paper  containing  a  seventh  recantation,  which  he  was  required  to  read 
to  the  audience,  that,  as  they  said,  he  might  die  in  hope  of  heaven. 
But  it  was  not  the  very  paper  that  he  had  signed  in  presence  of  the 
Doctors,  but  another.  After  sermon,  then,  which  he  heard  with  an 
appearance  of  penitence  that  pleased  the  Priests  and  perplexed  those 
who  had  hoped  to  see  him  steadfast  to  the  end,  he  began  to  read. 
First  of  all  he  exhorted  the  people  to  pray  for  him.  This  was  what 
the  Priests  had  prepared.  He  then  prayed,  just  as  they  had  pre- 
scribed, asking  pardon.  He  also  gave  some  advice  to  the  audience ; 
but  entirely  omitted  a  declaration  of  the  Queen's  title  to  the  crown. 
While  those  privy  to  the  contents  of  the  paper  given  him  to  adopt  as 
his  own  were  wondering  at  the  omission,  he  went  on  with  a  con- 
fession of  faith,  unaltered  at  first,  and  read,  still  in  the  prescribed 
words:  "And  now 'I  come  to  the  great  thing  that  so  much  troubleth 
my  conscience,  more  than  any  other  thing  that  ever  I  did  " — but, 
instead  of  enumerating  his  writings  against  the  Papal  supremacy  and 
transubstantiation,  he  read  on,  with  great  solemnity,  thus — "  or  said 
in  my  whole  life ;  and  that  is,  the  setting  abroad  of  writings  contrary 
to  the  truth,  which  now  I  here  renounce  and  refuse,  as  things  written 
with  my  hand  contrary  to  the  truth  which  I  thought  in  my  heart, 
and  written  for  fear  of  death,  and  to  save  my  life,  if  it  might  be. 
And  that  is,  all  such  bills  and  papers  which  I  have  written  or  signed 
with  my  hand,  since  my  degradation,  wherein  I  have  written  many 
things  untrue.  And  forasmuch  as  my  hand  offended,  contrary  to  my 
heart,  my  hand  shall  first  be  punished  therefore  ;  for,  may  I  come  to 
the  fire,  it  shall  first  be  burnt.  And  as  for  the  Pope,  I  refuse  him  as 
Christ's  enemy,  and  Antichrist,  with  all  his  false  doctrine.  And  as 

VOL.    III.  2   R 


306  CHAPTER    IV. 

for  the  sacrament,  I  believe  as  I  have  taught  in  my  book  against  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester.  The  which  my  book  teacheth  so  true  a  doc- 
trine of  the  sacrament,  that  it  shall  stand  at  the  last  day  before  the 
judgment  of  God,  where  the  Papistical  doctrine  contrary  thereto 
shall  be  ashamed  to  show  her  face."  Further  he  could  not  read,  for 
Cole  shouted  from  the  pulpit,  the  Priests  rushed  on  him  with  cries 
of  "  Heretic  !  "  "  Stop  his  mouth  !  "  and,  in  a  few  moments,  he  was 
dragged  to  the  place  where  his  brethren  had  made  their  last  con- 
fession, and  there  they  chained  him  to  the  stake.  As  soon  as  the 
faggots  were  kindled,  he  extended  his  right  arm,  that  the  hand  which 
had  offended  might  first  feel  the  flame ;  and  thus  he  stood,  reiterating 
such  sentences  as  these,  "  This  hand  hath  offended,"  "  Unworthy 
right  hand,"  intermingled  with  the  prayer,  as  long  aa  the  power 
of  utterance  continued,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit "  (March 
21st,  1556).  For  his  burning,  be  it  observed,  Mary  had  issued  the 
warrant  with  her  own  signature;*  she  had  also  appointed  the  day, 
and  given  Dr.  Cole  secret  command  to  prepare  the  sermon.  On  the 
day  following  (March  22d)  Cardinal  Pole  was  consecrated  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  having  enjoyed  the  revenues  of  the  see,  without  the 
mitre,'  until  Cranmer's  death.  So  hasty  an  assumption  of  the  title, 
although  already  in  possession  of  the  profits,  lowered  the  Cardinal  in 
public  estimation. 

Few  names  of  historical  note  now  remain,  and  the  murderous  fury 
of  persecution  rages  unchecked.  We  shall  not  load  these  pages  with 
details  which  would  add  nothing  new  to  the  picture,  but,  sparing  the 
reader  the  weariness  of  toiling  through  descriptions  of  apprehensions, 
incarcerations,  mock  trials,  and  burnings,  merely  set  down  a  summary 
of  the  martyrdoms,  passing  by  a  mass  of  misery  too  diffused  to  be 
brought  into  any  record,  yet  felt  from  one  end  of  England  to  the 
other,  and  mourned  by  multitudes  of  wanderers  and  exiles,  who,  like 
their  heavenly  Master,  had  not  where  to  lay  their  head.  Neither 
would  it  be  possible  to  estimate  the  number  of  persons  who  died  in 
prison.  There  were  burnt,  after  Cranmer  to  the  end  of  the  year 
1 556,  at  least  as  follows : — Three  tradesmen  f  at  Salisbury,  in  one 
fire  (March  24th).  Two  Ministers  and  four  tradesmen  from  Essex,  J 
in  Smithfield  (April  24th).  A  man  and  woman  at  Rochester, §  (April 
1st,)  and  a  Minister  ||  at  Cambridge  (April  2d).  Six  tradesmen  at 
Colchester^j"  (April  28th).  A  lame  old  man  with  a  blind  man  at 
Stratford-le-Bow  **  (May  15th).  The  former,  after  he  was  chained, 
flung  away  his  crutch,  and  said  to  his  companion  :  "  Be  of  good  com- 
fort, my  brother ;  for  my  Lord  of  London  is  our  good  physician.  He 

*  It  is  in  Rymer,  xv.,  431. 

t  John  Spicer,  rnason  ;  William  Coberley,  tailor  ;  John  Manndrel,  farmer. 

t  Robert  Drakes,  Minister;  and  William  Tyms,  Curate.  Richard  Spurge,  shear- 
man ;  Thomas  Spurge  and  George  Ambrose,  fullers  ;  John  Cavel,  weaver. 

§  John  Harpole  ;  and  Joan  Beach,  a  widow,  of  Tunbridge. 

||  John  Hullier. 

IT  Christopher  .Lyster,  of  Dagenham,  farmer; — and  of  Colchester,  John  Mace,  apothe. 
cary;  John  Spencer  and  Richard  Nichols,  weavers ;  Simon  Joyne,  sawyer  ;  John  Ha- 
111011(1,  tanner. 

**  Hugh  Laverock,  painter  ;  and  John  Apprice. 


MAGISTRATES    WEARY    OF    PERSECUTION.  307 

will  heal  us  both  shortly,  thee  of  thy  blindness,  and  me  of  my  lame- 
ness." Three  women*  at  Smithfield  (May  16th).  Two  persons  at 
Gloucester,f  of  whom  one  was  a  blind  boy  (May  15th).  Three  poor 
men  at  Beccles,  in  Suffolk  J  (May  21st).  Four  at  Lewes  (June  6th), 
and  two  more  in  the  same  town  a  fortnight  afterwards  §  (June  20th). 
A  merchant's  servant  at  Leicester  (June  26th).  Eleven  men  and  two 
women  from  Essex,  in  one  fire,  at  Stratford-le-Bow  ||  (June  27th)  ; 
three  others  were  delivered  with  them  to  the  secular  arm,  but  were 
released  by  Cardinal  Pole,  by  whose  dispensation  it  appears  that  they 
had  recanted  and  petitioned  him  for  mercy.  Three  at  Bury  St. 
Edmund's^  (June  30th).  Three  at  Newbury**  (July  16th). 
Catherine  Cawches  and  her  two  daughters  were  burnt  at  St.  Pe'ter's- 
Port  in  Guernsey  (July  18th).  One  of  the  daughters,  a  married 
woman,  gave  birth  to  a  child  when  in  the  fire.  A  person  standing  by 
snatched  the  babe  from  the  flames  and  laid  it  on  the  grass  ;  some  one 
carried  it  to  the  Provost,  who  sent  it  to  the  Bailiff,  and  the  Bailiff 
sent  it  back  again  to  the  fire,  where  it  was  consumed  with  its  mother, 
grandmother,  and  aunt.  Two  men  and  a  woman  at  Grkistead,  in 
Sussex  ff  (July  18th).  Joan  Waste,  a  blind  woman,  at  Derby 
(August  1st).  Four  at  Mayfield,  Sussex  JJ  (September  24th).  Two 
in  Bristol  §§  (September,  beginning,  and  25th)..  One  at  Northamp- 
ton, ||  !|  and  another  at  Chester  ^]^[  (October).  One  cannot  wonder, 
after  perusing  such  a  catalogue,  that  there  were  rumours  of  rebellion 
in  England  in  this  year ;  nor  can  the  patience  of  the  Gospellers,  who 
refused  to  take  part  in  the  projected  insurrection,  be  too  much 
admired,  when  we  consider  how  extreme  was  the  provocation. 

The  better  part  of  the  English  Magistracy,  who  could  not  pander 
to  the  court,  shrank  from  the  work  imposed  on  them,  and  allowed 
the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ  to  remain  unmolested,  and  even  to  hold 
meetings  for  prayer  in  many  towns.  Informers  found  themselves, 
branded  with  popular  abhorrence ;  and  many  persecutors  relented 
when  they  saw  patience  and  faith  triumph  over  a  barbarism  that  now. 
became  terrible  even  to  the  barbarians  themselves.  Heavy  complaints 
were  made  in  the  Privy  Council  against  Magistrates  who  abetted  heresy. 
Justices  of  Peace,  as  the  impatient  courtiers  said,  could  not  be  found 
to  arrest  the  Gospellers  that  ranged  over  the  counties ;  and  the  inha- 

*  Catherine  Hut,  Elisabeth  Thackvel,  and  Joan  Horns. 

t  Thomas  Croker,  bricklayer  ;  and  Thomas  Drowry,  the  blind  boy. 

t  Thomas  Spicer,  labourer;  John  Denny,  and  Edmund  Poole. 

§  Thomas  Harland,  carpenter,  and  John  Oswald,  farmer,  both  of  Woodmancott ; 
Thomas  Avington,  of  Ardingley,  turner ;  and  Thomas  Head.  The  other  two  were 
Thomas  Whood,  Minister ;  and  Thomas  Milles. 

||  Henry  Adlington,  Laurence  Parnarn,  Henry  Wye,  William  Hallywel,  Thomas 
Bowyer,  George  Searles,  Edmund  Hurst,  Lyon  Cawch,  Ralph  Jackson,  John  Derifall, 
John  Routh,  Elisabeth  Pepper,  and  Agnes  George. 

IT  Roger  Bernard  qf  Framsden,  labourer ;  Adam  Foster  of  Mendlesham,  fanner  ; 
Robert  Lawson,  weaver. 

**  Julius  Palmer,  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford  ;  John  Gwiii  and  Thomas 
Askiu. 

tt  Thomas  Dungate,  John  Foreman,  and  Mother  Tree. 

II  John  Hart,  Thomas  Ravensdale,  and  two  others,  names  unknown. 

§§  Edward  Sharp,  and  a  carpenter,  name  unknown. 

Illl  A  shoemaker,  name  unknown. 

117  Houke. 

'2   R  2 


308  CHAPTER    IV. 

bitants  of  many  towns  openly  harboured  those  rebels  against  the  Church, 
Letters  were  written  from  the  Council  to  some  towns,  as  Coventry 
and  Rye,  recommending  persons  to  be  chosen  as  Mayors,  who,  being 
known  as  zealots,  might  be  depended  on  to  renew  the  slackening 
persecution  :  but  either  such  elections  could  nat  be  compelled,  or  the 
new  Mayors  disappointed  the  expectation  of  their  patrons  ;  for  we 
find  no  more  burnings  until  towards  the  middle  of  January  following, 
and  then  only  in  Kent ;  and  when  a  company  of  twenty-two  persons 
were  sent  up  from  Colchester  to  be  judged  by  Bonner,  a  multitude 
of  Londoners  met  them  with  expressions  of  sympathy  so  ardent,  that 
the  Bishop,  in  alarm,  dismissed  them,  after  exacting  a  very  equivocal 
submission.  Some  Magistrates  absented  themselves  from  church, 
thus  fearlessly  showing  their  disgust  ;  and  in  Bristol  people  marked 
the  Dean  and  Chapter  with  derision  as  they  saw  them  traversing  the 
city  on  feast-days  in  procession,  preceded  by  a  cross,  to  fetch  out  the 
Magistrates  from  their  houses,  one  by  one,  to  hear  sermons  in  the 
cathedral.  The  Council  sent  those  worthy  citizens  a  letter,  requiring 
them  to  conform  willingly  to  the  orders  of  the  Church,  and  go  thither 
of  their  own  accord. 

Cambridge,  long  imbued  with  the  Reformed  doctrine,  had  slowly 
submitted  to  the  Papistical  re-action  ;  and  Cardinal  Pole,  partaking 
in  the  distrust  of  that  learned  body,  of  whom  he  was  become  Chan- 
cellor, sent  down  a  Commission  of  Inspection.  The  Commissioners 
•were  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  the  Bishops  elect  of  Lincoln  and  Chiches- 
ter,  the  Provost  of  Eton  College,  and  chiefly,  Niccolo  Ormanetto,  the 
Pope's  Datary,  a  confidential  servant  of  the  Pontiff,  appointed  to  Eng- 
land as  a  check  on  the  Legate  himself,  whom  no  party  could  fully 
trust.  The  earnest  Reformers  had  fallen  victims,  or  were  in  exile ; 
the  timid  and  half-hearted  made  due  submission,  and  complied  with 
every  requisition  to  observe  the  old  ceremonial ;  the  zealots  were  in 
their  glory,  and  Cambridge  was  said  to  be  thoroughly  cleansed  from 
every  spot  of  Lutheranism.  Yet  this  was  not  thought  to  be  effected 
until  the  remains  of  Martin  Bucer  and  Paul  Fagius,  who  had  died 
there  in  the  reign  of  Edward,  had  been  exhumed,  carried  in  proces- 
sion under  a  strong  guard  from  the  violated  graves  into  the  market- 
place, the  coffins  placed  erect,  chained  to  a  stake,  and  burnt.  An 
interdict  laid  by  the  Visitors  on  the  churches  of  Our  Lady  and  St. 
Michael,  wherein  the  bodies  had  rested,  was  then  taken  off,  the  pyx 
replaced  on  their  altars,  and  the  indignity  done  to  those  places  by 
their  presence  avenged.  Oxford  was  also  visited  ;  and  with  equal 
dignity,  the  Visiters  there  summoned  witnesses  to  prove  heresy  against 
the  mortal  remains  of  Peter  Martyr's  wife,  as  it  had  been  proved 
against  the  others ;  but  the  Oxonian  scholars,  being  all  ignorant 
of  the  language  spoken  by  the  good  woman  when  alive,  could  not  say 
what  manner  of  doctrine  she  had  professed.  The  difficulty  was  laid 
before  Cardinal  Pole,  who  decided,  that  as  she  was  known  to  have 
been  first  a  Nun,  and  then  a  wife,  she  had  died,  by  that  fact,  under 
excommunication,  and  therefore  her  carcase  should  be  removed  from 
consecrated  ground  and  thrown  into  a  dunghill.  The  sentence  was 
executed.  But  Queen  Elizabeth  did  those  same  relics  honour  by 


"INQUISITION  OF  HERESY."  309 

having  them  taken  from  the  dunghill  and  mingled  with  those  of  St. 
Frideswide,  in  order  that  if  any  successor  of  hers  should  again  wish 
to  dishonour  the  memory  of  a  woman  whose  husband  had  been  one 
of  the  brightest  ornaments  to  that  University,  St.  Frideswide's  bones 
should  share  the  profanation.  Over  the  place  she  commanded  this 
inscription  to  be  engraved :  Hie  jacet  religio  cum  superstitione. 
"  Here  lies  religion  with  superstition."  Those  proceedings  were 
manifestly  inquisitorial,  such  as  distinguished  an  auto  da  fe  in  Por- 
tugal, and  were  followed  up  by  the  institution  of  a  real  Inquisition, 
wanting  only  the  name  and  peculiar  apparatus,  but  having  all  the 
power.  A  royal  commission*  (February  8th,  1557)  empowered  Bon- 
ner,  with  a  train  of  clerks  and  laymen,  to  make  inquisition  of  heresy, 
and  execute  judgment,  by  aid  of  the  civil  authorities,  who  were  com- 
manded to  obey  their  pleasure.  This  aroused  great  suspicion,  as  may 
be  gathered  from  the  words  of  Dr.  Ponet :  "  Inquisition  of  heretical 
pravity  is  now  entered  into  England,  and  likewise  the  Spaniard,  to 
destroy  the  liberty  of  the  English  nation  ;  whereby,  no  doubt,  shortly 
the  noses  of  the  nobility  shall  be  holden  to  the  grindstone,  and  the 
necks  of  the  commons  tied  under  the  Priests'  girdles.  From  which 
misery  I  beseech  Jesus  Christ  save  so  many  as  favour,  from  the  bottom 
of  their  hearts,  Christ  and  the  whole  realm  of  England.  Amen."  -f 

It  was  now  customary  to  bring  out  the  martyrs  by  companies,  as  at 
Lisbon  or  Seville.  Fifteen  had  been  long  imprisoned  at  Canterbury  : 
five  perished  of  starvation,  and  the  remaining  ten  J  were  distributed 
to  suffer,  six  in  Canterbury,  two  at  Wye,  and  two  at  Ashford  (January 
15th).  Five  ignorant,  but  pious,  persons  §  were  burnt  in  Smithfield, 
having  been  reported  as  non-attendants  at  church  (April  12th)  ;  and 
three  ||  in  St.  George's  fields,  Southwark,  fur  the  same  reason  (May). 
Three  at  Bristol  ^[  (May  7th).  "  Seven  at  Maidstone  **  (June  18th). 
On  the  same  day,  "  two  persons  were  carried  beyond  St.  George's, 
almost  at  Newington,  to  be  burnt  for  heresy  and  other  matters."  ff 
Seven  at  Canterbury^  (June  19th).  Ten  at  Lewes  §§  (June  22d). 
A  man  and  a  woman  at  Norwich  ||||  (July  13th).  Of  the  twenty-two 

*  Burnet,  part  ii.,  book  ii.     Records  32. 

t  Strype,  Memorials,  under  Mary,  chap.  43. 

\  John  Philpot,  Matthew  Bradbridge,  and  Nicholas  Final,  of  Tenterden ;  William 
Waterer,  and  Thomas  Stephens,  of  Biddenden  ;  Stephen  Kempe,  of  Norgate  ;  William 
Hay,  of  Hythe  j  Thomas  Hudson,  of  Selling  ;  William  Lowick,  of  Cranhrooke  ;  William 
Prowting,  of  Thornham. 

§  Thomas  Losehy,  Henry  Ramsey,  Thomas  Thirtel,  Margaret  Hide,  and  Agnes 
Stanley. 

j|  Stephen  Gratwick,  William  Morant, King. 

IT  Omitted  by  Foxe,  mentioned  by  Burnet,  but  not  named. 

**  Joan  Bradbridge,  of  Staplehnrst  ;  Walter  Appleby  and  Petronil  Lis  wife,  and  the 
wife  of  John  Manning,  of  Maidstone  ;  Edmund  Allin  and  Catherine  his  wife,  of  Fritten- 
den  ;  and  Elisabeth,  a  blind  girl. 

ft  Strype,  Memorials,  chap.  49  ;  not  in  Foxe. 

It  John  Fishcock,  Nicholas  White,  Nicholas  Pardue,  Barbara  Final,  widow,  Brad- 
bridge's  widow,  Wilson's  wife,  Benden's  wife. 

§§  Richard  Woodman,  George  Stevens,  W.  Mainard,  Alexander  Hosman  and 
Thomasin  a  Wood,  his  servants  ;  Margery  Moris,  and  James  her  sou;  Dennis  Burgis, 
Ashdon's  wife,  drove's  wife.  Richard  Woodman  was  a  clever  man,  and  disputed 
sturdily  with  the  Bishops. 

III!  Simon  Miller  and  Elisabeth  Cooper. 


310  CHAPTER    IV. 

whom  Bonner  had  dismissed  through  fear  of  tumult  in  London,  ten 
were  burnt  at  Colchester  *  (August  2d).  George  Eagles,  a  tailor, 
had  long  travelled  from  place  to  place,  to  exhort  and  confirm  the 
brethren,  who  faithfully  concealed  him  from  the  persecutors.  The 
Council,  having  heard  that  he  had  prayed  that  God  would  change  the 
Queen's  heart,  or  take  her  away, — but  there  was  no  sufficient  proof 
that  he  had  prayed  for  more  than  her  conversion, — offered  a  reward 
of  twenty  pounds  to  any  who  would  take  him.  He  was  seen  on  a 
fair-day  in  Colchester,  the  mob  pursued  him,  and,  after  lying  for  some 
hours  in  a  corn-field,  supposing  at  last  that  no  one  was  within  hear- 
ing, he  raised  his  voice  in  prayer,  which  one  of  the  pursuers  heard, 
dragged  bim  into  the  town,  and  he  was  hung,  drawn,  and  quartered 
at  Chelmsford  (August).  His  sister,  and  a  man  named  Frier,  were 
burnt  at  Rochester ;  as  were  a  man  at  Norwich  f  (August  5th),  and 
a  woman  at  Lichfield.^  Four  at  Islington,  §  and  two  women  again  at 
Colchester  ||  (September  1 7th) ;  followed  by  three  others — at  Northamp- 
ton ^[  (September  20th),  Laxfield  in  Suffolk  **  (September  22d),  and 
Norwich  ff  (September  23d).  Seventeen  at  Chichester,  at  different 
times,  JJ  one  at  Bury,§§  and  three  at  Smithfield || ||  (November  18th). 
John  Rough,  a  Scotchman,  who  had  first  fled  into  England  and  then 
taken  refuge  in  Friesland,  having  ventured  over  to  London,  and  become 
Minister  of  a  secret  congregation,  was  betrayed  by  a  false  brother, 
and  burnt,  together  with  one  of  his  flock,  Margaret  Mearing  (Decem- 
ber 22d).  So  ends  the  year  1557;  but  this  enumeration  of  deaths 
by  fire  is  imperfect ;  and  of  those  who  died  in  prison,  or  suffered  by 
less  extreme,  yet  ruinous,  persecution,  no  certain  calculation  can  be 
made. 

As  the  sole  business  of  this  reign  had  been  the  service  of  Popery, 
so  every  national  interest  was  neglected.  Philip,  with  ill-concealed 
disgust,  was  attending  to  other  affairs  on  the  Continent,  and  at  war 
with  France ;  Stafford,  the  Pretender,  had  nearly  raised  an  insurrec- 
tion ;  England  and  Scotland  were  on  ill  terms  ;  Mary  was  discom- 
forted, her  health  failed,  no  domestic  joy,  nor  any  marks  of  loyalty 
in  her  subjects,  came  to  dispel  the  gloom  of  an  unquiet  mind ;  and  on 
the  first  day  of  1558,  as  if  to  make  her  condition  utterly  forlorn,  the 
Duke  of  Guise,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  sat  down  before 

*  William  Bongeor,  William  Purcas,  Thomas  Benold,  Agnes  Silverside,  Helen 
Ewring,  Elisabeth  Folkes,  William  Mount,  Alice  his  wife,  Rose  her  daughter,  and 
John  Johnson. 

t  Richard  Crashfield. 

I  Joyce  Lewes. 

§  Ralph  Allerton,  James  Atistoo,  Margery  his  wife,  and  Richard  Roth. 
||  Agnes  Bongeor  and  Margaret  Thurston. 
If  John  Kurde,  shoemaker,  of  Syresham. 
**  John  Noyes,  shoemaker,  of  Laxfield. 

Cicely  Ormes,  wife  of  a  worsted  weaver,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Laurence. 

II  John  Foreman,  Anne  Try,  and  Thomas  Dougate,  of  East  Oriustead ;  John  War- 
ner, of  Bourne  ;    Christian  Grover,  of  the   archdeaconry  of  Lewes  ;    Thomas  Athoth, 
Priest  ;  Thomas  Avington,  of  Ardingley;  Dennis  Burgis,  of  Busted  ;    Thomas  Ravens- 
dale,  of  Rye;   John  Milles,  of  Hellingley ;    Nicholas  Holden  and  John  Hart,  of  Withy- 
ham;  James  and  Margery  Morice,  of  Heathfield ;  John  Oseward  and  Thomas  Harland, 
of  Woodmancott ;  John  Ashedon,  of  Cattesfield. 

§§  Thomas  Spurdance,  one  -of  Queen  Mary's  servants. 

Illl  John  Hallingdale,  William  Sparrow,  and  Richard  Gihson. 


SECRET    CONGREGATIONS.  311 

Calais,  and  in  a  few  days  the  French  banner  was  floating  on  the  walls. 
The  submission  of  the  adjacent  territory  followed,  and  England  lost 
the  key  of  France.  But  there  was  not  enough  patriotism  under  that 
reign  of  terror  to  attempt  recovery  of  the  loss  ;  the  people  of  England 
were  disheartened  ;  and  the  sullen  Queen  would  have  been  driven 
from  her  throne,  had  popular  discontent  found  a  leader.  She  appealed 
to  the  Parliament ;  but  the  country  was  too  poor  to  afford  equipment 
for  a  fleet,  and  the  utmost  that  could  be  obtained  was  a  subsidy 
towards  strengthening  the  sorry  defences  of  the  island.  Yet  the  flock 
of  Christ  gathered  fresh  courage,  and  their  private  congregations 
appear  to  have  been  more  numerous  than  ever,  and  held  with  greater 
frequency.  Rough,  as  we  have  just  seen,  was  Minister  of  one  of  those 
congregations  in  London  ;  Cuthbert  Symson  was  Deacon.  It  was  their 
custom  sometimes  to  go  to  an  inn,  order  a  dinner  or  other  meal  in  a 
private  room,  and  there  spend  two  or  three  hours  in  reading  the  Eng- 
lish service  in  King  Edward's  Prayer-Book,  hearing  a  sermon,  consult- 
ing on  the  affairs  of  their  afflicted  church,  partaking  of  the  holy 
commjunion,  and  contributing  alms  for  the  relief  of  their  brethren  in 
the  prisons.  An  account  of  receipts  and  disbursements  was  kept  by 
the  Deacon  of  each  congregation,  in  conjunction  with  the  Minister, 
and  probably  exhibited  in  their  meetings.  Or  they  would  occupy  an 
empty  warehouse,  or  a  ship  in  ballast  on  the  river,  or  assemble  in  a 
field.  Like  the  primitive  Christians,  they  addressed  each  other  as 
"brethren  ;"  and  sometimes,  by  incautiously  using  that  appellation  in 
the  hearing  of  strangers,  were  marked  as  Gospellers,  and  watched. 
Some  foreign  Protestants  took  part  in  those  meetings.  Cuthbert 
Symson,  the  Deacon,  with  two  others,  were  betrayed  by  a  perfidious 
member  of  their  church ;  and  after  he  had  been  several  times  tortured 
in  the  Tower  of  London,  to  disclose  the  names  of  those  who  had 
come  to  the  English  service,  but  whom  he  would  not  betray,  he  and 
his  companions  *  were  burnt  in  Smithfield  (March  28th).  On  the 
same  day,  Cardinal  Pole,  as  Prelate  of  the  see  of  Canterbury,  ap- 
pointed a  Commission  of  Inquisitors  of  his  diocese,  with  the  veteran 
zealot  Harpsfield  at  their  head.  One  William  Nichol,  a  poor  half- 
witted man,  was  burnt  at  Haverford-West  (April  9th)  ;  but  the  cus- 
tom of  burning  by  companies  was  quickly  resumed.  Three  at  Nor- 
wich f  (May  19th).  Three  at  Colchester  J  (May  26th).  A  congre- 
gation of  forty  persons  were  surprised  in  a  field  near  Islington,  and 
surrendered  themselves,  without  resistance,  to  a  constable  and  six  or 
seven  men.  A  few  of  the  women  escaped,  as  the  whole  company 
might  have  done.  Two  died  in  prison  ;  §  seven  were  eventually  re- 
leased, after  being  flogged  by  Bonner  himself ;  seven  were  burnt  in 
Smithfield  ||  (June  27th)  ;  and  six  at  Brentford  ^[  (July  14th). 

*  Hugh  Foxe  and  John  Deveniah. 

t  William  Seaman,  a  farmer,  of  Mendlesham,  in  Suffolk ;  Thomas  Carman,  Thomas 
Hudson,  of  Aylsham,  Norfolk. 

t   William  Harris,  Richard  Day,  and  Christian  George. 

§   Matthew  Wythers  and  T.  Taylor. 

||  Henry  Pond,  Reinald  Eastland,  Robert  Southam,  Matthew  Ricarby,  John  Floyd. 
John  Holiday,  Roger  Holland. 

IT  Robert  Wills,  Stephen  Cotton,  Robert  Dynes,  Stephen  Wight,  John  Slade,  and 
William  Pikes. 


312  CHAPTER    IV. 

Richard  Yeoman,  formerly  Curate  of  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Hadleigh,  suffered, 
after  long  imprisonment,  at  Norwich   (July  10th).     John  Alcock,  the 
young  man  who  so  long  persevered  in  reading  the  English  service  alone 
in  Hadleigh  church,   died  in  Newgate  of  gaol-fever.     Thomas  Ben- 
bridge,  a  devoted  gentleman,  was  burnt  at  Winchester  (August  5th). 
Four  *    at   Bury  St.   Edmund's.     One    named    Edward  Horne,f   at 
Newent  (September),  two  at  Ipswich,^  a  poor  woman  §  on  Southern- 
hay,  by  Exeter  ("November  4th)  ;  and  five  at  Canterbury  |]  (November 
10th)    brought   up  the   rear  of  this  noble  army.      It  is  remarkable 
that  they  prayed  that  their  blood  might  be  the  last  that  should  be 
shed  ;   and  so  it  was.     Nor  is  it  less  worthy  of  notice  that  one  of 
them,  John  Corneford,  pronounced  a  singular  excommunication  of  all 
those  blasphemers  and  heretics  who  maintained  error  against  God's 
most  holy  word,  condemned  His  truth  for  heresy,  or  maintained  a 
false  Church,  or  feigned  religion  :  "  So  that  by  this  thy  just  judgment, 
O  most  mighty  God,  against  thy  adversaries,  thy  true  religion  may  be 
known  to  thy  great  glory  and  our  comfort,  and  to  the  edifying  of  all 
our  nation."     It  might  seem  that  the  martyr  had  spoken  by  inspira- 
tion.    At  that  moment  the  Parliament  was  sitting,  but  scarcely  able 
to  attempt  either  legislation  or  supply.     Contagious  diseases  prevailed 
all  over  the  realm,  spreading  death  ;    and  just  one  \veek  after  the 
immolation  of  the  victims  at  Canterbury,  Mary  died  of  the  epidemic 
(November  17th).    On  the  morning  after  Mary's  death,  Elizabeth  was 
proclaimed  Queen  :   "  in  the   afternoon  all  the  churches  in  London 
rang  their  bells,  and  at  night  were  bonfires  made,  and  tables  set  in 
the  streets,  and  the  people  did  eat  and  drink  and  make  merry."  ^[ 
But  astonishment  and  sadness  brooded  over  the  priesthood.     Their 
chief  at  Lambeth  lay  sick  of  the  same  disease  that  had  been  fatal 
to   his  mistress,  and  boded  no  good   to  his    cause  from    her  whose 
queenship  he  heard  proclaimed  that   night   from  the    neighbouring 
belfries.    His  heart  sank,  and,  before  the  dawn  of  day,  Cardinal  Pole, 
healer  of  the  schism,  but  last  Legate  of  Rome  in   these  dominions, 
was  numbered  with  the  dead.    Thus  perished  the  final  triumph  of  the 
Papacy  over  England,  if,  indeed,  it  be   not  too  much  to  call  that 
violence  a  triumph.     The  alien  brought  a  bloody  war  into  our  coun- 
try.    Two  hundred  and  eighty,  or  two  hundred  and  ninety,  persons 
were   murdered  in  the   flames ;    many  more    perished    by  imprison- 
ment, torture,  and    famine  ;    and   a   much  larger   number  fled  into 
Germany,  and   other  parts  of   the  world.     Another  multitude  filled 
the  prisons,  or  wandered,   houseless,   in  remote   parts  of  the  king- 
dom.    In  the  heat  of  this  battle   the  leaders  were  suddenly  cut  off 
by  death,  or  disabled,  by  the  change  of  Sovereigns,  from  continuing 
the  conflict,   so   that  the  temporary  and  unreal  triumph  terminated 

*  John  Cooke,  sawyer ;  Robert  Miles,  shearman  ;  Alexander  Lane,  wheelwright ; 
and  James  Ashley. 

t  Supplied  by  Strype,  Mary,  chap.  63. 

%  Alexander  Qonch  and  Alice  Driver. 

§   Wife  of  one  Prest. 

||  John  Corneford,  of  Wrotham  ;  Christopher  Brown,  of  Maidstone  ;  John  Herst,  of 
Ashford  ;  Alice  Snoth,  and"  Catherine  Knight. 

T[  Strype,  Mary,  chap.  60. 


EDICT    OF    AUGSBURG.  313 

in  a  shameful  defeat.  The  burial  of  Mary,  and  the  liberation  of 
England  from  the  Romish  yoke,  are  collateral  events  in  our 
history.* 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  EMPIRE  CTNDER  CHARLES  V. — Diet  of  Augsburg — The  defensive  League  of  Pro- 
testants at  Smalcald — The  Smalcaldic  War — The  Pacification  of  Passau  and 
Establishment  of  religious  Liberty  in  Germany — Sessions  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
—  THE  NETHERLANDS  AND  SPAIN  UNDER  PHILIP  II. — Endeavours  to  suppress 
the  Reformation — Resistance  of  the  Reformed  Confederates — Crusade  under  the 
Duke  ef  Alva — Independence  of  Holland,  and  Separation  from  the  Spanish 
Netherlands — Suppression  of  the  Reformation  by  the  Inquisition  in  Spain — Later 
Persecutions  in  Spain  and  Portugal. 

THE  Elector  of  Saxony  and  Landgrave  of  Hesse  had  -withdrawn 
from  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  appointing  persons  to  act  there  in  their 
stead.  Charles  V.,  and  the  Popish  majority  who  remained,  unable  to 
bring  them  to  a  submission  that  would  have  precluded  all  hope  of 
religious  reformation,  or  to  extort  from  the  Protestant  states  contri- 
butions towards  the  Turkish  war,  while,  as  Nonconformists,  they  were 
to  have  been  excluded  from  the  Imperial  Diet,  issued  a  second  edict, 
or  recess,  at  the  end  of  the  session,  to  this  effect  : — "  None  shall  be 
tolerated  for  the  future  who  teach  contrary  to  the  Church  of  Rome 
concerning  the  sacraments.  There  shall  be  no  change  in  the  cele- 
bration of  public  or  private  mass.  Ceremonies  are  to  be  unaltered, 
images  retained,  or  restored  to  the  places  whence  they  have  been 
taken.  The  authorized  doctrine  alone  is  to  be  taught.  Married 
Priests  are  commanded  to  put  away  their  wives ;  and  no  preacher  is 
to  speak  a  sentence  of  controversy,  or  address  one  of  reproof,  to  those 
of  the  Church  dominant.  No  one  shall  attempt  to  proselyte  another 
to  the  damnable  and  brutish  doctrine  of  Luther  or  other  sectaries." 
In  short,  the  Reformation  was  to  be  extinguished  at  one  stroke 
throughout  the  empire,  and  loss  of  life  and  goods  was  decreed  for 
every  recusant.  The  civil  authorities  were  commanded  to  enforce 
obedience. 

This  was  more  than  persecution  :  it  was  equivalent  with  a  declara- 
tion of  war  on  the  Reformed,  to  whom  no  alternative  remained,  but 
to  surrender  conscience  or  hazard  life.  Charles  and  his  party  thus 
relinquished  the  succours  needed  for  resisting  Solyman  and  his  Turks, 
who,  but  the  year  before,  had  besieged  and  stormed  Vienna,  whence 
they  were  expelled  but  by  an  extraordinary  effort  of  the  garrison  and 
inhabitants,  while  Hungary  had  been  conquered,  and  the  barbarian, 
irritated,  rather  than  conquered,  at  the  metropolis  of  Austria,  was 
again  preparing  forces  to  invade  the  eastern  provinces  of  the  empire, 
and  threatened  to  overrun  all  Germany.  The  Pontiff  had  just 
engaged  his  imperial  ally  to  send  German  troops  into  Tuscany  to 
crush  the  independence  of  the  Florentines,  and  humble  the  house 

*  The  principal  authorities  for  this  chapter  are  Foxe,  Bnrnet,  and  Strype,  to  whom 
all  the  historians  of  the  period  must  be  indebted.  Others  are  acknowledged  incidentally. 
VOL.    III.  2    S 


314  CHAPTER    V. 

of  the  Medici ;  the  free  states  of  Italy  were  only  held  down  by  force 
from  casting  off  the  Papal  yoke.  All  Christendom  was  threatened  by 
the  Turks,  who  seemed  likely  to  recover,  at  least,  the  territories  once 
occupied  by  the  Saracens.  Yet  Protestant  Germany  was  madly  pro- 
voked to  secede  from  the  common  defence  of  Christendom.  So 
thought  moderate  politicians  ;  but,  in  truth,  it  was  well  that  the  Turk 
hung  upon  the  skirts  of  Popedom,  to  divert  a  power  which,  by  falling 
with  undivided  weight  on  the  few  states  then  struggling  for  religious 
liberty,  might  have  swept  them  away,  as  it  had  swept  away  their 
predecessors  the  Albigenses  in  the  southern  provinces  of  France. 

Was  it  lawful  for  the  Protestants  to  resist  force  with  force  ?  On 
this  question  they  were  not  yet  agreed.  If  the  Electors  and  Princes 
of  the  Germanic  empire  were  vassals  of  the  Prince  elected  at  its  head, 
their  duty,  they  thought,  would  be  only  to  oppose  passive  resistance, 
— to  die  rather  than  sin  against  God  by  rebellion.  If,  however,  they 
were  Sovereigns  over  their  own  states,  and  the  Emperor  no  more  than 
suzerain,  or  liege  Lord,  with  rights  limited  by  the  independent 
sovereignty  of  each  Prince  in  regard  to  his  own  subjects,  and  by  the 
general  interests  of  the  federated  states,  then  each  Prince  was  as 
much  bound  to  protect  his  subjects  against  the  Emperor  as  to  aid  the 
Emperor  against  a  common  enemy.  The  latter  view  was  found  to  be 
constitutional,  and  prevailed.  They  also  considered  that  a  duty  to 
God  now  bound  them  to  resist  their  earthly  superior,  to  unite  in  arms 
for  this  resistance,  and  to  protect  their  subjects  from  the  execution 
of  the  murderous  edict.  And  since  the  Emperor  and  his  instigators, 
or  adherents,  were  leagued  with  a  foreign  Prince,  the  Pope,  against 
the  religious  liberties  of  a  part  of  the  empire,  and  had  determined  to 
enforce  their  will  by  the  usual  instruments  of  war,  deprivation  of  life 
and  goods,  including,  of  course,  extinction  of  the  reluctant  states,  it 
became  necessary  for  them  to  appeal  to  those  Princes  whose  cause 
might  be  thought  common  with  their  own.  Luther,  Melancthon,  and 
other  theologians  were  consulted,  and,  at  first  hearing,  generally 
objected  to  Protestants  taking  the  sword  ;  but  the  question  related  to 
public  right  rather  than  private  duty  ;  the  Princes  were  compelled  to 
decide  for  mutual  defence,  because  threatened  with  coercion  by  the 
sword,  and  the  theologians  were  constrained  to  acknowledge  the 
justice  of  their  determination.  Thus  originated  the  league  of  Smal- 
cald. 

As  "  supreme  advocate  of  the  Church  "  Charles  professed  to  enter- 
tain but  one  desire,  to  obey  God  and  the  Pope.  The  Legate,  Cnm- 
Peggi°>  swayed  the  counsels  of  the  majority  at  Augsburg.  "With 
extreme  difficulty  had  the  Protestants  obtained  permission  to  read 
their  confession  of  faith,  and,  after  all,  they  were  severely  prohibited 
from  publishing  any  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Diet.  Their 
remonstrances  were  treated  with  contempt ;  threatenings  pursued 
them ;  and  Germany  was  filled  with  intelligence  of  warlike  prepara- 
tions for  mastering  their  constancy,  which,  however,  was  invincible. 
Disgusted  with  the  tyranny  of  Charles,  who  had  long  trampled  on 
the  usages  and  constitution  of  the  empire,  some  states  and  free  towns, 
that  had  not  hitherto  given  decided  support  to  the  cause  of  religious 


LEAGUE    OF    SMALCALD.  315 

liberty,  now  declared  themselves,  and  even  Augsburg,  notwithstanding 
the  presence  of  power  enough  to  annihilate  the  city,  withheld  its  seal 
from  the  authentication  of  the  Acts  of  the  Diet,  to  which  the  seal 
of  the  city  where  the  states  met  had  been  customarily  appended. 

However  peaceable  the  Reformed  might  wish  to  be,  their  enemies 
gave  a  signal  of  violence  but  a  few  days  after  the  recess.  On  St. 
Francis's  day,  (October  4th,  1530.)  a  body  of  Spanish  soldiers,  who 
attended  the  Emperor,  forcibly  entered  the  church  of  the  Franciscan 
monastery,  where  Cellarius,  a  Zuinglian,  had  preached.  Priests  per- 
formed the  ceremony  of  "  reconciliation,"  or  purifying  the  place. 
The  Senate  had  remonstrated,  but  in  vain.  They  refused  to  supply 
furniture  for  the  altar,  and  vessels  for  mass  ;  but  Caesar  sent  them  ; 
and,  after  the  celebration,  the  insolent  Spaniards  completed  the 
hallowing  of  the  temple  by  a  general  demolition  of  the  seats  belong- 
ing to  the  Protestant  congregation  ;  then  a  multitude  of  citizens 
assembled  to  revenge  the  insult.  Many  were  wounded  by  the  soldiers, 
and,  in  the  moment  of  provocation,  the  multitude  were  proceeding  to 
break  into  the  cloisters  and  revenge  themselves  on  the  Monks,  when 
the  Magistrates,  with  great  difficulty,  appeased  their  fury. 

From  Augsburg  Charles  proceeded  to  Cologne,  attended  by  a 
numerous  company  of  Princes,  with  his  brother  Ferdinand,  whom  he 
wished  them  to  elect  King  of  the  Romans.  The  Archbishop  of 
Mentz,  at  his  command,  had  summoned  the  Electors  thither  ;  but  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  went  to  Smalcald,  and  sent  his  son,  John  Frederic, 
to  protest  against  the  intended  election.  According  to  the  Bulla 
Aurea,  or  charter  of  the  empire,  which  had  been  already  broken,  such 
an  election  ought  not  to  take  place  until  after  the  death  of  the 
Emperor,  when  his  successor  should  be  freely  chosen  by  the  Electors. 
His  title  then  was  King  of  the  Romans,  and,  when  crowned  by  the 
Pope,  he  received  the  salutation  of  Emperor.  By  the  present  con- 
trivance it  was  intended,  notwithstanding  that  the  imperial  dignity 
was  elective,  to  secure  the  succession  to  Ferdinand,  as  by  a  similar 
act  it  had  been  at  first  procured  by  Charles  IV.  from  bribed 
Electors  for  his  son  Wenzel.  The  Elector  of  Saxony,  after  sending 
his  protest  to  Cologne,  hastened  to  Smalcald,  where  the  following 
personages  joined  him  in  consultation  on  measures  of  self-defence  : 
— Ernest,  Duke  of  Brunswick  ;  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse  ;  Wolf- 
gang, Prince  of  Anhalt ;  Gelhard  and  Albert,  Counts  of  Mansfeld,  the 
latter  of  whom  acted  as  representative  of  Philip,  Duke  of  Brunswick. 
Legates  were  also  there  from  Strasburg,  Nuremberg,  Constance,  Ulm, 
Magdeburg,  Bremen,  Reutlingen,  Heilbronn,  Memmingen,  Lindau, 
Isny,  Kempten,  Biberach,  Windsheim,  and  Weissenburg.  Their  first 
care  was  to  memorialize  the  Emperor  for  a  suspension  of  the  prosecu- 
tions consequent  on  his  edict,  and  to  employ  learned  men  to  study 
the  history  and  attributes  of  Councils,  and  then  deliberate  as  to  what 
ought  to  be  done  if  the  Pope  should  claim  to  be  head  of  the  Council 
promised  by  the  Emperor.  But  that  a  temporal  Prince  should  pre- 
sume to  hear  a  confession  of  faith,  appoint  conferences  on  points 
cf  doctrine,  treat  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  and  promise  a  Council, 
gave  great  umbrage  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome ;  yet  His  Holiness  thought 

2  s  2 


316  CHAPTER    V. 

well  to  dissemble  his  indignation,  and  wrote  an  encyclical  to  tl'tr 
crowned  heads  of  Europe,  descriptive  of  the  troubled  state  of  Chris- 
tendom, declaring  his  intention  to  attempt  a  remedy  by  the  assem- 
blage of  a  General  Council,  and  desiring  that  they  would  all  be  there 
in  person,  or  by  proxy.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  Clement  VII., 
no  less  than  his  predecessors,  dreaded  a  Council,  but  endeavoured,  by 
holding  out  a  hope  of  reformation,  to  check  the  progress  of  discon- 
tent, and,  by  making  the  proposal  seem  to  be  his  own,  to  prevent  the 
Emperor  from  usurping  his  prerogative  by  the  convocation  of  an 
ecclesiastical  assembly.  The  Protestants  of  Smalcald,  for  their  part, 
also  wrote  to  the  same  Princes,  disclaiming  the  subversive  principles 
and  practices  of  which  they  were  accused,  descantmg  on  the  extreme 
corruption  of  the  Church,  and  soliciting  influence  for  the  convention 
of  a  free  and  Christian  Council  in  Germany,  where  no  coercion  or 
injustice  would  be  employed.  The  King  of  Denmark,  fearing  lest  his 
own  dominions  should  be  disturbed  by  intrigues  of  the  ejected  Clergy, 
— for  there  the  Reformation  had  been  recently  established, — joined5 
the  league.  Hamburgh  and  some  of  the  Hanse  Towns  gave  their 
adhesion;  correspondence  with  the  Swiss  began,  in  hope  that  they 
might  be  induced  to  unite  under  the  Augsburg  confession  :  this 
imperial  edict,  like  that  of  "Worms,  had  very  partial  and  timid  execu- 
tors, and  war  seemed  to  be  imminent. 

At  that  juncture  Luther  used  his  utmost  influence  to  avert  so  great 
a  calamity,  both  commenting  on  the  edict  in  a  pamphlet  issued 
shortly  after  its  publication,  and,  in  his  extensive  correspondence, 
expostulating  with  the  hostile  party,  and  exhorting  the  Germans  not 
to  take  up  arms  against  their  brethren,  who  suffered  for  conscience* 
sake,  not  even  if  required  to  do  so  by  the  Emperor.  In  a  second 
conference  at  Smalcald  it  was  determined  to  commit  no  act  of  aggres- 
sion, but  only  to  prepare  for  defence  in  case  of  attack.  Their  union 
and  growing  strength  at  home,  a  direct  alliance  with  some  foreign 
states,  and  the  favourable  reception  given  to  their  representations  by 
the  Kings  of  England  and  France,  compelled  their  adversaries  to 
respect  them.  The  Archbishop  Elector  of  Mentz  and  the  Elector 
Palatine  interposed  their  mediation  with  the  head  of  the  empire,  and, 
after  some  preparatory  negotiations,  a  pacification  was  effected  at 
Nuremberg,  (July  23d,  1532,)  when  Charles  consented  to  a  peace 
between  all  the  states  of  the  Germanic  nation,  both  ecclesiastical  and 
secular,  until  a  General,  Christian,  and  free  Council ;  or,  if  that  could 
not  be  had,  until  all  the  states  of  the  empire  could  again  assemble. 
Meanwhile,  he  agreed  that  no  one,  on  account  of  religion,  or  for  any 
other  reason,  should  make  war  on  another,  nor  invade  his  territory, 
nor  consent  to  any  such  invasion  or  violence  ;  but  that  all  should 
conduct  themselves  with  mutual  forbearance  and  charity.  The  edicts 
of  Worms  and  Augsburg  being  suspended,  the  confederates  agreed  to 
contribute  their  share  towards  carrying  on  war  with  the  Turks.  So 
did  Protestantism  attain  to  political  consideration,  and  Solyman  M-as 
the  unconscious  instrument  of  saving  them  from  a  more  terrible 
crusade  than  any  that  had  yet  been  known  in  Europe. 

Again  the  Court  of  Rome  heard  with  indignation  that  Charles  had 


VERGERIO    IN    GERMANY.  317 

failed  to  execute  the  orders  of  the  Church  for  the  destruction  of 
heretics,  and  had  presumed  to  allow  liberty  of  conscience ;  but  they 
gladly  accepted  the  succour  needed.  At  the  head  of  a  great  army, 
he  expelled  the  Turk  from  Austria,  then  went  into  Italy,  and,  finding 
Clement  at  Bologna,  conferred  with  him  on  their  common  interests. 
But  that  interview  only  served  to  demonstrate  that  the  interests  of  the 
empire  and  of  the  priesthood  were  incapable  of  conciliation.  Charles 
desired  a  Council  in  Germany ;  Clement  would  not  consent  to  one 
out  of  Italy.  The  Protestants  were  dreaded  by  them  both ;  and, 
now  that  their  services  were  no  longer  needed,  infractions  of  the 
Nuremberg  pacification  again  became  frequent  in  the  provincial  courts. 

Historians  have  plodded  with  pedestrian  diligence  through  the 
dreary  period  of  twenty-five  years  that  intervenes  between  the  rupture 
at  Augsburg  and  the  establishment  of  religious  liberty  in  Germany  in 
1555.  We  shall  only  stay  to  point  out  a  few  of  the  chief  way-marks 
by  which  the  toilsome  march  of  Protestant  Germany  towards  the 
attainment  of  civil  liberty  and  of  a  political  power  that  has  contri- 
buted nothing  to  their  religious  prosperity,  may  be  remembered.  Yet 
this  political  establishment,  subsequently  shaken  and  re-modelled,  may 
have  been  a  basis  whereon  to  raise  a  fairer  spiritual  structure  in  times 
yet  to  come. 

Clement  VII.,  pretended  head  of  Christendom,  quarrelled  with 
Charles  V.,  who,  as  arbitrator  between  the  Holy  See  and  the  Duke 
of  Ferrara  respecting  the  principality  of  Modena  and  Reggio,  had 
offended  by  deciding  in  favour  of  the  Duke.  To  quarrel  with  the 
advocate  of  the  Church  at  a  time  when  his  arm  was  needed  to  crush 
the  Lutherans  was  impolitic,  and  much  more  so  to  go  into  France  to 
visit  Charles's  rival,  Francis  I.  (A.D.  1533.) 

His  successor,  Paul  III.,  thought  well  to  simulate  great  anxiety  for 
a  Council,  thereby  to  throw  the  Protestants  oft'  their  guard,  but  art- 
fully proposed  conditions  which  he  knew  they  would  not  accept. 
However,  he  sent  Vergerio,  a  trusty  Nuncio,  into  Germany,  with 
instructions  to  sound  the  Protestants,  and  report.  One  Saturday 
evening,  (November  6th,  1535,)  the  Nuncio  entered  Wittemberg, 
mounted  on  a  mule, — for  him  to  have  ridden  a  horse  would  not  have 
been  so  canonical,— -and  attended  by  twenty  horsemen.  The  Governor 
of  the  province  met  His  Eminence,  conducted  him  to  the  castle,  and 
lodged  him  hospitably.  Next  morning  Luther  sent  early  for  his 
barber,  told  him  merrily  that  he  had  been  summoned  to  wait  upon 
the  Nuncio  of  his  most  Holy  Father,  and  therefore  must  not  make  a 
shabby  appearance,  but  go  well  shaven,  and  look  as  young  as  possi- 
ble, that  his  adversaries  might  fancy  him  to  be  a  young  man,  and 
have  the  greater  fear  of  his  living  long  to  trouble  them.  Dressed  in 
his  best  apparel,  and  wearing,  over  and  above,  a  gold  chain,  which 
the  Elector  had  at  some  time  given  him,  he  stepped  into  a  carriage, 
sent  for  him  from  the  castle,  accompanied  by  his  friend  Pomeranus, 
saying,  as  they  drove  off,  "  Here  we  go,  Pope  Germanus  and  Cardinal 
Pomeranus!"  On  arrival  at  the  castle  they  were  instantly  admitted, 
and  he  addressed  the  Nuncio  with  studied  courtesy,  but  without  any 
of  the  usual  tides.  Conversation  soon  turned  on  the  projected 


318  CHAPTER    V. 

Council,  which  Luther  said,  truly  enough,  the  Pope  promised  in  jest 
rather  than  in  earnest ;  but  that,  if  it  ever  came  to  pass,  the  only 
business  transacted  there  would  relate  to  trifles,  such  as  tonsures  and 
robes,  not  to  faith,  justification,  nor  agreement  of  Christians  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.  "  We,"  said  he,  "  are  made  sure  of  our  faith  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  We  have  no  need  of  any  Council ;  but  leave  that  for 
those  poor  simple  creatures  who,  oppressed  under  your  tyranny,  know 
not  what  they  must  believe.  But  go  on,  convoke  a  Council,  if  you 
please  :  I  will  go  to  it,  God  willing,  though  they  burn  me."  "  Where 
would  you  have  it  ? "  asked  the  Legate.  "  Where  you  will,"  said 
he,  "  at  Mantua,  Padua,  Florence,  or  anywhere."  "  Why  not  at 
Bologna  ?  "  "  To  whom  does  Bologna  belong  '{  "  "  To  the  Pope." 
"  AVhat !  has  the  Pope  got  that  place  too  ?  Well,  I  will  go  even 
there."  The  Legate  pleasantly  asked  what  he  would  say  to  the  Pope 
coming  to  Wittemberg.  "  Let  him  come,"  replied  Luther  :  "  we  shall 
be  glad  to  see  him."  "  But  shall  he  come  with  an  army,  or  alone?" 
"  We  will  receive  him  either  way."  After  this  sort  of  pleasantry  they 
entered  on  serious  colloquy,  but  parted  just  as  they  had  met. 

Vergerio  soon  returned  to  Italy,  and  related  to  the  Pope  the  sum 
of  his  conferences  with  the  German  Protestants,  who  generally,  as  he 
said,  desired  a  Council,  but  free,  held  in  Germany,  and  not  subject 
to  the  Court  of  Rome.  Of  Luther  and  his  friends  he  said  that  they 
wanted  it  not,  but  were  incorrigible  ;  and  advised  that,  it  being 
impossible  to  give  such  a  Council,  or  to  overcome  the  obstinacy  of 
the  heresiarch  by  gentle  means,  Protestantism  should  be  put  down  at 
once  by  force  of  arms.  Paul  would  have  gladly  followed  this  advice, 
not  on  account  of  religion,  which  concerned  him  little,  but  to  divert 
the  Emperor  from  taking  possession  of  Milan.  Charles,  covered  with 
new  glory  by  a  recent  victory  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  where  he  had 
liberated  twenty  thousand  Christian  slaves,  and  now  intent  on  the 
pacification  of  Germany,  since  the  Protestant  states  distrusted  him  on 
account  of  his  severities  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  reluctance  of  his 
concessions  on  the  other,  was  then  at  Naples ;  and  to  him,  also, 
Vergerio  repaired,  to  incite  him  to  war  on  the  disaffected  portion 
of  his  empire.*  But,  as  he  would  rather  employ  the  authority  of  a 
Council  to  withdraw  the  people  from  their  teachers,  than,  by  attempt- 
ing force,  commit  himself  to  a  German  war  of  very  doubtful  issue, 
and  relinquish  his  designs  on  Lombardy,  he  hastened  to  Rome,  and 
held  secret  consultation  with  the  Pope.  Their  objects  were  equally 
political.  The  Priest  advised  war  :  the  soldier  insisted  on  a  Council. 
The  robe  yielded  to  the  sword;  and  the  Emperor,  so  far  satisfied, 
appeared  in  the  Consistory  (April  28th,  1536)  to  thank  the  Sacred 
College  for  their  consent  to  a  universal  Council  for  the  peace  and 
unity  of  Christendom,  and  prayed  them  to  expedite  the  Bull  of  indic- 
tion  before  bis  departure  from  the  seat  of  the  Apostles.  A  committee 
of  Cardinals  prepared  the  document,  and,  at  last,  (June  12th,)  the 
summons  was  issued,  couched  in  language  that  neatly  veiled  their 

*  Yet  Vergerio,  some  years  afterwards,  advised  Maximilian  to  be  tolerant,  held  corre- 
spondence with  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  and  would  probably  have  joined  them,  had  he 
lived.  The  Romanists,  of  course,  say  that  he  was  fickle. 


USELESS    ATTEMPTS    TO    ASSEMBLE    A    COUNCIL.  319 

conflicting  politics,  and  declared  a  threefold  wish, — to  unite  the 
Church,  destroy  heresy,  and  wage  common  war  upon  the  Turk.  The 
Fathers  were  to  assemble  at  Mantua.  But  when  the  Protestants  heard 
this,  they  would  not  consent  to  appear  in  a  Council  convoked  by 
authority  of  the  Pope,  to  whom  they  were  not  subject,  instead  of  the 
Emperor,  to  whom  alone  they  had  appealed.  They  could  not  agree 
to  a  convocation  expressly  made  for  the  eradication  of  their  faith 
under  the  name  of  "  heresy,"  nor  submit  that  faith  to  the  sentence 
of  men  whose  judgment  was  bound  unchangeably  by  oath  to  the  will 
of  their  spiritual  Chief.  Nor  could  they  trust  themselves  to  meet  in 
Mantua,  where  the  Council  would  be  Italian,  not  German,  and  where 
they,  as  hated  heretics,  would  be  exposed  to  ecclesiastical  intrigue  and 
military  force.  Of  the  decisions  of  such  an  assemblage  there  could  be 
no  question,  nor  any  doubt  of  the  consequences  to  the  condemned 
states.  No  safe-conduct  would  suffice  to  save  them  from  imprison- 
ment, nor,  if  that  should  suit  the  Priests  better,  from  tumultuary 
violence  or  private  assassination.  By  no  persuasion  could  the 
Emperor  conquer  their  repugnance.  They  anxiously  deliberated  at 
Smalcald,  assisted  by  Luther,  Melancthon,  Pomeranus,  Bucer, 
Osiander,  and  others,  and,  encouraged  by  the  favourable  correspond- 
ence of  Albert,  Duke  of  Prussia,  and  by  the  cordial  and  unqualified 
adherence  of  Gustavus  I.,  King  of  Sweden,  resolved  to  prepare  for 
defence  in  case  of  war,  refused  to  recognise  the  Pope  as  principal  in 
negotiations  for  a  Council,  and  would  not  give  audience  to  a  Bishop 
whom  he  had  sent  to  take  part  in  the  conference.  The  Duke 
of  Mantua,  too,  who  had  consented  to  allow  a  Council  to  be  held  in 
that  city,  when  no  one  expected  that  the  project  would  be  realized, 
as  soon  as  he  saw  the  Bull  of  indiction,  refused  to  admit  any  such 
assemblage,  unless  a  strong  garrison  were  placed  under  his  absolute 
command,  for  protection  against  the  Council  itself,  and  unless  the 
expenses  of  that  necessary  defence  were  defrayed  by  the  Pope,  as 
convener  of  the  perilous  congregation.  Henry  VIII.  of  England, 
also,  launched  a  manifesto  against  the  projected  Council,  because  it 
was  convoked  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  whom  he  did  not  acknowledge. 
Even  the  Italian  states  took  alarm,  suspecting  that  Paul  had  formed 
some  design  prejudicial  to  their  liberties  ;  and  thus  the  idea  of  a 
Mantuan  Council  was  relinquished.  A  second  Bull  conferred  the 
doubtful  distinction  on  Vicenza  :  a  second  manifesto  from  Henry 
VIII.  contributed  to  nullify  the  Bull.  The  Papal  envoys  found  no 
one  to  do  them  honour  at  Vicenza  ;  and  Paul,  having  prorogued  a 
Council  that  would  not  come,  vented  his  anger  in  a  harmless  fulmina- 
tion  against  Henry  VIII.,  who  felt  it  not,  but  persevered  with  the 
more  lively  diligence  in  the  demolition  of  English  monasteries.  And 
the  confederated  Protestants,  increasing  in  number,  found  their 
promised  subsidies  large  enough  to  warrant  them  in  waging  defensive 
war  at  any  moment.  Charles  V.,  alarmed,  proposed  a  conference 
of  theologians  to  endeavour  reconciliation  :  the  Pope,  dreading  even 
the  shadow  of  a  national  Council,  ran  to  his  Consistory  for  the 
succour  of  their  wisdom  to  avert  that  evil ;  and  his  Legate,  following 
the  Emperor  and  his  brother,  whom  he  met  in  the  Netherlands, 


320  CHAPTER    V. 

ineffectually  endeavoured  to  engage  them  iu  the  establishment  of  a 
league  to  counteract  that  of  Smalcald,  (A.D.  1539,)  but  obtained, 
shortly  afterwards,  (A.D.  1540,)  a  cruel  edict  from  the  King  of  France 
against  the  Reformed  in  that  country. 

The  Diet  of  Ratisbon  assembled,  in  obedience  to  the  Emperor,  to 
make  one  more  effort  for  effecting  the  impossibility, — a  union  of 
Protestants  and  Papists  (April,  1541).  He  had  prayed  the  Pope  to 
send  a  Legate  with  full  powers  to  end  the  dispute  at  once,  and  give 
one  religion  to  Germany.  Cardinal  Gasparo  Contarini  came,  indeed, 
but  disappointed  his  imperial  host  by  declaring  that  his  powers  to 
consummate  religious  uniformity  in  Germany  were  not  full,  because 
Jesus  Christ  had  conferred  the  gift  of  infallibility  on  Peter  and  his 
successors  only,  by  virtue  of  the  words,  "  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that 
thy  faith  fail  not,"  and  that  the  Pope's  infallibility  could  not  be 
delegated.  However,  the  theologians  entered  on  their  colloquies,  and 
the  Princes  on  theirs  ;  but  nothing  was  done  beyond  the  repetition 
of  Roman  claims  and  Lutheran  remonstrances.  The  hope  of  sup- 
pressing controversy  by  Diets  was  nearly  given  up ;  and  Charles 
dismissed  the  assembly,  (July  28th,)  with  adjournment  of  the  matter 
to  a  General  Council,  a  German  Synod,  or  an  Imperial  Diet.  He 
promised  to  go  to  Italy  again  to  endeavour  to  obtain  a  Council  from 
the  Pope  ;  and,  meanwhile,  forbade  the  Protestants  to  receive  any 
more  articles  of  doctrine  than  those  on  which  they  had  been  able  to 
agree  with  their  antagonists  in  conferences  holden  during  that  Diet, 
and  commanded  the  Bishops  to  reform  their  churches.  He  graciously 
allowed  the  Protestants  to  doubt  concerning  the  articles  that  lay 
unsettled,  after  the  labour  just  ended  ;  but  no  more  monasteries  were 
to  be  suppressed,  nor  any  one  solicited  to  change  his  religion.  The 
goods  of  the  Church  were  to  remain  untouched,  except  by  the  Minis- 
ters of  religion,  without  distinction  of  party.  The  edict  of  Augsburg 
was  suspended.  This  done,  Charles  V.  went  to  Lucca  to  confer  with 
the  Pope  concerning  a  Council,  and  Cardinal  Contarini  made  haste  to 
purify  himself  from  a  suspicion  of  having  caught  a  taint  of  Luther- 
anism  during  his  intercourse  with  the  heretical  divines.  The  Cardinal 
repaired  his  reputation  for  Romish  orthodoxy,  and  the  Emperor 
obtained  a  Bull  for  the  celebration  of  a  Council  at  Trent,  (May  22d, 
1542,)  yet  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  himself;  for,  notwithstanding 
all  his  labours  to  obtain  a  Council,  he  was  not  associated  with  the 
Pope  in  the  instrument  issued  for  its  convocation,  but  merely 
exhorted,  in  common  with  other  Sovereigns,  to  be  present. 

Three  Cardinals,  Pietro  Paolo,  Parisio,  and  Giovanni  Morone, 
Italians,  and  Reginald  Pole,  with  a  few  Italian  Bishops,  arrived  at 
Trent,  (November  22d,  1542,)  and  were  met  by  the  imperial  envoys 
and  a  few  Bishops,  chiefly  Neapolitans,  sent  by  the  Emperor.  But 
no  more  came,  and  again  this  purpose  was  frustrated.  Diets  and 
conferences  are  related  as  having  been  holden  in  Nuremberg,  Smalcald, 
Frankfort,  and  Spire,  but  with  no  very  important  results.  A  peace 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  France  gave  an  aspect  of  tran- 
quillity to  Europe ;  and  the  Pope,  unwilling  to  be  again  urged  to 
assemble  a  Council,  resolved  to  do  so  promptly,  and  without  solicita- 


ASSASSINATION    OF    JUAN     DIAZ.  321 

tion,  in  hope  of  turning  it  to  his  own  advantage.  Another  Bull 
(November  19th,  1544)  invited  all  concerned  to  appear  in  Trent; 
another  followed,  conveying  powers  to  the  Legates  ;  and  yet  another, 
but  private,  furnishing  instructions,  with  authority  to  suspend,  remove, 
or  dissolve  the  Council,  if  necessary.  Again,  in  a  Diet  at  Worms, 
the  Protestants  reiterated  their  objection,  much  to  the  annoyance 
of  the  Emperor,  who  artfully  interposed  occasions  of  delay,  by  citing 
the  Archbishop  of  Cologne  to  answer  to  himself  for  religious  innova- 
tions, and  by  appointing  a  conference  at  Ratisbon,  to  treat  of  the 
differences  of  doctrine,  while  he  was  making  secret  preparations  for 
war.*  And  Paul,  aware  of  his  exasperation  against  those  whom  he 
could  not  manage  with  edicts,  colloquies,  or  Diets,  sent  Cardinal 
Farnese  with  secret  instructions  to  urge  him  to  a  crusade,  that  might 
be  conducted  during  the  sessions  of  the  Council,  which  was,  at  last, 
begun,  December  13th,  1545.  This  was  precisely  what  the  Emperor 
intended.  For  this,  although  he  had  made  peace  with  Francis  and  a 
truce  with  Solyman,  he  was  raising  fresh  troops,  and  now  gladly 
entered  into  the  preliminaries  of  a  treaty  with  the  Pope,  which  was 
afterwards  ratified  at  Rome.  The  conferences  at  Ratisbon,  into 
which  the  Protestants  entered  with  extreme  reluctance,  were  soon 
broken  up  ;  and  although  the  Reformation  made  greater  progress 
than  ever  in  Germany,  they  were  afflicted  by  the  death  of  Luther, 
who  entered  into  his  rest,  leaving  clearest  evidence  of  his  trust  in  the 
Redeemer,  (February  18th,  1546,)  but  two  months  after  the  opening 
of  the  Council.  The  death  of  Luther  was  followed  by  successive 
indications  of  a  fearful  struggle.  The  secret  of  an  intended  war 
transpired,  and  Germany  was  agitated  with  alarming  rumours. 

The  Elector  of  Mentz  and  but  few  of  the  other  Protestant  Princes 
went  to  Ratisbon ;  and  even  they,  after  noisy  controversy,  in  which  a 
Spaniard,  Malvenda,  took  the  lead  against  them,  delivered  a  protest, 
and  withdrew  (March  20th).  Among  the  theologians  deputed  thither 
was  Juan  Diaz,  a  native  of  Cuenca,  in  Spain,  a  learned  man,  whom 
the  Senate  of  Strasburg  had  sent  as  their  representative,  together 
with  Bucer.  Malvenda  was  mortified  at  seeing  a  Spaniard  sustain  the 
character  of  Protestant  theologian  ;  but,  being  unable  to  bring  him  back 
to  the  Church  he  had  forsaken,  by  a  countryman,  one  Marquina, 
communicated  intelligence  of  his  employment  at  Ratisbon  to  his 
brother,  Alfonso  Diaz,  Advocate  in  the  Rota  at  Rome.  Alfonso, 
roused  to  anger,  instantly  took  post-horses,  and,  accompanied  by  a 
man  under  the  character  of  servant,  hastened  to  Ratisbon,  but  found 
that  his  brother  had  retired  to  Neuburg  on  the  Danube,  in  Bavaria. 
To  this  retreat  Juan  had  been  persuaded  by  his  friends,  who  had 
reason  to  fear  that  the  Spaniards  in  Ratisbon  would  take  his  life. 
Alfonso,  with  the  attendant,  went  to  Neuburg,  and,  professing  a  purely 
religious  zeal,  endeavoured  to  recall  him  from  Protestantism  ;  but 
finding  that  to  be  impossible,  pretended  to  be  himself  converted  by 

*  This  repeated  assumption  of  authority  in  matters  of  religion  gave  great  umbrage, 
both  at  Trent  and  Rome,  "to  those,"  as  Courayer  (Hist.  Cone.  Trente,  torn,  i.,  p.  227) 
observes,  "  who,  neither  in  one  place  nor  the  other  were  in  the  secret  of  affairs,  and  knew 
nothing  of  his  design  to  make  war  upon  the  Protestants." 
VOL.    III.  2    T 


322  CHAPTER    V. 

the  force  of  argument.  Juan  rejoiced  in  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
triumph  of  truth,  without  suspicion  heard  his  brother  propose  that 
they  should  return  to  Italy  together,  and  there  labour  for  the  propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel ;  and  thus  they  returned  to  Ratisbon,  where  the 
friends  of  Juan,  and  especially  Ochiuo,  as  they  heard,  who  had 
recently  fled  from  Italy,  and  wrote  from  Augsburg,  unanimously  dis- 
suaded him  from  venturing  to  show  himself  in  that  country.  Alfonso 
concealed  his  disappointment,  bade  Juan  an  apparently  affectionate 
farewell,  after  having,  in  private,  warned  him  against  Malvenda,  and 
forced  him  to  receive  a  sum  of  money  in  acknowledgment  of  spiritual 
benefit,  and  set  out  as  if  on  return  to  Italy,  while  his  brother  went 
back  to  Neuburg.  But  he  soon  left  the  highway,  and,  taking  various 
roads  to  elude  observation,  made  his  way  at  night  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Neuburg.  Before  day-break  he  was  at  the  gate  of  his  bro- 
ther's lodgings.  The  ruffian  servant  knocked  for  admission,  said  that 
he  had  a  letter  to  deliver  to  Don  Juan  Diaz  from  his  brother 
Alfonso,  was  readily  admitted,  went  up  stairs,  while  Alfonso  himself 
kept  watch  at  the  foot,  and,  while  Juan  was  reading  the  letter, 
clove  his  skull  with  one  stroke  of  an  axe  that  he  had  concealed 
under  his  cloak.  As  Juan  fell,  the  assassin,  leaving  the  weapon 
in  his  head,  ran  down  stairs,  Alfonso  and  he  mounted  their  horses, 
and  rode  away ;  but,  although  relays  were  ready  to  take  them 
out  of  Germany,  they  were  overtaken  at  Innspruck,  and  thrown 
into  prison.  The  civil  authorities  promptly  took  measures  to 
punish  the  fratricide  and  his  accomplice,  who  were  brought  before 
•^he  criminal  court  at  Innspruck ;  but  the  Cardinals  of  Trent 
and  Augsburg  managed  to  get  the  trial  suspended  ;  at  length  the 
Emperor  prohibited  the  Judges  from  resuming  it ;  and  Alfonso  and 
his  man  returned  to  Rome,  boasting  of  the  horrible  achievement.  At 
Trent,  also,  he  appeared,  and  the  fathers  of  the  Council  listened  with 
complacency  to  his  relation  of  the  deed,  as  he  took  his  seat  in  their 
jovial  companies.* 

The  conference  at  Ratisbon  was  to  be  followed  by  a  Diet  of  the 
states,  summoned  by  the  Emperor,  who  came  first  (April  10th). 
Three  days  before  the  opening  of  the  Diet,  some  Protestants  were 
deputed  to  wait  on  him  with  a  complaint  that  justice  had  not  been 
executed  on  the  murderers  of  Diaz ;  but  he  put  them  off  by  saying 
that  he  would  advise  with  his  brother,  as  King  of  the  Romans,  to 
whom  they  next  applied  ;  and  Ferdinand,  again,  promised  to  advise  with 
Charles.  That  a  theologian,  delegated  to  the  Conference  in  compliance 
with  the  wish  of  the  Emperor,  should  have  been  murdered  with 
impunity,  and  justice  be  denied  by  the  Emperor  himself,  portended 
no  good. 

In  honour  of  St.  Boniface,  the  pioneer  of  Papal  domination  in  Ger- 
many, the  Diet  was  opened  with  great  solemnity  on  the  day  sacred  to 
his  worship,  (June  5th,)  a  Cardinal  saying  mass.  The  imperial 
speech,  prescribing  the  business  of  the  session,  called  on  the  states  to 

*  M'Crie,  in  his  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Spain,  gives  aii  account  of  this  mur- 
der, by  help  of  additional  authorities,  rather  more  minute  than  that  collected  by  Sleidao 
and  Seckendorff, 


EMPEROR    AND    POPE    ATTACK    THE    PROTESTANTS.  323 

advise  him  how  to  put  an  end  to  dissensions  on  account  of  religion, 
since  conferences  had  failed,  and  intimated  the  necessity  of  increasing 
the  army,  as  a  precaution  of  "  defence."  He  was  pretty  sure  of  the 
advice  to  be  had  from  the  Popish  states  for  the  suppression  of  the 
Reformed  religion,  and  had  employment  ready  for  additional  military 
force.  The  Papists,  however,  advised  that  the  Protestants  should  go 
to  Trent,  and  be  required  to  submit  to  the  Council.  These  asked  for 
peace  and  religious  liberty,  and  again  presented  their  confession  to  the 
Emperor,  who  smiled  ironically  when  they  expressed  their  confidence 
that  the  gates  of  hell  would  not  prevail  against  them.  No  Act  of  the 
states  had  sanctioned  war  ;  but  seeing  that  the  preparations  were  no 
longer  secret,  he  suddenly  despatched  Cardinal  Madruccio  to  Borne 
(June  9th),  to  demand  of  the  Pope  the  contingent  promised.  To  Italy 
and  Flanders  he  sent,  within  two  days  following,  officers  supplied  with 
money  to  raise  recruits  ;  and  applied  to  the  German  Protestant  Princes 
who  had  not  joined  the  league  at  Smalcald,  to  assist  him  in  putting 
down  the  rebellious  states,  as  he  thought  fit  to  call  them,  declaring 
that  he  was  not  waging  a  war  of  religion,  but  only  endeavouring  to 
save  the  empire  from  sedition.  The  confederate  Princes  presented 
themselves  before  him  in  a  body,  to  demand  the  reason  of  those  war- 
like preparations.  They  wished  to  know  why,  when  there  was  no 
foreign  war,  so  active  a  levy  of  troops  was  going  forward  throughout 
Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  and  even  in  Italy,  and  others  on  their 
march  from  Spain.  He  briefly  answered  by  assurance  of  his  love 
towards  all  Germany,  desire  for  peace  and  unity,  and  determination 
to  compel  to  obedience  all  who  opposed  his  wishes.  Next  day  he 
sent  a  long  circular  letter  to  the  free  cities  adhering  to  the  league 
of  Smalcald,  telling  them  that  he  was  not  going  to  make  war 
on  any  for  the  sake  of  religion,  but  to  break  up  that  league  by 
force,  as  far  as  persuasion  should  fail  to  detach  the  confederates 
from  it. 

But  that  the  war  in  preparation  was  intended,  not  to  put  down  a 
few  rebels,  but  to  make  an  end  of  evangelical  religion,  was  clearly 
avowed  in  a  treaty  between  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  already  pre- 
pared, and  then  waiting  to  be  ratified  at  Rome.  Madruccio  had  been 
sent  off  by  post  to  accelerate  the  business  ;  and  in  a  full  Consistory 
of  the  purple-robed  (June  22d),  a  Cardinal  read  the  compact : 
"  Seeing  that  for  many  years  Germany  had  been  troubled  with  heresy, 
to  the  great  damage  both  of  Church  and  State,  and  not  without  peril 
of  bloodshed  :  seeing  that  all  means  tried  for  the  restoration  of  tran- 
quillity were  fruitless,  a  Synod  had  been  at  last  assembled  at  Trent ; 
but  the  Lutherans  and  Smalcaldians  had  refused  to  submit  themselves 
thereunto.  Therefore,  in  order  that  the  work  of  that  Council  might 
be  conducted  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  benefit  of  Christendom,  and 
especially  of  Germany,  it  had  seemed  good  to  the  Pontiff  and  to  Caesar 
mutually  to  agree  to  the  following  engagements.  Ceesar,  the  Pope 
assisting,  should  make  war,  in  the  month  of  June,  upon  the  Protest- 
ants of  Smalcald,  and  other  heretics,  and  endeavour,  with  all  his 
might,  to  compel  them  to  render  absolute  obedience  to  the  true  and 
ancient  religion,  and  the  Apostolic  See  :  although  it  should  be  lawful 

2  T  2 


324  CHAPTER    V. 

for  him,  in  the  mean  time,  to  try  milder  means.*  It  should  not  be 
lawful  for  Caesar  to  enter  into  any  treaty  with  those  heretics,  without 
consent  of  the  Pope  or  his  Legate.  Within  a  month  from  date,  the 
Pope  engaged  to  pay  at  Venice  100,000  scudi,-f  in  addition  to  the 
same  sum  already  deposited  at  Augsburg,  to  be  expended  by  Papal 
agents  on  the  war ;  and  any  surplus  to  be  retained  by  them,  if  the 
war  should  cease.  The  Pope  engaged  to  send,  and  support  for  six 
months,  twelve  thousand  infantry  and  five  hundred  horse,  with  an 
Apostolic  Legate  as  Commander,  and  a  regular  appointment  of  offi- 
cers." By  the  original  compact,  Caesar  would  have  had  half  the 
revenues  of  the  Spanish  churches  for  one  year,  and  500,000  scudi 
from  the  sale  of  property  belonging  to  Spanish  monasteries  ;  but  the 
Consistory  would  not  sanction  this,  and  therefore  promised  an  equi- 
valent. "  If  during  six  months,  any  Christian  Prince  should  attack 
Caesar,  the  Pope  would  attack  that  Prince  with  arms  temporal  and 
spiritual.  Other  Catholic  Princes  might  join  this  league."  J  Thus 
were  the  resources  of  the  Papacy  brought  to  bear  on  the  Protestant 
states  of  Germany  with  the  full  weight  of  a  foreign  invasion  for  the 
suppression  of  the  Gospel. 

On  their  side,  the  Protestants  spared  no  effort  for  self-defence. 
Their  deputies,  unable  to  consult  each  other  at  Ratisbon,  quitted  the 
place.  An  army  was  raised  in  haste  ;  appeals  were  made  to  friendly 
states  all  over  Europe ;  and  although  it  was  impossible  to  assemble 
and  to  distribute  forces  equal  to  the  exigences  of  such  a  war,  much 
was  done.  The  details  of  letters,  embassies,  treaties,  levies,  and  mili- 
tary operations  must  not  occupy  these  pages  ;  but  it  was  necessary  to 
record,  however  briefly,  evidence  that  the  civil  war  which  now  afflicted 
Germany  was  waged  entirely  on  account  of  religion,  and  was  a  crusade 
against  Protestantism.  Amidst  the  tumult  of  military  preparation  the 
Protestants  did  not  neglect  the  higher  duty  of  prayer.  Saxony  took  the 
lead  in  this  appeal  to  the  King  of  nations.  The  seventh  Psalm,  with 
some  appropriate  prayers,  was  printed  and  profusely  circulated.  From 
all  pulpits  the  people  were  instructed  and  encouraged,  and  solemn 
assemblies  every  where  appointed  by  public  authority  for  imploring 
help  of  God.  Vast  congregations  united  in  deprecating  the  Divine 
displeasure,  the  licentiousness  of  war,  the  spread  of  heresies,  the 
failure  of  evangelical  ministrations.  They  besought  the  Most  High 
to  dispose  the  hearts  of  the  Emperor  and  Princes  to  peace,  and  to 
save  their  country  from  carnage  and  destruction.  And,  notwithstand- 
ing the  peril  to  which  every  Christian  was  exposed,  it  is  most  worthy 
of  observation  that,  even  then,  the  Reformation  advanced ;  and 
Leutkirch,  an  imperial  city,  dared  to  cast  off  the  yoke  of  Romanism, 
and  make  unanimous  profession  of  the  Reformed  religion. 

Yet  all  did  not  abide  the  trial.  John  Marquis  of  Brandenburg- 
Anspach,  Eric  Duke  of  Brunswick,  George  Duke  of  Mecklenburg, 

*  As  the  month  of  June  was  far  advanced  (26th)  when  this  treaty  was  signed,  it  was 
explained,  in  an  appended  note,  that  that  same  month  of  June  was  meant,  and  that  the 
pel-mission  to  try  milder  methods  was  accounted  for  by  the  copy  having  heen  received  at 
Rome  from  Caesar  a  long  time  before. 

t  A  scudo  is  ROW  valued  -at  4s.  4d. 

I  Pallavicini,  Hist.  Cone   Trident.,  lib    viii.,  cap.  1. 


THE    ELECTOR    OF    SAXONY    DEFEATED.  325 

Ulric  Duke  of  Wurtemberg,  and  the  city  of  Frankfort,  yielding  credit 
to  the  assurance  of  the  Emperor  that  he  had  not  made  war  on 
account  of  religion,  or  overawed  with  the  prospect  of  an  unequal  con- 
flict, consented  to  join  in  hostility  against  their  confederates.  Joachim 
Elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  Frederic  Elector  Palatine,  stood  neuter. 
The  aged  Archbishop  of  Cologne  resigned  his  electorate,  unable  to  join 
in  such  a  war,  on  either  side,  or  to  submit  to  the  pleasure  of  the 
imperial  persecutor.  The  league,  thus  weakened,  was  unable  to  array 
a  sufficient  force  in  legitimate  defence,  although  seventy  thousand 
foot  and  fifteen  thousand  horse  took  the  field  with  extraordinary 
promptitude ;  and,  under  an  able  General,  with  the  advantage 
of  making  the  first  attack,  might  have  conquered  Charles,  while  as  yet 
waiting  for  the  greater  part  of  his  newly-recruited  army.  But  instead 
of  marching  on  his  camp  at  Ingoldstadt,  the  officers  in  command 
of  the  Protestant  army  were  otherwise  instructed ;  the  Papal  columns 
made  their  way  into  Germany  without  any  effectual  resistance,  and 
the  slight  advantage  attained  by  the  occupation  of  two  or  three  towns 
was  lost  in  the  first  battle.  Maurice  Duke  of  Saxony  had  not  always 
been  on  terms  of  amity  with  the  Elector  John  Frederic,  a  good 
man  who,  like  his  late  brother,  stood  first  among  the  Protestant 
Princes  ;  but  he  was  a  member  of  the  league  of  Smalcald  ;  and  the 
Elector,  not  suspecting  a  secret  collusion  between  him  and  the  Empe- 
ror, intrusted  him  with  the  entire  government  of  Saxony  on  his 
departure  from  Wittemberg  to  join  the  confederates.  With  shameless 
perfidy,  he  received  and  obeyed  the  command  of  Charles,  who  had  put 
the  Elector  and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  under  the  ban  of  the  empire, 
to  seize  the  forfeited  estates  of  the  Prince  who  had  left  them  under  his 
protection.  Assisted  by  Ferdinand,  King  of  the  Romans,  he  marched 
on  Wittemberg  as  an  enemy  ;  the  Elector  hastened  back  to  repel  the 
aggression,  and  several  of  the  other  confederates,  disheartened  by  his 
absence,  returned  to  their  homes.  The  league  thus  suffered  a  second 
division  of  strength ;  several  of  its  members,  unable  to  resist  singly, 
were  compelled  to  submit  to  fines  and  the  humiliation  of  imploring 
pardon  ;  and  after  a  few  months  the  Emperor  marched  into  Saxony, 
and  defeated  the  Elector  at  Muhlberg  on  the  Elbe.  Ferdinand  and 
he  saw  that  venerable  man  brought  wounded  into  their  presence, 
together  with  Duke  Ernest  of  Brunswick,  treated  them  with  dastardly 
indignity,  and  retained  them  as  prisoners  of  war  (June  24th,  1547). 
But  never  did  John  Frederic  appear  greater  than  while,  during  a 
captivity  of  more  than  five  years,  and  under  a  sentence  of  death, 
which,  however,  was  not  executed,  he  displayed  the  meek  dignity 
of  a  Christian  and  the  unbending  courage  of  a  soldier.  The  secret 
of  this  magnanimity  lay  in  the  fact  that  he  had  ever  acted  on  right 
principle,  and  when  conquered  by  a  more  powerful  enemy  sought 
strength  from  Him  in  whose  cause  he  suffered. 

After  the  day  of  Muhlberg  it  seemed  as  if  the  Emperor  was  abso- 
lute, and  all  hope  of  religious  liberty  extinct.  But  their  enemies  had 
never  been  cordially  united  ;  a  schism  between  the  chiefs  of  Church 
and  empire  had  already  begun  ;  and  the  religious  principle  that  had 
been  overpowered  in  some  of  the  Princes  for  a  time,  was  gaining 


326  CHAPTER    V. 

strength  in  the  bosoms  of  the  people.  In  whose  name  the  Council 
should  be  called,  or  for  whose  glory  war  should  be  waged,  were  ques- 
tions never  fully  settled.  The  Legate's  cross  was  carried  at  the  head 
of  the  Papal  army  ;  and  in  all  transactions  relating  to  religion  the 
Legate  claimed  an  authoritative  voice.  A  zealous  confessor,  too,  ever 
solicited  the  ear  of  Charles  ;  while  a  larger-minded  secretary  gave 
him  better  and  more  weighty  counsels.  Yielding  to  those  counsels, 
and  to  the  exigence  of  war,  the  Emperor,  while  the  Protestants  were 
as  yet  able  to  meet  him  on  the  field,  had  offered  toleration  to  some 
cities  on  condition  of  laying  down  their  arms.  The  Legate  deemed 
this  a  usurpation  of  his  prerogative ;  the  Pope  heard  with  indignation 
that  the  very  object  for  which  he  had  furnished  men  and  money  was,  in 
those  instances,  relinquished  by  a  layman,  who  should  have  considered 
it  his  only  duty  to  serve  the  Church  by  making  utter  extirpation  of  her 
enemies  ;  and,  in  his  anger,  recalled  the  Legate  with  his  whole  con- 
tingent as  soon  as  the  six  months  were  ended,  but  before  the  cam- 
paign was  over.  Charles  and  Ferdinand  were  therefore  the  conquerors 
in  Saxony  ;  and  no  sooner  did  the  Pope  hear  of  their  success  than, 
fearing  lest  the  imperial  army,  instead  of  being  reduced,  would  be 
marched  into  Italy  in  prosecution  of  claims  on  some  of  the  lesser 
states  and  on  Milan,  sent  a  Roman  Cardinal  to  propose,  again,  a 
counter-alliance  with  the  King  of  France.  Some  independent  Spaniards, 
too,  had  pressed  hard  on  the  Italians  in  the  Council  of  Trent ;  the 
opportune  decease  of  a  Bishop  enabled  the  Legates  to  obtain  medical 
certificates  to  the  existence  of  an  epidemic,  and  served  to  justify  a 
politic  terror  in  the  Fathers,  who,  with  or  without  leave,  deserted 
Trent.  Germany  was  as  discontented  as  ever ;  and  the  dispersion 
of  that  assembly,  while  it  relieved  the  Pope  from  much  anxiety,  gave 
umbrage  to  the  Emperor,  who  had  hoped  to  arm  himself  with  conciliar 
authority  for  the  suppression  of  German  liberty. 

Bent  on  the  pacification  of  Germany,  and  considering  Protestant- 
ism, with  its  demand  for  emancipation  from  spiritual  bondage,  incom- 
patible with  the  attainment  of  his  object,  which  was  absolute  power, 
to  be  yet  too  deeply  rooted  in  the  public  mind  for  instant  eradication, 
the  Emperor  endeavoured  to  complete  by  authority  what  had  been 
begun  by  arms, — the  empire  of  power  over  conscience.  With  that 
intent  he  entered  Augsburg  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  French  and 
Italians,  and  surrounded  by  a  formidable  array  of  cavalry,  and  in  that 
attitude  opened  a  Diet  (September  1st),  and  attempted  an  expedient 
for  religious  concord.  After  several  months  spent  in  the  composition 
of  the  document,  with  disputation  at  Augsburg  and  correspondence 
with  Rome,  came  forth  the  Interim  of  Charles  V.,  "  containing  articles 
quite  consonant  with  the  religion  hitherto  received,  [Romanism,]  except 
that  it  did  not  absolutely  condemn  the  marriage  of  Priests,  nor  alto- 
gether reject  the  communion  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  in  both 
kinds  ;  but  proposed  that  both  ways  of  administration  should  be  tole- 
rated until  the  whole  matter  should  be  settled  by  a  sentence  of  the 
Council."  *  Roman  jealousy  rose  intensely  when  this  "  book  "  came 

*  Thnani  Historiarum,  lib.  v.,  gee.  5.     Thuanus  so  tells  as  much  of  this  Interim  as 
is  worth  knowing.    A  summary  may  be  found  in  Sleidan,  book  xx. ;  and  a  more  perspi- 


FAILURE    OF    THE    INTERIM.  327 

to  the  view  of  the  Consistory,  containing  not  only  the  Interim,  but  a 
scheme  of  ecclesiastical  reformation  by  way  of  appendix,  the  work 
of  a  secular  Prince,  who  had  dared  to  attempt  what  they  only  had 
authority  to  do.  However,  Paul  gave  himself  no  further  trouble  than 
to  note  some  of  the  most  obnoxious  passages,  and  sent  back  the 
instrument,  wondering  at  the  folly  of  "  so  great  a  Prince,"  who  could 
fancy  himself  capable  of  managing  two  hostile  parties  by  a  measure 
that  would  be  equally  disagreeable  to  both.  The  Romans  feared  that 
by  that  Interim  Charles  V.  would  become  over  Europe  what  Henry 
VIII.  was  over  England,  supreme  head  of  the  Church ;  but  the  wise 
Pontiff  saw  that  headship  was  not  to  be  so  easily  attained.  The  idle 
scheme  was  adopted  by  the  Diet  (September  1st,  1548), — over  whose 
deliberations  a  strong  garrison  kept  guard, — and  published,  but  could 
not  be  realized.  Caspar  Aquila,  Minister  of  Salfeld  in  Thuringia, 
was  already  wielding  his  pen  in  its  refutation.  Cenalis,  Bishop  of 
Avranches,  did  the  same  in  his  way.  The  General  of  the  Dominicans, 
at  Rome,  joined  in  the  labour  of  destruction,  and  the  Pope  himself 
withered  the  performance  by  an  authoritative  censure.  By  some  it 
was  reluctantly  admitted,  because  enforced  by  the  sword  ;  by  others, 
as  in  the  Netherlands,  utterly  rejected.  And  this  gave  occasion  to  a 
persecution  that  must  be  subject  of  distinct  relation. 

After  visiting  that  part  of  his  dominions,  and  issuing  an  edict  for 
the  establishment  of  an  Inquisition,  the  Teutonic  Csesar,  encircled,  as 
before,  with  martial  terror,  assembled  another  Diet  at  Augsburg 
(July  26th,  1550).  All  the  members  had  to  confess  to  an  utter  con- 
tempt, or  a  very  partial  observance,  of  the  Interim  in  their  territories. 
The  Protestants  had  believed,  taught,  preached,  and  worshipped  as 
before ;  and  their  Princes  could  only  confess  or  deplore  their  inability 
to  subvert  the  faith  accepted  by  the  understanding  of  their  subjects, 
and  seated  in  their  heart.  The  Popish  Governors  laid  infringements 
committed  within  their  states  to  the  charge  of  Clergy  exempt  from 
ordinary  jurisdiction.  The  grand  Dictator  saw  his  labour  lost,  and 
could  only  wink  at  a  transgression  too  general  to  be  punished.  Both 
parties  were  equally  culpable — if  there  was  any  fault — in  refusing  to 
surrender  conscience  to  the  civil  Magistrate,  and  found  the  superiority 
of  moral  constancy  to  the  force  of  battalions  and  artillery.  Still  he 
exerted  his  utmost  influence  to  obtain  a  re-opening  of  the  Council ; 
and  when  at  length  a  Bull,  finally  signed  and  sealed,  brought  intelli- 
gence that  the  new  Pope,  Julius  III.,  had  consented  to  his  desire,  he 
parried  the  objection  of  the  Protestants  to  submit  themselves  to  an 
assembly  where  they  were  not  to  be  allowed  a  part  in  the  delibera- 
tions, nor  the  right  to  vote,  but  which  the  Pope  explicitly  declared 
that  he  would  both  preside  over  and  direct,  by  assuring  them  that  he 
would  sit  down  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Trent,  just  as  he  had  sat 
elsewhere,  with  force  enough  to  compel  the  Fathers  to  allow  them  fair 
play.  The  truth  is,  that  Julius  was  indolent,  and  evaded  a  present 
difficulty,  trusting  to  his  "good  fortune"  for  some  favourable  issue; 

cnous  compendium  is  furnished  by  the  continuator  of  Fleury,  cxlv.,  22,  who  gives  the 
twenty-six  articles,  apparently  from  Dupin's  Ecclesiastical  writers,  where,  also,  they 
may  be  found. 


328  CHAPTER    V. 

and  Charles  was  weary  of  conflicting  with  a  religious  feeling  that  he 
began  to  find  invincible.  To  him  and  to  the  court  of  Rome  delay  and 
compliance  seemed  equally  dangerous  ;  and  without  any  explicit  com- 
pact, a  day  was  appointed  for  the  Council,  in  deference  to  Germany, 
to  return  to  Trent.  More  openly  than  ever  the  heads  of  the  Church 
and  of  the  empire  disputed  for  supremacy. 

In  the  cathedral  of  Trent,  on  the  1st  day  of  May  (A.D.  1551),  on 
seats  which  had  remained  untouched  during  a  four  years'  vacation,  a 
Legate,  two  Nuncios,  and  a  few  poor  Italian  Bishops,  stipendiaries 
of  the  Papal  exchequer,  having  assisted  at  a  mass  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
heard  an  oration  in  the  form  of  sermon,  and  the  Bull  that  warranted 
their  attendance.  The  Legate  then  delivered  a  speech,  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Council  read  the  following  interrogations  : — "  Does 
it  please  you,  for  the  honour  and  glory  of  the  holy  and  undivided 
Trinity,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  for  the  increase 
and  exaltation  of  the  Christian  religion  and  faith,  that  the  holy,  ecu- 
menical, and  general  Council  of  Trent  be  resumed,*  according  to  the 
form  and  tenor  of  the  letters  of  our  Holy  Father,  and  that  the  discus- 
sion of  matters  be  continued  ?"  *  The  Bishops  gave  their  placet, — 
"  Yes."  He  continued  :  "  And  does  it  please  you  that  the  next  session 
be  holden  and  celebrated  on  the  1st  day  of  September?" — "Yes." 
Thus  were  four  months  allowed  for  preliminaries,  and  chances  of 
prorogation. 

Would  the  Protestants  send  any  of  their  theologians  ?  The  Empe- 
ror offered  them  his  safe-conduct ;  but  they  reminded  him  that  Huss 
and  Jerome  were  murdered  at  Constance,  notwithstanding  the  safe- 
conduct  of  Sigismund,  and  apprehended  that  the  like  might  happen 
to  them.  This  apprehension  was  reasonable,  and  he  therefore  sent 
three  Ambassadors  with  instructions  to  represent  the  difficulty,  and 
solicit  a  safe-conduct  from  the  Council.  After  consulting  the  Pope, 
the  Council  reluctantly  consented  to  give  a  general  safe-conduct  to  the 
"Ecclesiastics  and  laymen  of  the  German  nation;"  but  with  reserva- 
tions that  went  far  to  nullify  its  value ;  also  vitiated,  to  their  judg- 
ment, by  a  formal  mention  of  the  authority  of  the  Pope  presiding  by 
his  Legates.  After  long  remonstrance,  both  by  the  Imperial  Ambas- 
sadors, and  other  Protestants,  especially  by  the  representatives 
of  Saxony  and  Wurtemberg,  a  more  ample  guarantee  was  given  for 
their  personal  security  ;  but  none  for  the  exercise  of  their  religion 
when  at  Trent,  nor  for  their  taking  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
Council.  While  these  negotiations  lingered,  an  occurrence  at  court 
indicated  what  the  preachers  of  the  Gospel  might  expect  from  the 
Emperor  himself.  One  morning  after  sermon  (August  26th),  the 
Doctors  and  preachers  of  the  church  of  Augsburg,  ten  in  number, 
were  summoned  to  appear  at  the  lodgings  of  Granville,  Bishop 
of  Arras,  Imperial  Secretary,  together  with  the  schoolmasters.  Each 
came  alone,  not  aware  that  the  others  were  to  be  there ;  and  each  was 
kept  apart,  and  called,  singly,  into  the  presence  of  the  great  man.  A 
lawyer  questioned  them  on  their  doctrine  of  the  sacraments;  and 

*  Resumed — continued.-    Thus  they  maintained  the  authority  of  every  preceding  act 
as  definitive,  contrary  to  the  demands  both  of  the  Protestants  and  the  Emperor. 


THE    PROTESTANTS    IN    ARMS.  329 

when  they  had  honestly  answered,  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  in  great  anger, 
lectured  them  on  the  prerogative  of  the  Emperor  to  prescribe  rules  in 
spiritual  affairs  as  well  as  in  temporal.  From  that,  also,  they  dis- 
sented, knowing  no  other  standard  of  belief  or  practice  than  the  word 
of  God.  The  Senators  of  the  city  were  then  called ;  the  Ministers  and 
schoolmasters  were  brought  in  a  body  before  them,  and  made  to  swear 
that  they  would  quit  the  city  before  sunset  on  the  third  day  follow- 
ing, not  disclosing  to  any  friend  or  relative  the  cause  of  their  departure. 
And  they  were  prohibited  to  preach  any  more  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  empire.  The  Town-Council  received  orders  not  to  allow  any 
preaching  in  the  Lutheran  churches,  until  the  Emperor's  pleasure 
should  be  known  :  and  thus  public  worship  ceased  ;  the  Pastors  were 
driven  from  their  flocks  and  families  ;  and  the  Protestants  in  general 
found  themselves  exposed  to  persecution  by  the  very  Sovereign  who  had 
promised  their  representatives  protection  at  the  Council.  Similar  acts 
at  Memmingen,  and  some  other  places,  confirmed  their  fears.  Yet  seve- 
ral of  the  Princes  shielded  them,  and  pleaded  on  their  behalf  with  the 
greater  urgency,  as  they  saw  personal  liberty  trampled  on  so  wantonly. 
But  the  importunity  of  the  Protestants  at  Trent,  while  it  extorted 
some  slight  show  of  justice,  caused  the  managers  of  the  Council  to 
devise  means  for  eluding  the  concession  made ;  and  before  one  advo- 
cate of  the  Reformed  doctrine  could  reach  the  place,  a  fiery  preacher 
(February  7th,  1552)  opened  an  attack  on  heresy,  so  called,  and 
declared  that  heretics,  as  tares  among  the  wheat,  were  only  to  be  tole- 
rated until  a  fit  time  came  to  root  them  out  without  causing  greater 
danger  to  the  Church.  Maurice  of  Saxony,  who  had  been  always  an 
anti-Papist,  although,  by  his  perfidy,  he  had  brought  defeat  on  the 
confederacy  of  Smalcald,  was  now  preparing  to  attack  his  patron  the 
Emperor,  and  watching  for  an  opportunity  amidst  the  alarm  which 
these  proceedings  caused  throughout  Germany.  The  Protestant  Elector 
of  Treves,  fearing  violence,  left  Trent.  Others  did  the  same.  A  few 
Protestant  theologians  came  thither,  but  no  sooner  presented  them- 
selves than  it  was  proposed  to  prorogue  the  Council.  Charles  was 
then  at  Innspruck,  watching  the  proceedings,  but  with  a  very  slender 
guard.  The  Electors  of  Mentz  and  Cologne  hastened  to  him  in  alarm  ; 
for  it  was  reported  that  the  Protestants  were  everywhere  in  arms. 
Within  the  city  there  had  been  for  several  days  nothing  but  confusion. 
The  Protestants  pressed  for  a  conference  with  their  Ministers  ;  but  the 
Legate,  unable  any  longer  to  guide  affairs  with  a  steady  hand,  unable 
by  art  to  evade  fair  demands,  shut  himself  up  in  his  lodgings,  sick  in 
reality  or  in  pretence.  So  passed  the  month  of  March,  1552. 

Maurice,  with  consummate  cunning,  contrived  to  blind  both  the 
Emperor  and  Ferdinand,  while  he  sat  before  the  walls  of  Augsburg 
(April  1st),  which  capitulated  after  two  days'  siege.  The  intelligence 
of  the  capture  of  that  city  (April  6th)  struck  terror  into  the  Fathers 
of  the  Council.  Bishops  and  their  trains  poured  out  at  the  gates, 
pale  with  dread.  They  stayed  not  to  ask  leave  of  absence,  but  fled 
as  if  Saxon  artillery  were  already  roaring  in  their  ears.  A  few 
stouter-hearted  ones  endeavoured  to  arrest  the  precipitancy  of  their 
timid  brethren  ;  but  quite  in  vain.  The  Legate  lay  trembling  in  bed. 

VOL.   in.  2   u 


330  CHAPTER    V. 

His  colleagues  hurriedly  said  mass,  dismissed  the  Council  in  form, 
after  it  was  in  reality  dispersed,  made  an  unpardonable  blunder  by 
ratifying  the  Acts  of  sessions, — a  sanction  reserved,  when  men  were 
masters  of  themselves,  to  the  Pope  alone, — and,  quick  as  hand  and 
foot  could  help  them,  decamped.  A  dozen  brave  Spaniards  tarried  to 
the  last,  half-angry,  half-amused,  and,  in  decorum  surpassing  far  their 
pontifical  superiors,  mounted  on  mules,  and  proudly  left  Trent  behind 
them.  Pope  Julius  was  pleased  that  the  guns  of  controversy  were 
spiked,  and  well  content  to  see  the  Emperor  diverted,  by  the  sum- 
mons of  a  German  war,  from  watching  his  reverend  brethren.  The 
Emperor  had  not  been  much  alarmed  at  first,  so  entirely  did  he 
believe  that  Maurice  was  his  man  ;  but  with  tidings  of  Augsburg 
came  the  disclosure  of  a  new  confederacy.  The  insurgent  had  made 
common  cause  with  all  the  discontented  states,  had  invited  Henry  II. 
of  France  to  aid  in  restoring  the  liberties  of  Germany,  and,  not  as  a 
Protestant,  but  as  a  German  patriot,  appealed  to  the  sympathy  of  all. 
Many  were  in  arms.  The  Emperor  had  neither  men  nor  money  at 
command.  He  lay  suffering  with  gout,  and  his  brother  Ferdinand 
went  to  negotiate  with  Maurice,  now  at  the  head  of  a  great  rebellion. 
A  day  was  fixed  for  the  beginning  of  a  truce,  in  order  to  an  inter- 
view, and  perhaps  a  treaty,  when  a  report  that  Maurice  had  stormed 
a  neighbouring  castle,  and  was  marching  with  full  speed  upon 
Innspruck,  wrought  on  him  not  less  fearfully  than  the  bruit  of  more 
distant  battle  had  done  on  the  scattered  Ecclesiastics.  John  Frederic, 
who  had  been  kept  prisoner  near  His  Majesty's  person,  and  thus 
dragged  from  one  end  of  the  empire  to  the  other,  was  left  at  liberty 
(May  22d),  while  Charles  V.  and  his  court  fled,  carrying  as  much  as  was 
on  their  backs,  or  little  more.  As  many  as  could,  took  horse  and  galloped 
into  the  mountains,  others  followed  on  foot,  Charles  in  a  litter,  and 
thus  they  wandered  during  the  night  ;  and  but  a  few  hours  after 
their  departure  the  abandoned  movables  were  in  possession  of  the 
enemy.  At  that  moment  the  yoke  of  civil  and  military  oppression 
was  broken,  and  the  German  Protestants  began  to  taste  of  liberty. 
As  for  Maurice,  we  cannot  admire  his  conduct,  which  was  profoundly 
dishonest  from  first  to  last ;  but  neither  can  we  fail  to  mark  the  hand 
of  God.  The  man  with  whom  the  Emperor  had  secretly  plotted  the 
betrayal  of  a  brother,  became,  at  last,  the  instrument  of  retribution 
on  himself.* 

The  treaty  of  Passau  (August  2d,  1552)  shows  the  result  of  this 
sudden  revolution,  which  was  certainly  provoked  by  the  ambition  and 
injustice  of  the  Emperor,  and  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  the  Protest- 
ants. It  was  agreed  that  before  the  expiration  of  ten  days  the 
confederates  should  lay  down  their  arms.  Within  the  same  period, 
the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  who,  like  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  had  been 
long  a  prisoner,  should  be  set  at  liberty,  and  conveyed  in  safety  to 
his  castle  of  Rheinfels.  A  Diet  should  be  assembled  within  six 
months  ;  and  therein  the  encroachments  made  on  the  liberties  and 

*  Robertson,  Hist,  of  Charles  V.,  book  x.,  (15.52,)  traces  this  extraordinary  event 
with  great  clearness,  ami  shows  that  the  cause  of  Maurice  was  not  without  its  merits, 
whilf  hid  ili^siinulation  was  consummate. 


CONCUSSIONS    TO    THE     PROTESTANTS.  331 

constitution  of  the  empire  were  to  be  considered.  As  regarded  reli- 
gion, it  was  remitted  to  that  Diet  to  determine  the  best  means  for 
obviating  further  differences,  whether  by  a  general  or  national  Coun- 
cil, a  conference  of  divines,  or  a  general  Diet  of  the  empire.  An 
equal  number  of  persons  deputed  from  each  side  should  be  appointed 
to  treat  of  the  best  method  of  conciliation.  Meanwhile,  neither  the 
Emperor  nor  any  other  Princ*"  could  force  the  conscience  or  the  will 
of  any  one  in  regard  to  religion,  whether  by  a  direct  act,  or  under 
pretext  of  instruction,  nor  show  contempt  or  inflict  injury  on  any  one 
on  account  of  his  religious  profession.  The  Princes  of  the  Confession 
of  Augsburg  would  not  trouble  either  churchmen  or  laymen  of  the  old 
religion,  but  leave  them  in  possession  of  the  property,  authority, 
jurisdiction,  and  liberty  of  worship.  Justice  was  to  be  rendered  with 
impartiality  in  the  Imperial  Chamber,  without  regard  to  diversity 
of  confessions  ;  and  the  assessors  in  that  Chamber  were  to  be  free  to 
swear  by  God  and  the  saints,  or  by  God  and  the  Gospels,  after  the 
manner  of  Augsburg  or  of  Rome.  In  case  of  being  unable  to  agree 
in  the  Diet,  the  dissenters  on  both  sides  were  still  to  be  bound  by 
this  condition  of  amity.  The  Interim,  which  never  had  been  opera- 
tive, except  as  a  pretext  for  persecution,  was  annulled.  A  succession 
of  political  difficulties  deferred  the  assemblage  of  the  Diet  far  beyond 
the  time  appointed ;  and,  during  the  interval,  Ferdinand,  as  Archduke 
of  Austria,  careful  to  withhold  the  forbearance  prescribed  in  the  treaty 
of  Passau  from  his  hereditary  dominions,  published  an  edict  for- 
bidding any  change  in  faith  or  worship.  A  new  Catechism  was  to  be 
the  standard  of  faith ;  uniformity  of  worship  being  assured  by  the 
usual  instruments  of  coercion.  Schoolmasters  were  placed  under  the 
superintendence  of  Magistrates.  His  Protestant  subjects  remon- 
strated, but  without  redress ;  and  that  a  secular  Prince  should,  by  his 
sole  authority,  make  his  Catechism  a  standard  of  faith,  appeared 
monstrous,  not  only  at  Rome,  but  everywhere  else. 

However,  this  same  Ferdinand,  in  his  brother's  name,  opened  the 
Diet  at  Augsburg  (February  5th,  1555),  not  with  the  dignity  of  a 
Sovereign,  but  the  petulance  of  a  bigot.  "  Deplorable,"  he  said, 
"  was  the  state  of  Germany,  on  account  of  an  infinite  variety  of  pro- 
fessions of  faith  which  daily  produced  new  sects  among  a  people  that 
had  received  the  same  baptism,  spoke  the  same  language,  and  were 
subjects  of  the  same  empire.  A  thousand  deeds  of  irreverence  towards 
God  had  been  perpetrated,  consciences  were  troubled,  men  knew  not 
what  doctrine  to  believe  ;  many  of  the  chief  nobility,  to  say  nothing 
of  inferior  persons,  were  destitute  of  faith,  and  gave  no  sign  of  con- 
science or  virtue  in  their  conduct.  The  links  of  society  were  broken, 
the  Germans  were  no  better  than  barbarians  and  Turks,  and  this  had 
brought  down  calamities  upon  them.  Religion,  therefore,  must  be 
restored."  He  then  recounted  the  means  which  had  been  employed 
and  failed,  and  inclined  to  propose  another  trial  of  colloquies  and 
disputations.  But  if  they  could  find  a  better  way,  they  had  his 
permission.  The  speech  was  printed,  circulated  through  Germany, 
and  commented  on  in  the  light  of  his  own  conduct  in  the  publication 
of  a  persecuting  edict,  and  banishment  of  more  than  two  hundred 

2  u   2 


332  CHAPTER  v. 

Ministers  out  of  Bcliemia.  In  the  Diet  the  debates  were  important, 
and  often  vehement.  The  Reformed  insisted  on  unrestricted  religious 
liberty.  Their  enemies  maintained  the  rigid  doctrine  embodied  in 
the  Inquisition.  Ferdinand  would  gladly  have  dissolved  the  Diet, 
could  such  a  measure  have  been  ventured  on  with  safety  to  his 
brother  and  himself.  At  length,  it  being  found  impossible  to  deny 
to  any  the  exercise  of  his  own  religion,  the  only  point  contested  was 
an  equal  freedom  and  just  facilities  for  its  propagation.  The  Papists 
contended  that  every  Priest  or  Bishop  of  "  the  ancient  religion  "  who 
should  leave  it,  ought  at  once  to  be  deprived  of  its  revenue.  The 
Reformed  saw  in  this  proposal,  reasonable  as  it  may  appear  to  us,  a 
device  hitherto  unthought  of  for  binding  the  Clergy  to  the  ancient 
superstition,  by  imposing  a  mulct  on  those  who  would  cast  it  off. 
However,  it  became  evident  that  the  Emperor  and  the  churchmen 
would  hazard  another  war  rather  than  leave  the  temporalities  to  the 
hands  of  Lutheran  Ministers, — whom  they  contemptuously  called  "  lay 
Prefects  of  the  new  societies," — and  the  Protestants  yielded.  With 
this  "  ecclesiastical  reservation,"  as  it  was  called,  liberty  was  granted, 
most  reluctantly  granted,  to  the  Lutherans ;  but  Zuinglians  and 
Calvinists  had  no  participation  in  the  privilege,  not  being  included 
under  the  Augustan  Confession  (September  25th,  1555). 

Charles  V.  had  nearly  spent  all  the  energies  of  his  life  in  contend- 
ing against  the  Papacy  on  one  hand,  as  a  hinderance  to  his  policy, 
and  against  religious  liberty  on  the  other,  as  a  check  upon  his  power. 
When  his  strength  was  nearly  exhausted,  when  it  was  impossible  for 
either  the  Popes  or  him  to  tamper  with  each  other  or  with  their 
antagonists  any  longer,  he  gave  up  the  hopeless  contest,  bestowed  the 
Netherlands  on  his  son  Philip,  to  be  united  with  Spain,  just  after 
the  Diet  of  the  empire  (October  25th,  1555)  ;  and,  in  less  than  a 
year  afterwards,  executed  a  deed  of  abdication  of  the  empire  to  his 
brother  Ferdinand,  (August  27th,  1556,)  and  retired  to  a  Spanish 
monastery,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Plasencia,  in  the  character  of  a 
private  gentleman,  having  resigned  the  crown  of  Spain  to  Philip. 
There  he  died  (September  21st,  1558).* 

Twenty-five  years  elapsed  from  the  presentation  of  the  Lutheran 
Confession  at  Augsburg  to  the  establishment  of  liberty  of  worship  in 
the  same  city  ;  and  during  that  interval  the  Reformed  enjoyed  peace, 
as  numbers  or  union  made  them  formidable,  or  suffered  persecution 
when  the  immediate  rulers  were  hostile  to  their  cause.  Voluminous, 
indeed,  would  be  a  full  martyrology  of  that  quarter  century.  It  is 
enough  to  mark  the  chief  instances,  as  illustrative  of  the  oneness 
of  the  grace  of  God  in  every  nation,  and  the  inexorable  enmity  of 
Antichrist,  "  always  and  everywhere  the  same."  In  the  Netherlands, 
•where  no  mutual  protection,  like  that  of  the  Smalcaldic  League  in 
Germany,  afforded  succour,  the  ravages  of  persecution  were  terrible. 
Fifty  thousand  persons  of  various  sorts  are  said  to  have  been  hanged, 
beheaded,  buried  or  burnt  alive.  To  the  penalties  prescribed  in  a 

*  The  principal  authorities  are  Seckendorfii  Historia  Lutheranismi ;  Sleidan's  Historj 
of  the  Reformation  ;  Fra  Paolo,  Histoire  du  Concile  de  Trente ;  Pallavicini  Historia 
Concilii  Tridentini ;  Thuani  Historiarum  Libri  ;  and  Robertson's  Charles  V. 


THE    NETHERLANDS.  333 

preceding  edict  at  Brussels  were  added  (December  7th,  1531)  public 
flogging,  branding,  the  extraction  of  an  eye,  or  the  amputation  of  a 
hand,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Judge,  to  be  inflicted  on  every  author 
or  printer  who  should  contribute  to  any  publication,  on  any  subject, 
without  having  previously  obtained  letters  of  licence.  Thus  ordained 
Charles  V.  where  he  was  absolute  master.  Nine  men  were  taken  out 
of  their  beds  at  night  in  Amsterdam,  carried  away  unseen  by  their 
fellow-citizens,  imprisoned  at  the  Hague  for  a  fortnight,  beheaded  by 
order  of  the  same  tyrant,  their  bodies  buried,  their  heads  packed  in  a 
herring-barrel,  sent  back  to  Amsterdam,  and  exposed  on  stakes.  At 
Haarlem  (A.D.  1532),  a  woman  was  drowned,  by  way  of  convincing 
the  public  of  the  folly  of  Anabaptism  :  her  husband  and  two  other 
men  were  taken  to  the  Hague,  chained  to  a  post,  and  slowly  roasted 
to  death  within  a  circle  of  fire.  The  Magistrates  at  Limburg  were 
said  to  be  remiss  in  executing  the  edicts,  therefore  the  Emperor  sent 
special  agents,  who  burnt  six  persons  of  the  same  family  at  once  ;  a 
father  and  mother,  with  their  two  daughters  and  sons-in-law,  were  led 
to  the  stake  together,  cheering  each  other  by  the  way  with  psalms 
and  invocations  of  the  Saviour.  For  having  been  re-baptized,  a  man 
called  Sikke  Sniider  was  beheaded  at  Leeuwarden  ;  three  were  burnt  at 
Arras  for  refusing  honour  to  the  holy  candle,*  and  four  for  Christ's 
sake  at  Bois  le  Due  (A.D.  1533).  Ignominious  penances  were  fre- 
quent ;  but  symptoms  of  impatience  began  to  appear  in  the  people  ; 
the  magistracy  of  Holland  requested  permission  to  put  heretics  to 
death  in  private,  and  Mary,  Queen-Governess,  graciously  permitted 
them  to  evade  popular  observation,  perhaps  vengeance,  when  to  their 
judgment  it  might  seem  expedient  so  to  do.  One  William  Wiggertson 
was  privately  beheaded  in  the  castle  of  Schagen  ;  and  again,  at  Bois 
le  Due,  Joost,  a  potter,  suffered  the  same  kind  of  execution  publicly. 
Isbrand  Schol,  a  Priest  of  Amsterdam,  died  by  fire  at  Brussels  (A.D. 
153-1).  Member  of  an  honourable  family,  and  a  scholar,  he  had  won 
the  admiration  of  the  learned,  such  as  then  were,  and,  by  an  unaf- 
fected simplicity  of  eloquence,  swayed  complete  mastery  over  crowded 
congregations.  The  Priests  enjoined  reserve  on  him,  but  he  could 
not  suppress  the  truth  of  God  ;  once  and  again  he  was  summoned  to 
receive  reproof  and  threatening,  and  then  conveyed  away  to  prisons 
at  Brabant  and  at  Vilvoord,  and  to  the  flames  at  Brussels.  The 
people  grew  desperate.  Wildest  and  most  gross  fanaticism  drew 
down  the  fury  of  the  Magistrate,  which  was  wreaked  on  them  in 
forms  loathsome  and  incredible  to  be  related.  Good  men  were,  no 
doubt,  involved  in  the  aggravated  persecution.  They  were  slaugh- 
tered by  crowds.  After  the  recital  of  these  horrors,  the  pages  of  our 
histories  bear  the  narrative  of  a  distinguished  victim,  William  Tyndale, 
an  Englishman.  He,  too,  was  a  man  of  gentle  birth.  Oxford  gave 
him  proficiency  in  learning  ;  and  there  he  acquired  so  exact  a  know- 
ledge of  Greek  as  enabled  him  to  undertake  the  first  English  trans- 
lation of  the  New  Testament  from  the  original.  Then  Cambridge 
provided  him  with  instruction  in  the  deep  things  of  God.  For  some 
time  he  occupied  a  cell  in  the  monastery  of  Greenwich,  yet  felt  not 

*  Probablv-  the  great  Lent  caudle,  made  to  burn  fur  forty  days. 


334  CHAPTER    V. 

much  at  home  in  such  a  place.  Subsequently  acting  as  tutor  in  the 
family  of  Sir  John  Welch,  a  Knight  of  Gloucestershire,  he  became 
known  as  a  Gospeller,  and  was  hated  and  threatened  by  the  Priests. 
With  an  honest  and  irrepressible  zeal  he  had  openly  defied  the  Pope 
and  all  his  laws,  and  pledged  himself  that,  if  God  gave  him  life,  he 
would  let  the  ploughboys  of  England  know  more  of  the  Bible  than 
ever  the  horde  of  illiterate  Priests  had  fathomed,  who  thenceforth 
hunted  him  with  suspicion.  His  last  refuge  in  this  country  was  the 
house  of  Alderman  Humphrey  Mummuth,  in  London.  He  had 
become  conspicuous  for  learning,  piety,  and  sacred  eloquence, 
expounding  Gospel  truth  as  far  as  he  yet  knew  it,  and  his  voice 
would  have  been  silenced  by  the  executioner  had  he  not  fled.  His 
devoted  host  gave  him  ten  pounds  sterling  to  pray  for  the  souls  of  his 
father,  mother,  and  all  "  Christian  sowles "  departed,  the  folly  of 
which  practice  they  had  not  yet  discovered  ;  and  with  that  stock  he 
embarked  for  Hamburgh,  and,  proceeding  thence  to  Saxony,  joined 
Luther,  with  whom  associated  he  finished  his  great  work,  the  version 
of  the  New  Testament.  Of  his  "  Obedience  of  a  Christian  Man,"  and 
the  circulation  of  that  book  in  England,  we  have  already  spoken,  as 
well  as  of  other  writings  that  were  either  his,  or  attributed  to  him, 
and  honoured  with  insertion  in  prohibitory  catalogues,  and  with 
virulent  abuse,  especially  from  Sir  Thomas  More.  It  must  have  been 
mortifying  to  such  a  man  as  Sir  Thomas  to  find  himself  contending 
with  an  antagonist  who  could  respond  freely,  and  confute  him  with- 
out fear ;  and  Henry  VIII.,  who,  perhaps,  not  less  than  his  Chancellor, 
thirsted  for  the  blood  of  this  exiled  subject,  employed  Steven  Vaughan, 
his  Envoy  in  the  Low  Countries,  to  induce  him  by  fair  promises  to  return 
to  England,  together  with  his  companion,  John  Frith.  Frith  yielded, 
returned,  was  imprisoned  in  the  Tower,  and  then  burnt  ;  but  Tyndale 
kept  out  of  the  snare,  although  suffering  extreme  poverty,  obliged  to 
live  in  concealment,  and  only  eluding  the  pursuit  of  persecutors  by 
wandering  from  place  to  place,  and  often  changing  his  abode,  as  one 
Englishman  or  another  received  and  sheltered  him.  Sir  Thomas 
More,  however,  obtained  from  Vaughan  and  others,  to  whom  he  was 
well  known,  so  correct  an  idea  of  his  person,  as  to  describe  it  to 
one  Phillips,  whom  he  sent  over  as  a  secret  agent,  in  order  to  effect 
his  death.  The  spy,  assuming  the  air  of  a  gentleman,  mingled  in 
the  society  of  the  English  merchants  at  Antwerp,  and,  at  length, 
meeting  Tyndale,  contrived  to  get  his  confidence,  arid  introduction  to 
the  house  of  Mr.  Pointz,  where  at  that  time  he  was  entertained. 
After  becoming  familiar  with  the  daily  habits  of  both  Tyndale  and  his 
host,  Phillips  went  to  Brussels,  obtained  a  warrant  for  his  apprehen- 
sion, and,  believing  that  no  one  would  be  found  at  Antwerp  willing 
to  execute  it  on  an  Englishman  surrounded  by  so  strong  a  circle 
of  admiring  friends,  he  brought  officers  back  with  him,  called  at  his 
temporary  home,  at  a  time  when  the  master  of  the  house  was  absent, 
induced  him,  under  some  pretence,  to  go  to  an  hotel,  and  there  gave 
him  over  to  the  officials  from  Brussels,  who  conveyed  their  victim  to 
prison  at  Vilvoord,  a  .village  between  Brussels  aiid  Malines,  on  the 
road  to  Antwerp. 


WILLIAM    TYNDALE,    MARTYR.  335 

If  the  intention  of  Sir  Thomas  More  and  his  emissary  was  to  put 
Tyndale  to  death  secretly,  they  were  disappointed.  The  British 
merchants  at  Antwerp  united  to  procure  his  deliverance  by  writing  to 
Secretary  Cromwell  and  others  in  England,  and  to  the  court  at 
Brussels,  whither  Pointz  went  as  their  representative.  From  Brussels 
this  indefatigable  friend  went  to  London,  to  represent  the  innocence 
of  Tyndale,  whom  Phillips  had  accused  of  some  political  offence,  and 
to  solicit  interference  on  his  behalf.  These  efforts  were  nearly  suc- 
cessful, when  Phillips,  together  with  the  Priests  at  Louvain,  managed 
to  get  Pointz  arrested  on  charge  of  heresy,  and  thrown  into  prison  ; 
whence,  however,  he  made  his  escape,  eluded  pursuit,  and  came  over 
to  England.  Tyndale  was  thus  deprived  of  that  most  active  inter- 
cessor ;  and,  as  the  theologians  of  Louvain  had  drawn  him  into  corre- 
spondence, his  own  writing  soon  became  sufficient  evidence  of  what 
Rome  calls  heresy,  and,  after  a  few  formalities,  he  was  taken  out 
of  the  castle  of  Vilvoord  to  be  burnt  on  a  rising  ground  close  by. 
As  they  chained  him  to  the  stake  he  prayed  devoutly,  and,  raising  his 
voice,  was  heard  to  cry,  "  Lord,  open  the  King  of  England's  eyes." 
The  hangman  strangled  him,  and  then  burnt  the  body  (September, 
1536).  The  time  of  imprisonment,  prolonged  in  consequence  of 
efforts  made  by  his  friends  for  his  release,  which  was  nearly  effected 
when  Pointz  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Priests,  was  actively  employed ; 
and  from  the  castle  of  Vilvoord  issued  the  manuscript  of  an  edition 
of  his  New  Testament,  in  which  a  provincial  orthography  made  the 
volume  more  intelligible  to  the  labouring  people  of  his  native  county, 
to  whom  he  thus  fulfilled  the  pledge  given  many  years  before,  that 
the  plough-boys  should  know  more  of  the  Scriptures  than  the  Priests. 
His  execution,  be  it  observed,  was  not  in  pursuance  of  any  sentence 
for  political  misconduct,  but  only  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  under 
the  edict  of  Augsburg.* 

Thirty-one  persons,  who  had  fled  from  England,  and  were  con- 
founded with  the  Anabaptists,  were  murdered  in  one  day ;  the  men 
were  beheaded,  and  the  women  drowned  in  the  stagnant  waters 
of  Delft  (A.D.  1539).  Disputations  among  those  who  had  left  the 
Church  of  Borne,  bitter  sectarianism,  and  worse  than  Anabaptist  folly, 
brought  disgrace  on  the  infant  Reformation,  and  gave  some  colour 
of  reason  to  a  proclamation  issued  from  the  Hague,  forbidding  all 
preaching  out  of  churches,  convents,  and  hospitals  :  but  it  was  also 
found  necessary  for  the  Magistrates  to  restrain  the  authorized  preach- 
ers from  railing  at  each  other,  and  reviling  their  betters ;  a  fact  which 
goes  to  show  that  Dutchmen  in  those  dark  days  were  generally 
quarrelsome.  Another  imperial  edict  confounded  all  sects  together 
under  one  irrevocable  condemnation,  subjecting  to  outlawry  all  who 
had  fled  on  account  of  religion,  and  withholding  pardon  from  those 
who  should  return  or  be  discovered,  even  if  they  solicited  it,  renoun- 
cing their  belief.  And  the  Emperor,  "  of  his  certain  knowledge, 
authority,  and  absolute  power,"  annulled  every  "  privilege,  law, 
statute,  custom,  or  usage  to  the  contrary"  (September  22d,  1539). 
Prohibited  books  were  to  be  searched  for,  and  their  possessors  put  to 

*  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  book  viii. 


336  CHAPTER   v. 

death.  Houses  were  ransacked,  multitudes  thrown  into  prisons,  and, 
of  these,  many  were  beheaded,  drowned,  buried  alive  or  burnt,  in  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  Menno  and  his  followers,  the  Mennonites,  now 
became  conspicuous,  and  many  of  them  gave  evidence  of  true  piety, 
notwithstanding  the  deterioration  of  error  in  their  doctrine,  and  suf- 
fered death  with  triumphant  patience. 

When  these  terrible  effects  of  the  last  edict  had  continued  for 
nearly  five  -years,  another  was  issued  to  revive  the  persecution 
(January  27th,  1544),  and  directed  against  such  as  harboured  fugi- 
tives, or  concealed  their  property.  Every  departure  from  absolute 
obedience  to  authority  was  pursued  with  vengeance  ;  and  when  the 
people  of  Wesel,  a  Hanse  town,  in  Brabant,  published  their  intention 
to  open  a  school,  because  they  had  not  asked  permission  either  of  the 
Emperor  or  the  Pope,  another  placard  (March  7th)  made  its  appear- 
ance, forbidding  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  country  to  have 
any  dealings  with  the  town,  or  send  their  children  thither  for  educa- 
tion. The  reason  of  this  expedient  for  starving  out  Wesel  was  that 
many  refugees  from  England,  as  well  as  Holland  and  Belgium,  had 
taken  up  their  abode  there,  in  hope  of  enjoying  the  exercise  of  their 
religion.  But  the  town,  although  nominally  free  for  commerce,  was 
not  free  for  Christianity.  At  Rotterdam,  a  congregation  of  Anabap- 
tists was  surprised.  Few  escaped  :  the  men  were  beheaded,  and  the 
women  drowned.  As  always  happens,  when  the  government  of  a 
country  undertakes  to  rule  by  force  instead  of  law,  the  press  was 
dreaded,  and  placed  under  severe  restrictions.  At  Ghent,  the 
Emperor's  birth-place,  a  proclamation  appeared,  of  singular  interest 
in  the  history  of  printing  (December  18th). — "Whoever  presumed  to 
print  anything  without  licence,"  even  though  it  contained  nothing 
of  heresy,  "  should  be  banished  for  ever,  and  forfeit  three  hundred 
Carolus  guilders."  Nor  might  any  one  print  any  kind  of  book  or 
pamphlet  in  Italian,  Spanish,  English,  or  other  language  not  generally 
understood,  under  the  same  penalties.  All  printers  having  obtained 
privileges,  were  required  to  place  the  contents  in  the  beginning  of  the 
book,  and  to  express  the  name  of  the  secretary  from  whom  they  had 
received  the  privileges,  or  be  subject  to  the  aforesaid  penalties.  None 
were  allowed  to  print,  sell,  or  have  in  their  possession  any  books 
without  the  name  of  the  author,  printer,  and  place  of  publication, 
under  penalties  as  aforesaid.  Every  bookseller  discovered  to  have 
sold,  or  to  have  in  his  shop,  any  books  without  a  privilege  therein 
printed,  must  every  time  forfeit  fifty  guilders.  No  one  might  have 
foreign  books  in  his  shop  more  than  three  days,  without  delivering  a 
catalogue  of  them  to  the  officer  of  the  place,  under  the  like  penalties. 
The  officer  of  that  place  where  any  books  were  sold  was  obliged,  twice 
a  year  at  least,  on  days  appointed,  to  visit  each  bookseller's  shop, 
take  inventories,  and  consult  learned  men  about  such  books  as  he  did  not 
understand,  punish  transgressors,  or  lose  his  place,  and  become  liable 
to  arbitrary  correction.  Whoever  refused  to  allow  an  officer  to  search 
his  house,  should  forfeit  one  hundred  guilders,  and  be  searched 
besides.  And  all  this  to  be  done  effectually,  notwithstanding  any 
privilege,  liberty,  or  exemption  to  the  contrary,  or  even  any  difference 


A    DUMB    DOCTOR.  337 

of  jurisdiction,  "  which  we,"  says  the  Emperor,  "  for  the  sake  of  the 
common  good,  and  for  avoiding  all  dangers  and  inconveniences,  espe- 
cially considering  how  much  the  faith  of  holy  Church  may  be  thereby 
affected,  will  not  suffer  to  be  maintained  or  pretended,  so  as  to 
prevent  the  execution  of  this  our  placard."  *  The  non  obstante 
clause  in  this  decree,  like  that  of  Papal  Bulls,  and  the  publication 
of  a  mock  decree  of  equal  date,  for  the  reformation  of  the  Priests, 
who  were  said  to  be  ignorant,  illiterate,  and  scandalous,  incidentally 
exemplifies  the  assimilation  of  civil  to  spiritual  despotism,  where  the 
latter  is  suffered  to  prevail. 

It  cannot  be  imagined  that  the  operation  of  such  edicts  could  be 
uniform,  nor  that  divine  truth  could  be  everywhere  suppressed. 
Truth  penetrated  beneath  the  surface  of  society,  where  the  searching 
eye  of  inquisition  could  not  detect  it ;  or  it  aroused  men  to  arduous 
conflict,  too  arduous  for  some,  while  others  were  sustained  even  to 
the  solemn  victory  of  martyrdom.  Of  both  classes  history  preserves 
examples.  Latomus,  a  Canon,  Doctor  and  Professor  of  Theology  in 
the  University  of  Louvain,  perceived  the  truth,  and  almost  attained 
strength  to  make  a  good  confession,  but  suddenly  changed,  and, 
having  quenched  the  Spirit  of  God,  did  all  in  his  power  to  suppress 
it.  He  not  only  wrote  against  Erasmus,  but  against  Luther,  (Ecolam- 
padius,  and  Tyndale.  This  gained  him  eminence,  and  he  was 
honoured  with  a  command  to  preach  before  the  Emperor  at  Brussels. 
For  the  fulfilment  of  that  service  he  ascended  the  pulpit,  saw  the 
demigod,  Charles  V.,  under  whose  rule  all  things  were  expected  to 
give  way,  and  every  distinction  of  jurisdiction,  of  right,  or  privilege, 
or  virtue  was  wont  to  be  confounded.  The  Doctor's  heart  failed. 
To  attain  honours  he  had  stifled  his  conscience,  and  perhaps,  when 
just  at  the  height  of  his  ambition,  that  conscience  stirred  again. 
He  was  confounded,  stared  on  the  congregation,  looked  abashed  and 
vacant,  and  strove  to  speak,  but  could  not  utter  one  intelligible 
sentence.  He  became  ridiculous,  a  general  burst  of  laughter  drowned 
his  incoherent  utterance,  and,  overwhelmed  with  shame,  he  hurried 
from  the  place,  threw  off  his  robes,  returned  to  Louvain,  and  there, 
tormented  with  consciousness  of  guilt,  deplored  and  openly  confessed 
that  he  had  fought  against  the  truth.  His  friends  could  not  persuade 
him  to  refrain  from  that  confession  ;  therefore  they  shut  him  up  in 
his  house,  where  he  languished  in  despair,  continually  crying  out  that 
he  was  damned,  rejected  of  God,  could  not  hope  for  pardon  or  salva- 
tion,'had  presumptuously  fought  against  God.  And  so  he  miserably 
died.  But  shortly  after  him,  Peter  Brully,  a  Minister  from  Strasburg, 
one  who  had  separated  from  Popery,  and  occasionally  served  the 
Reformed  congregations  of  the  Walloon  Netherlanders,  having  con- 
tinued steadfast,  manfully  endured  the  trial  of  imprisonment,  cheered 
his  fellow-prisoners,  encouraged  his  wife  with  letters,  faced  death  with- 
out dismay,  from  the  midst  of  a  slow  fire  calling  on  his  Redeemer  with 
unshaken  confidence,  and  peacefully  assumed  the  crown  (A.D.  1545). 

While  Brully  lay  in  prison  at  Tournay,  some  of  his  followers  were 
burnt.  Two  of  them  recanted,  overcome  by  horror  of  burning ;  but 
*  Brandt,  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  book  iii. 

VOL.    III.  2    X 


338  CHAPTER    V. 

for  the  surrender  of  their  faith,  as  the  last  edict  forbade  pardon,  they 
were  rewarded  only  by  a  commutation  of  punishment  from  burning 
to  decapitation.  Yet,  having  but  the  sorry  indulgence  of  sword  instead 
of  faggot  to  offer  them,  the  Priests  vexed  the  prisoners  with  incessant 
solicitations  to  recant,  and  assailed  with  brutish  clamour  those  who 
endeavoured  to  offer  reasons  in  justification  of  their  refusal.  "  If  you 
will  not  hear  me,"  said  one  of  those  confessors  to  a  company  of 
noisy  Clerks,  "  send  me  back  to  the  toads  and  serpents,  my  com- 
panions in  the  dungeon  ;  for  they  do  not  disturb  me  when  I  sing  or 
pray.  But  you,  although  you  are  rational  creatures,  made  after  God's 
image,  refuse  to  hearken,  when  I  mention  his  eternal  word."  The 
reader  will  observe  that,  as  yet,  women  were  put  to  death  differently 
from  men.  They  were  generally  drowned,  or  buried  alive ;  but  to 
give  the  burial  greater  publicity,  it  was  sometimes  performed  above 
ground.  A  coffin,  made  so  near  the  size  of  the  person  to  be  buried 
that  she  would  have  to  be  squeezed  into  it,  with  no  room  to  struggle, 
and  with  a  hole  in  the  bottom  towards  the  head,  and  holes  for  the 
insertion  of  bars,  was  laid  on  a  scaffold.  The  woman  was  then  forced 
into  it,  and  three  or  four  iron  bars  passed  through  the  sides  so  as 
effectually  to  keep  down  the  body.  A  cord  was  passed  over  her  neck 
through  the  bottom  of  the  coffin,  and  held  by  a  man  below,  who 
pulled  it  with  his  whole  weight  when  those  on  the  scaffold  began  to 
throw  earth  into  the  coffin.  Thus  was  she  buried  alive,  and  the  peo- 
ple impressed  with  fear  of  the  Clergy  as  they  witnessed  the  barbarous 
interment.  The  frequency  and  atrocity  of  the  executions  must  have 
provoked  those  whom  they  did  not  intimidate ;  and,  not  improbably, 
the  press  refused  to  render  so  absolute  submission  as  the  last  placard 
had  required,  for  another  made  known  Charles's  pleasure  that  no  man 
should  presume  to  print  until  he  had  obtained  from  himself  a  licence 
to  exercise  the  craft  of  printer, — a  licence  which  would  only  be  granted 
to  persons  who  could  produce  full  proof  of  their  "  quality,  condition, 
fitness,  and  good  name."  The  vocation  of  public  schoolmaster  was 
to  depend  on  the  permission  of  the  Priests.  The  penalty  of  death 
was  to  be  inflicted  on  refractory  printers,  and  that  of  banishment  on 
self-constituted  schoolmasters  (July  31st,  1546).  A  prohibitory  cata- 
logue followed,  containing  a  specification  of  no  fewer  than  thirty-nine 
distinct  impressions  of  Bibles  and  Testaments,  in  Latin,  Dutch,  and 
French.  But  Liesvelt,  printer  of  one  of  them,  was  beheaded,  because 
of  this  sentence  in  a  note  :  "  The  salvation  of  mankind  proceeds  from 
Christ  alone."  Pregnant  women  were  kept  in  irons  until  the  time 
of  delivery,  and,  after  a  brief  respite,  racked,  to  extort  discovery 
of  others.  One,  because  a  Latin  Testament  was  found  in  her  house 
at  Leeuwarden,  had  to  suffer  torture  with  thumb-screws  and  shank- 
screws  before  drowning ;  death  being  deemed  insufficient  to  expiate 
the  possession  of  that  hated  book.  While  undergoing  the  torture  she 
was  asked  whether  she  expected  to  be  saved  by  baptism,  and  admira- 
ble was  her  answer  :  "  No  ;  all  the  water  in  the  sea  cannot  save  me, 
nor  anything  else  but  that  salvation  which  is  in  Christ,  who  has  com- 
manded me  to  love  the  Lord  my  God  above  all  things,  and  my  nei°ih- 
bour  as  myself"  (A.D.  1548).  The  grace  of  God  thus  elevated  the 


CHARLES    V.    AT    BRUSSELS.  339 

courage  of  his  children  to  the  height  of  their  trial,  as  appeared,  among 
a  thousand  instances,  in  a  schoolmaster  at  Ghent.  He  had  fled  from 
Touruay,  come  down  the  Schelde  to  Ghent,  there  settled,  probably 
over  a  private  school  ;  and  when  any  of  his  religion  were  imprisoned, 
it  was  his  custom  to  write  letters  of  earnest  remonstrance  to  the  Magis- 
trates, imploring  them  not  to  defile  their  hands  with  innocent  blood, 
nor,  by  doing  so,  expose  themselves  to  the  fearful  wrath  of  God. 
They  endured  his  admonitions  for  a  time,  but  at  length  consigned  him 
to  the  flames.  On  the  road  between  Tournay  and  Mons,  Master 
Nicholas,  a  Reformed  Minister  from  France,  returning,  with  his  wife 
and  another  woman,  from  visiting  the  Christians  in  the  latter  town, 
was  arrested  and  taken  back.  His  wife,  to  save  her  life,  betrayed 
those  who  had  entertained  him.  A  company  of  Monks  beset  him  with 
questions  ;  but  them  he  baffled  with  arguments,  until  they  cried  out 
all  together,  "  The  devil  is  in  him  !  To  the  fire  !  To  the  fire  with  the 
Lutheran!"  To  the  fire  he  went,  after  brushing  the  dust  from  his 
clothes,  that  he  might  go  clean,  as  he  said,  "  to  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb;"  and  walked  through  the  town  exclaiming,  "0  Charles! 
Charles!  how  long  will  your  heart  be  thus  stony?"  A  timorous 
woman,  condemned  to  die,  thus  answered  one  who  exhorted  her  to 
save  her  soul  by  recantation  :  "  You  may  easily  see  that  I  have  a  great 
concern  for  my  soul,  since,  rather  than  do  anything  against  my 
conscience,  I  would  give  my  body  to  be  burnt.  In  this  I  count  myself 
happy,  that  I  do  not  suffer  for  a  wicked  life,  but  only  for  the  word 
of  Jesus  Christ,  for  which  all  the  martyrs  have  shed  their  blood,  as  I 
hope  to  shed  mine."  And  so  she  did.  As  it  was  not  the  custom  of 
Dutch  Priests  to  burn  women,  she  was  laid  in  a  coffin,  and  a  wretch, 
to  show  his  diligent  zeal  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  stamped  on  her 
till  she  burst  (A.D.  1549). 

Over  this  protracted  and  most  brutal  persecution  Charles  V.  thought 
it  his  glory  to  preside ;  and  the  more  so  as  the  Netherlands,  which  he 
was  labouring  to  make  a  circle  of  the  empire,  could  not,  although  his 
hereditary  dominion,  be  persuaded  nor  compelled  to  accept  his  Interim, 
that  foolish  expedient  for  conciliating  the  irreconcilable  opposites 
of  Romanism  and  Reform.  He  was  at  Brussels.  His  son  Philip, 
afterwards  consort  of  Mary  of  England,  had  attained  his  twenty-first 
year,  and  came  from  Spain  to  receive  homage  as  Prince  of  the  Low 
Countries,  and  presumptive  heir  to  all  his  father's  dominions.  The 
unlovely  Prince  witnessed  the  formal  and  showy  manifestations  of  that 
loyalty  which  the  towns  saw  it  their  interest  to  profess,  with  sullen 
coolness  ;  gave  no  hope  that  his  rule  would  be  gentler  than  that  of  his 
inexorable  father ;  and  awakened  a  general  emotion  of  dislike  that 
afterwards  found  expression  in  revolt,  and  rent  the  Netherlands  from 
Spain.  However,  he  received  a  ceremonial  homage  at  Dort  (September 
2(5th,  1549). 

Confiscation,  be  it  observed,  was  a  penalty  of  heresy ;  and  the 
prospect  of  receiving  spoils  made  many  a  zealot.  But  to  whom  did 
the  confiscated  estates  belong  ?  To  the  Lords,  whose  vassals  had  held 
them,  or  to  the  Emperor?  The  soul  of  Charles  was  not  great  enough 
for  a  purely  imperial  ambition  ;  and  while  reddening  his  sword  as 

2  x  2 


340  CHAPTER    V. 

"advocate  of  the  Church,"  the  gains  to  be  derived  from  the  ruin  and 
death  of  the  Reformed  were  an  element  in  his  calculations.  But  the 
Lords  disputed  for  possession ;  and  as  each  spoliation  diminished 
their  property,  it  added  to  their  discontent.  However,  fancying  him- 
self to  be  omnipotent,  he  put  forth  a  placard  (November  20th),  to 
the  following  effect : — When  the  heretic  had  died  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  the  Inquisition,*  or  spiritual  Judges,  and  continued  obstinate 
to  the  end,  his  estate,  if  holden  of  the  Emperor,  should  be  forfeited 
to  him  ;  but  if  of  a  subject,  having  right  of  confiscation,  then  it 
should  fall  to  him.  But  if  the  civil  Magistrate  had  tried  and  given 
sentence,  "then  the  forfeited  estate  was  to  be  divided  between  the 
Emperor  and  such  as  had  the  aforesaid  right."  Some  towns  pretended 
that  there  could  be  no  confiscation  or  forfeiture  of  estates  within  their 
jurisdiction ;  but  the  Emperor,  notwithstanding  all  privileges,  &c.,  to 
the  contrary,  ordained,  willed,  and  commanded  that,  for  the  future, 
confiscations  should  be  made  in  all  parts  of  his  dominions. 

The  practice  of  persecution  was  assimilated  to  that  of  Spain  in 
another  particular,  by  an  edict  which  expelled  all  new  Christians,  or 
converts  from  Judaism,  with  their  wives,  children,  and  goods,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  the  Netherlands  during  the  six  years  preceding, 
revoking  permission  of  residence  to  all  such  persons  for  the  future. f 
Some  endeavoured  to  establish  a  plea  for  exemption ;  but  another 
edict  silenced  them  (May  30th,  1550),  and  they  were  all  banished. 
And  the  edict  which  intimated  the  imminent  establishment  of  an 

*  Mark  the  cunning.  Charles  had  not  yet  succeeded  in  introducing  the  Inquisition. 
Limborch,  indeed,  says  that  he  introduced  it  into  the  Netherlands  twenty-seven  years 
before ;  but  Limborch  is  accustomed  to  consider  an  appointment  of  Inquisitors  as  equi- 
valent with  the  establishment  of  the  tribunal  itself.  It  was  certainly  a  first  step,  but  no 
more.  Limborch  (lib.  i.,  cap.  31)  and  Brandt  (book  ii.,  A.D.  1522)  agree  as  to  the  fact 
that  Francis  vander  Hulst  and  Nicholas  van  Egmont  were  appointed  to  act  as  Inquisi- 
tors ;  but,  although  they  threw  people  into  prison,  Erasmus,  whom  both  these  authors 
quote,  understood  that  in  doing  so  they  exceeded  their  powers,  and,  after  all,  could  act 
only  as  accusers,  not  Judges.  "  Primum  conjiciunt  homines  in  carcerem,  ac  post  quae- 
runt  quae  objiciant."  "  These  things,"  says  Erasmus,  "  Caesar  knows  not.  But  now 
his  object  is  to  introduce  the  Inquisition  itself,  which  he  names  for  the  first  time  in  an 
edict,  and  by  naming  it,  is  causing  great  alarm."  And  to  supply  the  Lords  of  feuds  with 
a  motive  for  submitting  to  this  Spanish  Inquisition,  which  was  what  he  wanted  to  bring 
in  with  Philip,  he  determined  that  the  forfeited  estates  should  only  come  entire  to  the 
Lords  when  the  Inquisition  had  tried  and  sentenced  the  person  afterwards  put  to  death ; 
but  that  if  the  civil  Magistrates  continued  to  try  for  heresy,  one  half  of  such  estates 
should  be  taken  from  the  Lords.  This  was  one  way  of  forcing  them  to  consent  to  the 
tribunal  in  self-defence. 

t  On  the  accession  of  Charles  V.  to  the  throne  of  Spain  in  1519,  some  of  the  sincere 
Jews  and  pretended  converts — new  Christians — made  a  last  effort  to  return  to  that 
kingdom.  They  sent  a  deputation  to  him  in  Flanders  to  represent  the  wrong  they  suf- 
fered by  being  coerced  into  the  profession  of  a  religion  they  did  not  believe  ;  represented, 
as  with  truth  they  might,  their  commercial  importance,  and  fidelity  to  the  Sovereign ; 
and  offered  him  800,000  crowns  in  gold,  for  the  privilege  of  religious  liberty  in  Spain. 
He  received  the  deputies,  and  heard  their  proposal  graciously.  The  Council  of  Flanders 
advised  him  to  grant  their  request ;  and  his  thoughts  seemed  to  be  lingering  around  the 
heap  of  proffered  gold.  But  Cardinal  Ximenes — "  the  liberal" — heard  what  was  going 
forward,  and  wrote  by  an  express  courier  to  remind  him  that  Ferdinand  had  refused  to 
sell  Christ  to  the  Jews  for  600,000  crowns,  even  when  in  his  greatest  need.  Charles 
yielded  to  the  Spanish  Inquisitor- General,  and  rejected  their  prayer.  (History  of  the  Jews 
of  Spain  and  Portugal,  by  E.  H.  Lindo,  chap.  29.)  Is  it  not  remarkable  that  Protestant 
Christians  have  never  yet  earnestly  demanded,  what  the  more  zealous  Jews  twice  endea- 
voured to  buy, — religious  liberty  iu  Spain  ?  Yet  such  is  the  humiliating  truth.  The  inqui- 
nitorial  decree  mentioned  in  the  text  was  issued  in  the  year  1532. 


INQUISITION    RESISTED    IN    THE    NETHERLANDS.  341 

Inquisition,  like  that  of  Spain,  was  soon  succeeded  by  another  (April 
29th,  1550),  requiring  the  civil  magistracy  to  give  all  favour,  coun- 
tenance, encouragement,  and  aid  to  the  Inquisitors  of  the  faith,  when 
called  upon  by  them  to  proceed  against  heretics.  These  edicts  caused 
extreme  alarm,  and  especially  at  Antwerp,  where  many  of  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants  heard  the  Reformed  doctrine,  in  private,  from  George 
Sylvanus  and  Gaspar  vander  Heiden.  Many  merchants  prepared  to 
quit  the  city,  commerce  and  correspondence  were  suspended,  rents 
fell,  trades  decayed,  operatives  were  plunged  into  distress.  The 
Magistrates  examined  several  of  the  principal  citizens  on  oath  as  to 
what  harm  had  already  resulted  to  Antwerp  from  fear  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, and  the  evil  which  they  feared  would  follow  ;  and  then  laid  the 
whole  affair  before  Queen  Mary,  Dowager  of  Hungary,  and  Governess 
of  the  Netherlands,  praying  her  to  intercede  with  the  Emperor  her 
brother,  that  the  chief  emporium  of  commerce  in  his  dominions  might 
not  be  ruined  by  the  Inquisition.  The  Council  of  Brabant  joined  in 
reclamation,  as  did  several  other  bodies  ;  and  the  Queen,  perplexed  as 
well  as  terrified, — for  she  was  herself  suspected  at  Rome  of  inclining 
to  Lutheranism, — journeyed  to  Augsburg,  where  her  brother  was  hold- 
ing a  Diet,  and  intreated  him  to  spare  his  subjects  from  the  irreparable 
ruin  which  the  Inquisition  would  occasion.  Yet  all  that  she  could 
obtain  was  another  edict  commanding  the  concurrence  of  the  Magis- 
trates, instead  of  their  obedience,  and  substituting  for  the  word  "Inqui- 
sitors," its  equivalent,  "  spiritual  Judges."  This  placard  was  published 
with  sound  of  bell  in  most  of  the  towns  ;  but  the  people  of  Antwerp 
would  not  receive  it,  until  assured  by  letters  from  the  Chancellor 
of  Brabant  that  they  should  not  have  an  Inquisition  forced  upon 
them,  but  that  the  inhabitants  and  merchants  should  be  secured  in 
their  ancient  privileges.  And  the  Magistrates,  at  the  same  time,  pub- 
lished a  protest  against  the  clauses  now  customarily  employed  by  the 
Emperor  in  derogation  of  "  ancient  privileges,  &c.,  to  the  contrary," 
with  declaration  that  "  they  insisted  upon  their  rights  and  privileges, 
laws,  customs,  and  usages,  from  which  they  would  not  admit  of  any 
derogation"  (November  5th,  1550).  Still  the  Inquisitors  contended 
that  they  had  authority  to  come  into  Antwerp,  execute  their  office, 
and  do  as  they  pleased,  even  if  the  Msigistrates  should  forbid  them. 
And  this  they  affirmed  to  the  Magistrates  assembled,  so  that  people 
were  now  convinced  that  the  Emperor  and  the  Church  had  united  to 
subject  them  to  perpetual  slavery. 

Notwithstanding  the  growing  discontent,  persecution  continued  ; 
and  the  "  spiritual  Judges "  and  preachers  laboured  more  diligently 
than  ever  to  urge  the  Magistrates  and  inflame  the  multitude  against  all 
heretics.  But  the  effect,  contrary  to  all  human  expectation,  was  the 
confirmation  of  the  dissidents,  not  merely  in  those  Anabaptist  and 
other  notions  which  must  be  regarded  as  extraneous  to  Christianity, 
but  in  Christianity  itself ;  and  among  the  Anabaptists  who  suffered, 
many  displayed  sincere  piety  and  wisdom,  often  to  the  confusion 
of  their  enemies.  We  can  only  cull  a  few  incidents  out  of  the  diffuse 
narratives  before  us. 

Walter  Capel,  a  gentleman  of  Dixmuiden  in  Flanders,  was  remark- 


342  CHAPTER    V. 

able  for  benevolence  towards  the  poor,  and,  in  common  with  all  good 
men  whose  wealth  attracted  the  cupidity  of  the  persecutors,  was 
marked  for  death.  As  he  stood  before  the  Judges,  a  crowd  of  towns- 
folk listened  to  the  trial,  and  among  them  a  young  idiot  pauper, 
whom  he  had  often  fed.  When  one  of  the  Judges  pronounced  the 
sentence  that  he  must  die,  the  idiot  abashed  them  all  by  shouting, 
"  Ye  are  murderers.  The  man  has  done  no  ill :  he  has  always  given 
me  bread."  When  Capel  was  being  chained  to  the  stake,  the  idiot 
again  stood  by  ;  and  when  the  faggots  were  piled  round  him,  came 
and  threw  himself  on  them,  that  he  might  die  with  his  benefactor, 
but  was  removed,  of  course,  and  Capel  alone  expired  in  the  flames. 
The  half-burnt  carcase  remained  hanging  at  the  stake  in  the  "  gallows- 
field:"  every  day  the  idiot  went  to  see  it,  and,  stroking  the  decaying 
flesh  with  his  hand,  would  say,  "  Ah,  poor  creature  !  you  did  no  harm, 
and  yet  they  have  spilt  your  blood.  You  gave  me  my  bellyful 
of  victuals."  Some  time  afterwards,  while  one  of  the  Burgomasters 
was  receiving  a  visit  from  several  of  his  fellow-Magistrates,  this 
idiot  abruptly  made  his  way  into  the  room,  laden  with  part  of  the 
skeleton,  which  he  had  pulled  from  the  stake  after  the  flesh  had  rotted 
off,  and  threw  it  on  the  floor,  and,  snarling  angrily,  turned  on  them 
his  vacant  stare,  and  said,  "  There,  you  murderers !  You  have  eaten 
his  flesh,  now  eat  his  bones."  "  Words,"  says  Brandt,  "  too  sensible 
to  be  spoken  by  a  fool,  and  too  bold  for  a  man  of  understanding  ;  but 
which  probably  he  had  heard  others  speak,  and  which  he  mimicked, 
without  knowing  or  fearing  the  danger."  Well  might  the  murderers 
be  tormented  with  compunction,  as  was  the  Drossart,  or  Lord 
of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  who  had  condemned  a  man  to  death  for  not  kneel- 
ing to  the  host,  as  it  was  carried  before  his  shop,  and  seen  him 
burnt.  The  horrid  spectacle  haunted  him,  until  he  sickened  with 
terror,  pined  away,  uttering  little  more  than  the  martyr's  name,  "  0 
Simon  !  0  Simon  !"  and  died  with  the  sad  ejaculation  on  his  lips, 
surrounded  by  a  circle  of  Monks  who  had  vainly  striven  to  chase  away 
the  spectre  and  assuage  the  torment  of  his  guilt  (A.D.  1553). 

A  schoolmaster  at  Oudenarde,  named  Galein  de  Mulere,  was  brought 
before  Peter  Titelman,  as  Dean  of  Flanders,  and  required  to  answer 
for  himself  on  charge  of  heresy.  The  poor  man,  trusting  that,  for 
the  sake  of  his  wife  and  children,  he  might  be  able  to  avert  the 
penalty  by  appealing  to  civil  authority,  demanded  to  be  heard  before 
the  Magistrates,  his  lawful  Judges.  But  the  Dean  insisted,  as  pleni- 
potentiary of  both  Pope  and  Emperor,  on  being  answered.  Still  the 
schoolmaster  endeavoured  to  evade,  trembling  under  the  weight  of  a 
dilemma,  either  to  deny  Christ,  or  to  leave  his  wife  a  widow,  and  his 
children  fatherless.  As  he  hesitated,  the  Dean  adjured  him  by  the 
living  God,  and  cited  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  Christ  commands 
his  disciples  to  confess  him ;  adding,  "I  therefore  now  require  an  account 
of  your  faith."  At  those  words  the  schoolmaster  lost  all  fear,  and, 
accepting  the. unwonted  challenge,  his  tongue  was  loosened,  and  after 
silently  offering  a  prayer  that  God  would  assist  him  according  to  His 
promise,  he  boldly  turned  towards  the  Inquisitor,  and  said,  "  Ask  me 
now  what  you  please,  and  I  will  answer  plainly  whatever  the  Spirit  of  God 


CONTROVERSY    AT    LOUVAIN.  343 

suggests  that  I  should  say,  and  will  conceal  nothing."  The  Dean  inter- 
rogated ;  and  the  schoolmaster  answered  with  so  powerful  a  disclosure 
and  refutation  of  Popery,  that  his  interrogator  was  confounded,  and 
offered  him  his  life — contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  imperial  edicts  and 
the  practice  then  prevailing — if  he  would  retract.  He  even  pleaded 
hard  with  the  good  man,  reminding  him  of  those  natural  ties  which  had 
caused  him  at  first  to  shrink  from  death ;  but  his  Lord  had  spoken 
to  him  from  the  lips  of  the  Inquisitor  himself,  he  preferred  death  to 
apostasy,  was  condemned,  delivered  to  the  secular  arm,  and  after 
being  strangled  was  burnt  (April,  1554).  While  these  scenes  were 
repeated  all  over  the  kingdom,  some  German  regiments  came  on  service 
in  the  war  with  France,  and,  to  the  amazement  of  the  people,  Lutheran 
Ministers  officiated  as  Chaplains,  both  in  camp  and  garrison.  They  even 
preached  the  Gospel  openly,  being  heard  in  Antwerp  and  elsewhere  by 
Flemings  and  Dutch,  as  well  as  by  Germans,  and  without  any  hinder- 
ance.  The  Lutheran  soldiers  also  ate  flesh  on  fast-days ;  and  when 
the  Netherlander  saw  that  those  subjects  of  the  empire  could  say  and 
do  with  perfect  freedom  that  for  which  their  fellow-citizens  were  daily 
put  to  death,  their  murmurings  became  louder  than  ever.  The  dis- 
content gathered  strength,  preachers  began  to  be  interrupted  in  the 
pulpit,  and  mass-Priests  at  the  altar  (A.D.  1555).  Nor  did  the  Uni- 
versity of  Louvain  enjoy  its  traditions  undisturbed.  Federico  Furio 
Ceriolano,  a  native  of  Valencia,  although  a  layman,  had  entered  the 
lists  with  Giovanni  di  Bologna,  Rector  of  the  University.  The  Spaniard 
defended  the  translation  of  the  holy  Scriptures  into  vernacular  lan- 
guages,— the  very  thing  forbidden,  and  even  punished  with  death,  by 
his  successive  patrons,  the  Emperor  and  the  King, — and  the  Italian 
strove  to  justify  the  Clergy  in  sealing  the  fountain  of  life.  Their  dis- 
putation awakened  great  interest  at  Louvain  ;  and  his  publication  of 
it  at  Basil  in  the  year  1556  carried  the  question  throughout  Europe, 
in  spite  of  the  Court  of  Rome,  which  had  solemnly  forbidden  the  read- 
ing of  such  versions,  and  also  prohibited  his  book.*  But  for  the 
protection  of  Charles  and  Philip,  who  dealt  out  their  benevolence  and 
their  vengeance  in  very  unequal  measures,  he  would  have  been  added 
to  the  martyrs ;  but  no  patronage  could  shield  him  from  the  intermin- 
able vexation  of  slander  and  abuse.  This  is  apparent  from  some  ele- 
gant verses  of  his  own,  addressed  to  Cardinal  Mendoza,  and  copied 
underneath,-)-  wherein  he  solicited  his  interference. 

*  Gerdes,  Hist.  Evang.  Renov.,  iii.  255  ;  M'Crie,  Reformation  in  Spain,  chap.  v. 

f  "  Magne  Mendozi,  referamne  torvos 
Hostium  vultus,  milii  qui  cruento 
Ense  tergus  dilacerant  maligne,  et 
Viscera  nudunt. 

"  Eloquar  :  Scribse,  Pbarisaei,  Judas, 
Caiaphas,  Pilatus  et  omuw  orbis 
Jiuheorum  perdere  me  laboraut 
Arte  dolosa. 

"  Hei  mihi,  eheu  quam  premor,  urgeonjue 
Innocens,  succurre,  Pater,  miliique 
Fer,  rogo  te,  suppetias,  opemquu 
Ocyus  aura." 


344  CHAPTER    V. 

The  abdication  of  Charles  V.  (October,  1555)  left  the  crown  of  this 
kingdom  to  Philip,  already  unpopular,  and  utterly  unable  to  conci- 
liate. One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  give  an  edict  against  heresy,  con- 
firmatory of  those  issued  by  his  father ;  but  while  it  was  accepted 
and  published  at  Louvain  and  Bois  le  Due,  the  Magistrates  of  Antwerp 
and  the  other  chief  towns  of  Brabant  refused  to  accept  it,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  grant  a  revocation.  Precipitancy  thus  followed  by  irreso- 
lution caused  an  inequality  of  administration  in  the  consenting  and 
non-consenting  provinces,  which  became  a  new  source  of  discontent, 
and  constant  occasion  for  discussing  the  reasons  offered  by  the  Antwerp 
magistracy  in  justification  of  their  firmness.  Nor  were  they  the  only 
example  of  reluctance  to  act  as  headsmen  for  the  Church.  Their 
brethren  of  Lille  were  publicly  accused  by  the  Dominican  preachers 
of  abetting  Reform,  and  allowing  religious  assemblies  to  be  held  with- 
out molestation.  Those  assemblies  multiplied,  the  Monks  clamoured 
for  the  execution  of  the  savage  edicts,  and  the  Magistrates  thought 
themselves  obliged  to  act.  The  person  selected  as  first  sufferer  was 
Robert  Oguier,  in  whose  house  the  Reformed  were  wont  to  assemble, 
and  who  was  therefore  supposed  to  possess  prohibited  books.  The 
Magistrates,  involuntary  persecutors,  chose  to  search  the  house  for 
books  rather  than  for  a  congregation  of  living  worshippers,  and 
found  some ;  but  as  the  possession  of  a  book  was  considered  equally 
criminal  with  profession  of  its  doctrines,  Oguier,  his  wife,  and  two 
sons,  were  all  arrested.  Baldwin,  the  elder  son,  a  young  man  of  heroic 
spirit,  came  home  just  as  the  officers  had  completed  the  search  and 
made  prisoners  of  his  parents  and  his  brother.  The  Christian  family 
made  no  effort  to  conceal  anything  ;  and  Oguier  himself  honestly 
answered  every  question, — said  that  he  went  not  to  mass  because  it  was 
not  the  one  oblation  made  for  the  sins  of  all  mankind,  but  a  human 
invention,  and  that  he  had  meetings  of  godly  people  in  his  house, 
because,  although  forbidden  by  edicts,  they  were  commanded  by 
Christ :  he  could  not  help  disobeying  his  Prince,  since  he  must  obey 
God.  They  were  conducted  thence  to  a  meeting  of  the  Magistrates, 
to  whose  interrogations  they  replied  without  the  slightest  hesitation  ; 
and  when  one  of  them  asked  Oguier  what  they  were  used  to  do  in 
their  meetings,  Baldwin  anticipated  his  father  by  offering  to  give  a 
full  account  of  that  matter.  Leave  being  given,  he  described,  first 
of  all,  their  mode  of  prayer ;  and  it  deserves  to  be  marked  as  a  model 
of  devotional  simplicity.  "  When  we  are  there  come  together  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  to  hear  his  holy  word,  we  all  fall  down  at  once 
upon  our  knees  to  the  ground,  and  confess  in  humility  of  heart  our 
sins  before  the  Divine  Majesty.  Then  we  all  join  in  the  same  prayer  : 
that  God's  word  may  be  purely  preached  to  us,  and  rightly  understood 
by  us.  We  also  pray  for  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  Emperor,  and  for 
all  his  Council,  that  the  Commonwealth  may  be  governed  with  peace, 
and  to  the  glory  of  God.  And  you,  my  Lords,  are  not  forgotten  by 
us,  as  our  immediate  governors :  we  likewise  pray  to  the  Lord  for 
you,  and  this  whole  city,  that  he  would  support  you  in  what  is  good 
and  just.  Do  you  therefore  still  believe  that  our  meeting  together 
for  these  purposes  can  be  so  criminal  as  has  been  represented  to  you  ? 


ANGEL    MERULA.  345 

As  a  proof,  I  am  ready,  if  you  please,  my  Lords,  to  recite  those  very 
prayers  before  you."  Some  of  the  Judges  made  a  sign  of  assent, 
and  Baldwin  knelt  down,  and  poured  forth  a  prayer  for  them  with 
such  fervour  and  evident  sincerity,  as  drew  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and 
then,  rising  from  his  knees,  while  the  power  of  God  rested  on  him, 
and  was  not  unfelt  by  the  assembly,  firmly  said,  "  These,  my  Lords, 
are  the  things  that  pass  in  our  conventicles."  But  the  Monks,  with 
whom  emotion  is  an  artifice,  and  truth  itself  a  recitation,  were 
unmoved.  They  demanded  satisfaction  of  the  law  ;  and,  after  the 
prisoners  had  made  confession  of  their  faith,  saw  Oguier  and  his  noble 
son  laid  on  the  rack  and  questioned  for  the  names  of  those  who  had 
joined  in  their  meetings.  They  would  only  name  brethren  who  were 
already  discovered,  or  had  fled  beyond  the  reach  of  the  authorities 
of  Lille,  and  after  the  torture  were  led  away  to  execution,  displaying 
the  same  sublime  indifference  to  pain  and  shame  and  death  as  makes 
all  Christian  martyrdoms  so  glorious.  Sweet  was  the  communion 
of  that  father  and  son  while  chained  to  the  same  stake.  "  Behold, 
my  father,"  said  Baldwin,  "  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  millions 
of  angels  surrounding  us,  rejoicing  for  the  confession  of  the  truth 
that  we  have  made  before  the  world.  Let  us  likewise  rejoice  for  the 
glory  of  God,  which  appears  before  our  eyes."  "  And  I,"  screamed  a 
profane  Monk,  "  I  see  hell  gaping,  and  devils  waiting  to  carry  you 
away."  "Courage,  Baldwin!"  cried  a  bystander,  "your  cause  is 
just :  I  am  one  of  yours."  The  unknown  brother  walked  away  through 
the  armed  train-band  and  the  Inquisitors'  officers,  whom  the  fear 
of  God  restrained  from  taking  him.  Baldwin  did  take  courage.  When 
the  arching  flames  hid  them  both  from  human  eyes,  his  voice  was 
heard,  encouraging  his  father.  The  mother  and  younger  son  were 
reserved  to  undergo  another  kind  of  trial, — solicitation  to  apostasy ; 
and  when  the  mother  had  yielded,  her  son  Martin  recalled  her  from 
the  snare  with  tears  and  prayers.  At  the  end  of  a  week  they  were 
both  burnt  (A.D.  1557). 

Among  the  sufferers  at  this  time  we  find  Charles  Regius,  (or 
Konynks,)  formerly  a  Carmelite  Friar  at  Ghent,  who  found  refuge  in 
England  under  Edward  VI.,  where  he  translated  Bale's  Commentary  011 
the  Apocalypse,  and  the  history  of  Francis  Spira,  into  Dutch.  During 
the  Marian  persecution  he  left  England,  and  diligently  employed 
himself  in  visiting  the  persecuted  flocks  in  Flanders.  He  patiently 
endured  the  fire  at  Bruges  (April  27th). 

The  name  of  Angel  Merula  adorns  the  history  of  the  universal 
church  no  less  than  the  martyrology  of  Holland.  Born  of  respectable 
parents  at  Briel  (A.D.  1482),  to  the  advantages  of  rank  and  affluence, 
he  received  the  best  education  that  could  be  obtained  in  that  period 
of  literary  revival ;  graduated  in  Paris  as  Master  of  Arts  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  received  ordination  four  years  later  at  Utrecht,  and 
said  his  first  mass  in  the  church  of  his  native  town.  In  consideration 
of  his  great  learning  and  purity  of  life,  although  his  patrimonial 
estate  was  more  than  sufficient  for  him,  the  Heer  Joost  van  Kruuingen, 
Lord  of  Henfleet,  gave  him  the  living  of  that  place,  where  he  applied 
himself  to  a  profound  study  of  holy  Scripture ;  and,  like  many  others, 

VOL.    III.  2  Y 


346  CHAPTER    V. 

discovered  the  disagreement  of  his  Church  with  the  only  rule  of  faith*. 
But  the  discovery  was  gradual.  After  many  years  employed  in  calm 
investigation,  his  preaching  became  evangelical  by  almost  impercepti- 
ble degrees  ;  and  it  was  not  until  he  had  reached  his  sixty-eighth 
year  that  he  ventured  to  alter  some  passages  of  the  Missal.*  For 
merits  of  saints  he  substituted  the  word  glory,  and  added  the  sen- 
tence, "  Solius  Unigeniti  tui,  qui  omnium  sanctorum  est  gloria,  inter- 
cessione  :"  "By  the  intercession  of  thy  only-begotten  Son,  who  is 
the  glory  of  all  saints."  By  the  assistance  of  his  patron  he  abolished 
several  idolatrous  customs  in  the  church  of  Ilenfleet,  and  had  imbued 
his  congregation  with  a  doctrine  altogether  opposite  to  that  of  Roman- 
ism. But  when  the  aged  Lord,  his  protector,  died,  the  young  one, 
a  timid  courtier,  durst  not  venture  to  oppose  the  Clergy,  who  lost  no 
time  in  attacking  the  evangelical  Priest,  whom  they  brought  before 
the  secular  authority.  A  deputy  Inquisitor  came  to  Ilenfleet,  seized 
his  books,  manuscripts,  and  correspondence,  and  demanded  the  notes 
of  his  sermons,  which,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  friends,  he 
delivered  without  any  hesitation.  Then  he  was  apprehended  as  a 
heretic  ;  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  articles  contrary  to  proces- 
sions, vows,  and  pilgrimages,  monkery,  and  penance,  worship  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  the  saints,  and  the  superstitious  use  of  masses,  dero- 
gatory to  the  Romish  priesthood,  especially  in  Italy,  and  commenda- 
tory of  the  study  of  the  Bible  instead  of  ecclesiastical  traditions,  were 
exhibited  against  him.  To  these  he  answered  in  writing,  acknowledg- 
ing them  as  far  as  they  really  represented  his  doctrine ;  but  pleading, 
that  as  a  Council  had  been  assembled  for  the  very  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing and  revising  the  Articles  of  Faith,  and  as  he  had  understood  that 
the  Bishop  of  Utrecht  and  Archbishop  of  Cologne  f  wished  him,  with 
some  others,  to  go  to  that  Council,  he  had  felt  it  his  duty  to  investi- 
gate the  truth,  had  come  to  those  conclusions,  and  written  those 
manuscripts.  The  Priests  themselves  ought  to  have  supported  a 
brother  in  the  exercise  of  so  reasonable  a  liberty  ;  but  what  had  they 
to  do  with  liberty  ?  He  was  accused  of  all  sorts  of  misdemeanours, 
carried  to  the  Hague,  and  thrown  into  a  common  gaol ;  and  there  the 
deputy  Inquisitor,  Sonnius,  haunted  him  again  with  dogmatical 
disputations,  but  could  not  succeed  in  drawing  him  from  the  only 
safe  ground  of  argument, — the  word  of  God.  During  a  protracted 
imprisonment,  his  friends  and  foes  exerted  themselves,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  procui-e  his  release,  and  on  the  other,  his  destruction ; 
of  which  the  only  result  was  that  the  Queen-Governess  wrote  to  the 
Court  of  Holland,  in  order  that  the  rigour  of  imprisonment  might  be 
abated.  After  much  reluctance,  they  caused  him  to  be  transferred 
from  the  dungeon  to  a  convent,  a  better  sort  of  prison.  But  this 
indulgence  soon  came  to  an  end  ;  the  decision  of  his  cause  being  re- 
ferred to  Tapper,  Inquisitor-General,  who  proceeded  to  finish  what  his 
deputy  had  begun.  Tapper  posted  to  the  Hague,  placed  his  prisoner 
in  closer  confinement,  and,  having  constituted  an  inquisitorial  court, 

*  Liturgical  uniformity  was  then  unknown,  and  variations  were  everywhere  allowed. 
This  must  be  understood,  or  the  innovation  of  Merula  might  seem  scarcely  justifiable, 
t  Who  held  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformation. 


ANGEL    MERTJLA.  347 

brought  Lira  before  it  to  answer  to  another  set  of  articles,  now  reduced 
to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  eight,  and  permitted  him  to  say 
of  each  no  more  than  I  believe,  or  I  believe  not,  a  process  which  only 
occupied  one  hour.  Afterwards,  during  a  whole  month,  either  orally 
or  in  writing,  he  defended  the  articles  acknowledged  with  an  invin- 
cible steadiness  and  eloquence,  to  which  his  adversaries  could  bring 
no  refutation.  They  did  everything  in  their  power  to  baffle  him  ;  and 
he  sometimes  appealed  for  protection  from  gross  injustice  to  the  civil 
Justiciaries  present  ;  but  they  merely  replied  that  they  were  only 
there  as  witnesses,  not  Judges. 

This  done,  they  again  threw  him  into  the  gaol,  and,  after  many 
noisy  arguments,  which  wrought  no  effect  in  him,  commissioned  one 
van  Nieuland,  titular  Bishop  of  Hebron,  an  old  man,  to  use  his 
utmost  efforts  to  bring  him  to  recantation.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
people  became  impatient,  and  crowds  flocked  into  the  Hague  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  intending  to  attempt  his  rescue  on  the  day  of 
expected  execution.  Here  was  a  grave  occasion  of  alarm.  To  oppose 
an  enraged  multitude  would  be  impossible.  The  Magistrates,  however 
servile,  would  scarcely  consent  to  employ  force  against  the  public  for 
the  sake  of  the  Inquisitors.  Tt  was,  therefore,  determined  that 
Bishop  Nieuland  should  take  full  licence  to  solve  the  perplexity  by 
any  means  that  his  ingenuity  could  compass.  No  time  waa  to  be 
lost.  The  Assembly  of  the  States  manifested  compassion  towards  the 
aged  Minister,  venerable  and  beloved  for  learning,  eloquence,  piety, 
and  charity.  They  remembered  that  he  had  bestowed  his  fortune  in 
works  of  benevolence.  A  hospital  at  Briel  had  been  erected  and 
maintained  by  himself  alone.  The  poor  of  his  neighbourhood 
lamented  that  they  were  bereft  of  their  father,  patron,  defender,  and 
only  trust  in  times  of  necessity.  The  lawyers  joined  in  a  cry 
of  detestation,  declaring  that  the  Inquisitors  were  acting  in  violation 
of  the  laws.  But  the  Inquisitors  had  set  their  hearts  on  that  wealth 
which  their  victim  had  used  as  an  instrument  of  so  much  good  ;  and 
the  Bishop  of  Hebron,  trembling  between  hope  and  fear,  undertook 
the  execution  of  a  stratagem. 

The  inquisitorial  court  assembled,  and  Merula,  now  seventy-five 
years  of  age,  nearly  deaf,  and  emaciated  with  disease  and  trouble,  was 
led  into  their  presence.  Hebron,  also  aged,  bared  his  head,  threw 
himself  at  his  feet,  and,  with  folded  hands  and  tears  gushing  from  his 
eyes,  besought  him  to  hear  his  supplication.  He  told  the  Pastor  how 
much  they  all  appreciated  his  learning,  so  far  superior  to  their  own, 
and  gave  him  credit  for  the  best  intentions  :  they  would  even  now 
rejoice  if  he  could  overcome  them  by  force  of  truth,  for  they  would 
yield  readily  to  conviction.  The  differences  between  them,  he  said, 
were  but  slight,  many  of  them  relating  to  ceremonies  and  discipline 
which  the  Church  might  alter  or  abrogate  as  her  governors  thought 
fit.  But  they  ought  all  to  avoid  tumults  and  factions.  The  people 
were  irritated,  and  they  were  at  that  moment  in  danger  from  the 
mob.  Why,  he  asked,  why  should  he  involve  them  ah1  in  the  guilt 
of  his  death  ?  Die  he  must,  if  he  persisted  in  opposing  the  Church  ; 
and  so  would  they,  most  probably,  die  by  the  fury  of  the  mob  if  they 

2  Y  2 


348  CHAPTER    V. 

put  him  to  death.  Why  should  they  both  die  ?  Why  could  not 
they  all  live  together  ?  And,  after  all,  when  much  blood  had  been 
shed,  and  the  people  had  time  to  cool,  they  would  say  that  he  had 
caused  tumult  and  loss  of  life  merely  to  satisfy  a  thirst  of  martyr- 
dom, and  the  whole  calamity  would  be  laid  to  his  charge,  as  an 
obstinate  and  reckless  man.  But,  if  he  would  save  himself  and  them, 
they  would  acknowledge  their  debt  to  him  as  long  as  they  lived ;  for 
their  life  then  hung  on  his  determination.  He  could  easily  save 
them.  Just  by  a  small  matter,  setting  aside  the  weightier  articles 
of  faith,  which  they  would,  on  both  sides,  leave  untouched  :  "  only 
acknowledge,"  said  the  old  Bishop,  "  that  you  have  imprudently  and 
unseasonably  endeavoured  to  abolish  a  few  indifferent  points,  customs, 
and  ceremonies,  and  say  you  are  sorry  for  it.  Do  this,  and  live,  and 
we  shall  live  with  you."  With  these  words  he  gave  one  hand  to  the 
prisoner,  and  laid  the  other  on  his  breast,  as  if  to  confirm  the 
proposal  by  an  oath. 

Merula,  moved  by  the  apparently  sincere  overture,  and  especially 
by  the  exclusion  of  every  article  of  faith  from  the  concession  he  was 
desired  to  make,  asked  the  President  of  the  Council,  Heer  van 
Assendelft,  who  was  present,  what  he  thought  he  should  do,  and 
received  the  proper  answer :  "  Ask  your  conscience  within,  but 
nobody  without."  After  a  few  moments  he  consented  to  make  the 
slight  acknowledgment  proposed ;  and,  considering  the  extreme  cau- 
tion with  which  he  had  ventured  to  make  even  the  slightest  change, 
we  can  easily  suppose  that,  at  such  a  moment,  with  the  alternative 
of  a  mere  concession  as  to  ceremonies,  or  the  horrors  of  civil  war 
placed  in  view,  he  would  think  it  his  duty  to  prefer  the  former. 
From  the  Court  of  Inquisition  he  was  taken  out  to  the  scaffold, 
around  which  the  people  were  waiting,  expecting  to  witness  the 
ceremony  of  his  degradation  ;  and  there  a  paper  was  read,  containing 
an  entire  recantation  of  his  doctrine,  and  declaration  that  he  abjured 
and  execrated  all  heresies,  as  well  of  Luther  as  of  others,  and  all 
errors  repugnant  to  the  faith  and  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
with  many  expressions  of  penitence  and  submission.  This  was  pro- 
nounced hurriedly,  in  front  of  the  scaffold,  and  amidst  the  murmuring 
of  the  multitude,  who  were  amazed  and  dissatisfied,  while  he  was 
kept  in  conversation  by  the  Inquisitors  ;  and  thus,  what  with  dis- 
tracted attention  and  dulness  of  hearing,  he  knew  not  a  sentence 
of  the  document  when  the  reader  had  finished,  and  a  pen  was  given 
him  to  affix  his  signature.  He  wished  to  read  it ;  but  they  told  him 
that  they  must  make  haste  and  quit  the  place,  because  of  the  clamour 
of  the  people,  and  because  there  was  yet  more  to  be  done.  He  signed 
the  recantation,  not  knowing  to  what  his  hand  was  set.  The  people 
saw,  as  they  conceived,  the  fall  of  a  Minister  on  whom  they  had 
placed  reliance  for  every  Christian  virtue.  From  that  moment  he 
found  himself  deserted,  and,  to  his  amazement,  condemned  to  per- 
petual imprisonment. 

In  the  dungeon  he  received  from  a  nephew  full  information  of 
the  deception  that  they  had  practised  ;  and,  although  his  conscience 
was  good,  the  thought  of  having  been  made  to  appear  as  a  denier 


ANGEL    MERULA.  340 

of  Christ  before  the  world,  threw  him  into  a  state  of  profound  dejec- 
tion, and  brought  on  a  fit  of  sickness,  which  induced  the  Lords 
of  the  Council  to  remove  him  to  the  convent  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen. 
There  he  wrote  a  confutation  of  the  inquisitorial  sentence ;  and  that 
new  offence  brought  on  him  again  the  wrath  of  Tapper,  who  managed 
to  have  him  taken  to  Louvain,  under  pretext  of  a  conference  with  the 
Doctors.  And  many  conferences  were  held  with  him  in  the  Uni- 
versity, alternated  with  cruel  treatment  and  threatenings  in  the 
prison  ;  but  no  sophistry,  no  torment  nor  threat,  impaired  his  con- 
stancy, until  the  Doctors  themselves  began  to  relax  their  bigotry,  and 
admire  the  magnanimity  that  no  suffering  could  subdue.  One  of  the 
Professors  openly  commended  him  ;  and  Tapper,  fearing  that  his 
doctrine,  too,  would  find  acceptance,  sent  for  the  Doctor,  and  bade 
him  say  as  much  evil  of  him  as  he  had  said  good,  under  peril  of  being 
also  treated  as  a  heretic.  Then  they  sent  him  from  prison  to  prison, 
and,  at  last,  threw  him  into  a  most  filthy  dungeon  in  the  castle  of 
Mons.  His  nephew,  not  knowing  the  place  of  his  confinement,  went 
to  Brussels,  and  ascertained  from  Tapper  himself  that  he  was  at 
Mons  under  sentence  of  death,  and  that  it  was  scarcely  probable  that 
he  would  be  able  to  reach  the  place  in  time  to  see  him  alive.  Nor 
would  he,  if  something  had  not  occurred  to  delay  the  execution. 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  (July  27th,  1557)  young  Merula 
rode  into  Mons,  and  perceived  preparation  for  the  burning  of  a 
heretic.  Proceeding  towards  the  castle,  he  saw  a  procession  issue 
from  the  gate,  and  move  towards  the  fatal  spot.  Scarcely  could  he 
recognise  his  venerable  uncle.  Covered  with  filth  and  vermin,  scarcely 
able  to  totter  onward,  and  too  loathsome  for  any  to  support  him, 
leaning  on  a  staff",  he  slowly  crept  towards  a  heap  of  faggots.  But 
the  young  man  caught  his  eye,  and,  for  a  moment,  the  flame  of  life 
seemed  to  kindle  up  again  as  he  threw  himself  into  his  arms,  and,  in 
the  hearing  of  his  pitiless  guards,  addressed  him  in  such  words  as 
these  : — "  My  son,  the  last  hour  which  I  have  so  long  wished  for  is 
now  come.  In  this  hour  that  great  God  gives  me  opportunity  to 
seal  with  my  blood  what  I  have  so  often  testified  to  his  enemies  in 
public  and  in  private  out  of  his  holy  word,  and  openly  to  declare  that 
none  of  the  things  produced  against  me  in  the  Court  of  Holland  are 
true.  I  have  been  forced  out  of  my  native  land,  dragged  from  place 
to  place,  and  at  last  brought  hither,  where  I  am  entirely  prepared  to 
be  offered  up  a  pure  sacrifice  to  Christ  my  Saviour.  My  soul  longs 
to  be  with  God.  My  adversaries  say  that  it  belongs  to  Satan,  and 
tell  the  people  that  my  doctrines  are  heretical,  although  they  are 
according  to  the  word  of  God,  and  have  not  been  refuted.  They 
have  cruelly  handled  me,  as  this  disfigured  body  shows.  Thieves  and 
murderers  are  treated  more  mercifully  than  I.  Go,  tell  our  friends  in 
our  dear  country  what  you  have  seen  and  heard.  You  have  assisted 
me  faithfully  as  long  as  they  would  suffer  it,  and  all  that  I  possess 
would  have  been  yours  ;  but  let  me  entreat  you  to  bear  the  loss 
of  your  property  with  the  same  fortitude  as  I  endure  the  loss  of  my 
life."  He  then  gave  the  young  man  some  instructions  and  advice  ; 
but  an  allusion  to  the  cruelty  of  the  Inquisitors  provoked  them  to 


350  CHAPTER    V. 

interrupt  the  conversation,  and  force  him  to  go  on.  Still  he  gave 
utterance  to  the  emotions  that  the  unexpected  interview  had  excited, 
and  ended  by  predicting  that  his  blood  would  not  quench  the  fire 
thus  kindled  by  the  persecutors  against  themselves ;  but  that  it  would 
soon  break  out  into  a  greater  flame,  which  neither  they  nor  their 
posterity  would  be  able  to  extinguish.  The  martyr  was  then  sepa- 
rated from  his  nephew ;  but  provoked  the  Monks,  as  he  went  forward 
between  a  Franciscan  and  a  hangman,  by  exhorting  the  people  in 
French — a  language  which  they  thought  they  did  not  understand — to 
meditate  on  the  merits  of  the  death  of  Christ,  and  not  trust  in  their 
own  works  ;  and  told  them  that  a  chief  cause  of  his  being  put  to  death 
was  that  he  had  maintained  that  worship  should  be  paid  to  God  alone. 

The  train  reached  the  outside  of  the  town,  and  came  to  a  place 
where  lay  a  great  heap  of  combustible  materials,  into  which  he  was  to 
be  thrown,  and  there  he  begged  permission  first  to  offer  prayer. 
Leave  being  given,  he  knelt  down,  and  prayed  earnestly ;  but  in  a 
few  moments  fell  on  the  ground.  They  thought  he  had  swooned 
from  terror  ;  but  found  that  He  who  holds  the  keys  of  life  and  death 
had  withdrawn  his  servant  from  their  grasp.  Exhausted  by  five 
years'  imprisonment,  with  incessant  aggravation  of  his  sufferings,  the 
toil  of  that  day  had  been  too  severe  for  endurance,  and  the  flash 
of  life  so  brightly  quickened  for  a  moment  was  suddenly  extinct. 
The  executioner,  astonished,  refused  to  throw  the  body  into  the  fire, 
thinking  that  by  death  the  law  was  satisfied.  But  their  vengeance 
was  not  sated,  and  the  remains  of  Angel  Merula  were  shortly  after-* 
wards  burnt  to  ashes. 

The  Netherlands,  we  must  observe,  were  but  united  with  Germany 
under  Charles  V.,  because  he  was  hereditary  Sovereign  of  those  States 
as  well  as  elected  Emperor  of  Germany;  therefore,  the  liberty  allowed 
to  the  German  Protestants  was  not  extended  to  the  Reformed  (as  we 
prefer  to  call  them)  and  the  Anabaptists  in  Belgium  and  Holland. 
But  they  were  to  have  it.  The  persecution  under  Philip  exasperated 
the  popular  disaffection  into  revolt,  and  the  governments  of  the  States 
were  eventually  separated  from  the  crown  of  Spain,  adding  a  memo- 
rable instance  of  the  impolicy  of  persecution  to  those  with  which  the 
history  of  Christendom  abounds.  Indications  of  this  event  now 
became  unquestionable.  Two  weavers  had  been  burnt  at  Haarlem, 
one  for  selling  prohibited  books,  and  the  other  for  buying  them,  and 
the  officers  were  proceeding  to  burn  their  books  also,  when  the  people 
rose  on  them.  They  fled  to  save  their  lives,  and  left  the  books  to  be 
dispersed  and  read  with  impunity.  Learned  Dutchmen  in  Germany, 
following  the  example  of  their  English  brethren,  published  good 
books  under  fictitious  names.  The  books  were  abundantly  circulated, 
and  prepared  the  people  in  secret  for  an  almost  simultaneous  rejection 
of  the  old  superstition.  Magistrates  began  to  differ  on  the  bench 
while  examining  persons  accused  of  heresy,  dismissing  cases  as  far  as 
they  could  venture  to  do  so  without  incurring  suspicion,  excusing  them- 
selves in  other  cases,  and  throwing  the  blame  on  the  edicts  which  com- 
pelled them  to  burn  tteir  townsmen.  The  accused  were  often  transferred 
from  one  court  to  another,  when  the  reluctant  Judges  could  make  out 


REACTION.  351 

any  ground  of  doubt  as  to  jurisdiction,  and  evade  the  odium  or  guilt 
of  a  judicial  murder. 

"  Master  John,"  an  evangelical  Priest  of  Enkhuisen,  denounced 
by  the  neighbouring  Priests  to  the  Bishop,  was  protected  by  the 
Magistrates,  who  deputed  a  Burgomaster  to  go  to  Utrecht  and  answer 
for  him,  and  made  so  significant  a  remonstrance  that  the  Bishop 
thought  it  most  prudent  to  dismiss  the  charge.  A  hangman  at  Dort 
refused  to  kill  an  Anabaptist,  saying  that  he  would  rather  lay  down 
his  office  than  drown  one  by  whom  his  wife  and  children  had  often 
been  fed  and  clothed  ;  and  the  condemned  man  was  taken  back  to 
prison,  and  drowned  privately  at  night  by  another  hand.  Benevolent 
Magistrates  sent  their  servants  to  warn  congregations  whom  the 
Inquisitors  had  required  them  to  take  by  force ;  and  even  Tapper, 
Inquisitor-General,  found  it  expedient  to  allow  a  Reformed  Pastor 
of  Alkmaar  to  go  free,  who  had  come  before  him  and  his  assessors 
surrounded  by  a  company  of  Burgomasters.  One  of  the  Magistrates 
of  Antwerp,  after  fighting  hard  against  his  conscience,  by  affecting 
great  zeal  in  the  condemnation  of  some  Christian  people,  was  smitten 
with  remorse  while  yet  in  court,  carried  home  sick,  and  died,  crying 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  shedding  innocent  blood.  Yet  the  sur- 
viving colleagues,  feeling  no  such  compunction,  redoubled  their 
diligence  for  the  suppression  of  the  Gospel,  offered  eight  hundred 
guilders  for  the  head  of  each  Minister,  and  fifty  for  that  of  each 
Deacon  or  other  official  member  of  a  "  conventicle,"  who  should  be 
brought  to  them.  Executions  were  consequently  numerous  ;  but,  at 
last,  public  sympathy  rose  so  high,  that  when  the  martyrs  sang 
psalms,  hundreds  of  the  spectators  joined  with  their  voices  :  the 
companies  of  psalm-singers  became  so  formidable  that  the  officers 
were  afraid  to  proceed  to  public  executions,  and  at  last  strong  com- 
panies of  citizens  avowed  themselves,  and  threatened  to  rescue  the 
victims.  For  example : — Adrian,  a  painter,  given  up  to  the  Inquisi- 
tors by  his  own  father,  and  Bokhalt,  a  tailor,  members  of  a  secret 
congregation,  when  led  to  the  stake  at  Antwerp  (January  19th, 
1559),  exclaimed  that  they  were  not  going  to  suffer  for  any  crime, 
but  only  for  the  confession  of  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  The 
officers  endeavoured  to  put  them  to  silence  ;  but  the  mob  shouted, 
the  hangman  fled,  the  Schout,  or  Sheriff,  hid  himself  in  a  church,  the 
shops  were  shut,  the  Governor  of  Antwerp  was  alarmed,  and  knew 
not  what  to  do  ;  but  the  good  men  had  been  hurried  back  to  prison 
in  the  tumult,  and  were  afterwards  put  to  death. 

Dutch  wits  had  been  accustomed  to  entertain  the  people  in  both 
towns  and  villages  by  recitation  of  poems  or  verses,  and  by  the  exhi- 
bition of  plays  in  which  they  exposed  prevailing  vices,  sometimes 
merrily  and  sometimes  with  gravity,  exercising  a  sort  of  popular 
censorship  ;  leading  public  opinion,  as  we  say,  and  yet  with  so  much 
good  taste  and  moderation  that  the  Magistrates  encouraged  those 
diversions  as  an  ancient  and  salutary  practice.  But  now  the  vices 
of  the  Priests  and  the  absurdities  of  Popery  fell  under  this  dramatic 
discipline.  The  vulgar  laughed  aloud,  those  of  higher  degree  laughed 
in  their  sleeve ;  but  King  Philip  issued  a  proclamation,  forbidding  all 


352  CHAPTER    V. 

shows  or  interludes,  all  acting,  singing,  or  rehearsing,  either  in  public 
or  in  private,  wherein  mention  was  made  of  any  religious  or  ecclesias- 
tical matters.  Plays  acted  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  saints* 
were  to  be  previously  licensed  by  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties. Transgressors  of  this  edict  were  to  be  punished  arbitrarily, 
exemplarily,  and  severely. 

The  idea  of  a  crusade  now  possessed  the  mind  of  Philip,  who  con- 
cluded a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  King  of  France  (April  .3d),  with  a 
secret  article,  or,  at  least,  a  verbal  understanding,-]-  that  both  Kings 
would  unite  for  the  suppression  of  heresy  in  France,  the  Netherlands, 
and  throughout  all  Christendom  ;  not  by  the  Inquisition  and  secular 
tribunals,  whose  acts  irritated  rather  than  subdued,  but  by  force 
of  arms,  after  the  precedents  of  the  Albigensian  and  Waldensian 
crusades.  Indeed,  Philip  began  to  think  the  services  of  Tapper — the 
Bonner  of  the  Netherlands — to  be  almost  superfluous,  and  roughly 
refused  him  another  edict,  although  he  had  come  to  Brussels  to  ask 
for  it.  The  refusal  thus  made  extremely  mortified  the  Inquisitor, 
who  now  found  his  work  too  hard  for  him  :  he  went  from  the  King's 
presence  to  the  house  of  a  friend,  was  there  seized  with  apoplexy,  and 
died  (March  llth,  1559).  Committing  the  government  of  the  States 
to  his  illegitimate  sister,  Margaret,  Duchess  of  Parma,  Philip  went 
into  Spain,  there  to  put  down  the  Reformation,  which  was  rapidly 
spreading,  and  instructed  her  to  spare  no  effort  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  same  object.  But  when  she  met  the  States  General  at  Ghent, 
to  be  recognised  as  Regent,  and  exhorted  them  to  defend  the  Church 
of  Rome  and  extirpate  the  new  doctrine  as  "  a  monster  of  impiety 
and  sedition,"  they  answered  her  by  expressing  dislike  and  dread 
of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  and  an  opinion  that  heretics  might  be 
overcome  by  persuasion  more  easily  than  by  force.  The  Prince  of 
Orange,  too,  afterwards  eminent  for  promoting  the  Reformation,  when 
attending  Philip  on  board  the  fleet,  on  his  embarkation  for  Spain, 
received  orders  to  put  to  death  some  honourable  persons  who  were 
suspected  of  participation  in  that  cause,  but  gave  them  private  notice 
that  they  might  escape.  A  Bull  of  Pius  IV.  (January  8th,  1560) 
confirmed  the  creation  of  three  archbishoprics  and  fifteen  bishoprics, 
and  empowered  each  Bishop  to  bestow  prebends  on  nine  Canons 
of  his  church,  each  of  whom  should  assist  him  in  the  business  of 
inquisition,  providing,  also,  that  of  the  nine  Canons  thus  to  be  pro- 
moted two  should  always  be  Inquisitors.  On  the  new  Archbishop 
of  Mechlin  the  Pope  bestowed  a  Cardinal's  hat,  to  give  greater  dignity 
to  the  new  establishment.  And  to  confer  on  these  Bishops  a  title  to 
seats  in  the  Assembly  of  the  States,  the  lands  of  several  convents  were 
attached  to  the  sees  for  their  support.  These  and  other  similar 
arrangements  made  it  evident  that  the  design  was  to  destroy  the 
independence  of  the  provinces,  and  bring  them  into  utter  subjection 
to  the  Church  of  Rome,  like  Naples  and  Milan ;  and  opposition  to 

*  Those  exhibitions  were  universal  in  Spain,  and  are  not  yet  discontinued.  The 
author  has  seen  one  church,  at  least,  fitted  up  with  scenery,  ad  a  theatre,  the  Priests 
being,  most  appropriately,. the  performers. 

t  Thuaui  Histor.,  lib.  xxii.,  sec.  y. 


PREACHERS    RESCUED.  353 

Bishops,  as  well  as  to  Inquisitors,  became  national.  The  inhabitants 
of  Antwerp  prepared  to  emigrate  on  the  first  appearance  of  the  new 
Prelates  ;  the  Magistrates  sent  a  deputation  into  Spain  to  implore  the 
King  to  spare  them  from  the  dreaded  visitation  ;  and  Philip  conde- 
scended to  promise  that,  until  after  his  return,  a  Bishop  should  not  be 
set  over  them. 

The  martyrdoms  continued,  although  in  diminished  number  ;  and 
it  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  with 
the  Bishop  of  London  and  some  others,  remonstrated  on  behalf  of 
three  members  of  the  Dutch  congregation  in  London,  who,  venturing 
over  to  their  native  country,  were  condemned  to  die.  The  remon- 
strance was  treated  with  contempt.  They  were  strangled,  scorched, 
and  their  bodies  hung  in  chains ;  but  their  brethren  gave  them  Chris- 
tian burial. 

Congregations  multiplied.  Five  or  six  thousand  persons  assembled 
in  a  forest  near  Antwerp,  were  surprised  by  the  Drossart,  or  criminal 
Judge,  but  one  only  was  beheaded.  Then  began  another  kind  of 
public  psalm-singing,  the  echo  of  those  martyr-songs  which  people 
could  no  longer  hear  in  silence,  and  which  gave  a  peculiar  character 
to  the  worship  and  proceedings  both  of  the  Reformed  and  others. 
Two  preachers,  Philip  Maillard  and  Simon  Taveau,  had  preached 
openly  in  Valenciennes,  and  were  apprehended  ;  but  the  Marquis 
of  Mons,  within  whose  jurisdiction  the  alleged  offence  took  place,  did 
not  proceed  to  execution,  but  left  the  town.  The  Duchess  of  Parma, 
hearing  of  his  delay,  commanded  him  to  go  and  perform  his  duty ; 
but  he  boldly  answered  that  the  putting  heretics  to  death  was  neither 
consistent  with  his  duty  nor  his  inclination.  Thus  passed  away  seven 
months,  the  preachers  being  kept  in  prison,  and  the  number  of  their 
followers  increasing  daily.  Letters  were  received  by  the  Magistrates, 
warning  them  not  to  commit  any  violence  on  the  prisoners  ;  and  the 
prisoners  heard  the  voices  of  their  friends  calling  to  them  from  the 
street  at  night,  advising  them  to  behave  like  men,  and  assuring  them 
that  no  help  should  be  wanting  if  their  death  were  attempted.  But 
the  Governess  insisted  ;  they  were  condemned  to  the  fire  ;  and,  as 
the  wool-combers  and  weavers  were  used  to  retire  to  the  villages  on 
Saturdays,  and  return  on  Mondays,  partly  for  diversion,  and  partly  to 
avoid  going  to  mass,  it  was  determined  to  execute  the  sentence  early 
on  a  Monday  morning.  Before  sunrise,  therefore,  they  were  taken  to 
the  market-place  ;  but  the  people  were  toe  watchful  to  be  deceived, 
and  no  sooner  were  the  prisoners  on  the  ground  than  they  crowded 
around  them  and  filled  the  place.  Taveau,  on  arriving  at  the  stake, 
began  to  pray  ;  and  no  sooner  did  the  bystanders  hear  his  voice,  than 
they  rushed  to  the  stake,  tore  it  up,  scattered  the  wood,  and  pelted 
the  officers  with  stones,  who  ran  away  as  fast  as  they  could,  dragging 
both  the  preachers  back  again  to  the  prison,  under  a  heavy  shower 
of  stones.  The  people,  headed  by  a  singer,  then  walked  about  the 
city,  singing  psalms,  until  their  number  increased  to  about  two 
thousand,  when  they  returned  to  the  market-place  ;  the  precentor 
mounted  a  stage  raised  for  the  purpose,  and  two  thousand  voices, 
responding  in  chorus,  sounded  like  a  war-cry  in  the  ears  of  the 

VOL.  ITI.  2  z 


354  CHAPTER    V. 

Magistrates,  who  bid  themselves  at  home.  The  first  impulse  of  the 
multitude  was  to  attack  the  Dominican  monastery  ;  but  they  were 
diverted  by  some  who  represented  the  folly  of  spending  strength  in 
riot,  while  their  brethren  were  left  in  prison,  perhaps  to  suffer  the 
death  there,  from  which  they  had  been  delivered  in  the  market-place. 
This  raised  another  cry,  "  To  the  prison !  to  the  prison  ! "  whither 
the  mass  moved,  and,  in  a  few  moments,  the  two  Ministers  were  at 
liberty ;  but,  leaving  the  other  prisoners  in  custody,  the  leaders 
of  this  novel  demonstration  informed  the  Magistrates  that,  having 
released  Maillard  and  Taveau,  they  were  satisfied,  and  would  thence- 
forth refrain  from  further  tumult  if  suffered  to  enjoy  the  exercise 
of  their  religion  in  peace  (A.D.  15C1). 

While  the  people  of  Valenciennes  gave  the  signal  for  insurrection, 
some  of  the  Magistrates  of  Amsterdam  continued  to  manifest  reluct- 
ance to  do  the  work  imposed  on  them.  When  informations  of  heresy 
were  brought,  or  a  search  was  to  be  made,  they  would  contrive  to  let 
it  be  known  to  persons  in  their  confidence,  and  some  one  of  the 
Reformed  brethren  would  hear  and  pass  on  this  sentence  :  "  He  took  the 
young  child  and  his  mother,  and  departed  into  Egypt."  Many  used 
to  quit  the  city  while  search  went  forward  ;  and,  as  soon  as  it  was 
finished,  another  by-word,  whispered  from  the  same  source,  would 
recall  them  to  their  homes :  "  They  are  dead  who  sought  the  young 
child's  life."  Yet,  even  in  Amsterdam,  other  Magistrates  zealously 
enforced  the  placards  ;  and  many  were  beheaded,  drowned,  or  stran- 
gled. The  people  of  West  Friesland  began  to  follow  the  example  of 
the  Flemings,  but  more  quietly.  A  Pastor  who  had  preached  evange- 
lically, having  been  summoned  by  the  Dean  to  appear  before  him  at 
Horn,  and  made  prisoner  in  the  deanery,  a  party  of  burghers  placed 
themselves  under  the  window  of  the  chamber  where  he  was  known  to 
be  confined,  and  the  lighter  being  mounted  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
stronger,  they  framed  a  living  ladder,  down  which  the  captive  returned 
to  his  bodily  freedom  ;  and  the  utmost  satisfaction  that  could  be 
obtained  by  the  Dean  was  the  imposition  of  an  easy  fine  on  the  persons 
who  had  broken  prison. 

The  Reformed,  while  martyrdoms  both  of  their  brethren  and 
of  Anabaptists  incessantly  placed  death  before  their  eyes  in  all  the 
states,  corresponded  with  each  other  for  the  purposes  of  confession 
and  mutual  defence.  Guido  de  Bres,  assisted  by  Adrian  Saravia,  and 
a  few  others,  published  "  a  confession  of  the  faith,  generally  and 
unanimously  maintained  by  the  believers  dispersed  throughout  the 
Low  Countries,  who  desire  to  live  according  to  the  purity  of  the  holy 
Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  persecutors,  on  the  other 
hand,  frequently  tied  their  victims  neck  and  heels  together,  and 
drowned  them  in  tubs  of  water,  privately,  to  avoid  the  tumults  which 
they  feared  would  attend  public  executions.  And  both  Romanists  and 
Reformed  so  generally  desired  that  power  might  be  taken  from  the 
Clergy,  who  were,  in  fact,  a  body  of  Inquisitors,  that  they  demanded 
an  Assembly  of  the  States  to  put  an  end  to  the  differences  now  prevail- 
ing. To  this  the  Duchess  of  Parma  would  not  consent,  the  King 
having  commanded  that  the  states  should  not  assemble  in  his  nb- 


REFORMATION    ADVANCES    IN    HOLLAND.  355 

sence  ;  but  fearing  that  the  religious  war  rising  in  France  might 
extend  into  those  territories,  she  assembled  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Fleece,  and  the  Stadtholders  of  some  provinces,  who  deputed  the  Lord 
of  Montigny  to  go  to  Madrid  (A.D.  1562)  and  represent  the  state  of 
affairs  to  Philip.  He  went,  told  the  King  of  the  universal  discontent 
caused  by  the  appointment  of  the  new  Bishops,  and  the  projected 
establishment  of  a  complete  and  formal  Inquisition,  and  returned  with 
the  vague  answer,  that  by  multiplying  Bishops  Philip  did  not  mean 
to  establish  an  Inquisition.  But  a  real  Inquisition  was  organized 
effectually,  and  the  stream  of  persecution  flowed  unchecked,  with 
greater  art  and  not  less  cruelty  than  ever. 

It  became  evident  to  the  Inquisitors,  whose  knowledge  of  the  state 
of  public  feeling  was  exquisitely  correct,  that  the  spirit  of  religious 
reformation  had  attained  greatest  strength  in  Holland  ;  and  the  geo- 
graphical position  of  that  country,  bordering  on  Germany,  where  the 
Confession  of  Augsburg  was  legally  admitted,  indicated  the  necessity 
of  bold  strategy  in  the  warfare  against  the  Gospel  which  Philip  and 
his  Church  were  resolved  to  wage  with  renewed  earnestness.  Their  will 
was  communicated  in  a  placard  sent  from  Brussels  (March  29th,  1563), 
but  sixteen  days  after  the  appointment  of  a  sub-Inquisitor,  specially 
for  the  provinces  of  Holland,  Zealand,  Utrecht,  Guelderland,  Friesland, 
Groningen,  &c.,  commanding,  under  pain  of  death,  that  none  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  southern  states — the  present  Belgium — should  be 
allowed  to  settle  anywhere  in  Holland,  unless  certified  by  Priest  and 
Magistrate  as  "  good  Catholics,"  free  from  taint  and  suspicion  of 
heresy.  All  who  had  come  thither  within  four  years  past  were  to  be 
examined,  especially  as  to  the  baptism  of  their  children.  Midwives  to 
be  sworn  to  cause  new-born  children  to  receive  Romish  baptism,  or 
inform  against  refractory  parents.  Gossips,  happening  to  assist  in 
bringing  infants  into  the  world,  to  be  placed  under  the  same  obliga- 
tion. Women  delivered  away  from  home  to  bring  home  baptismal 
certificates.  All  Pastors  and  Curates  to  keep  registers  of  baptism,  for 
inspection  by  authorities,  whenever  desired,  in  order  to  ascertain  whose 
names  were  not  there.  People  were  to  go  to  church  on  feast-days, 
and  send  their  children  to  church  and  school,  under  pain  of  arbitrary 
punishment.  Here  began  the  separation  of  Holland  from  Belgium ; 
and  an  element  of  national  exclusiveness  came  into  action  from  which 
the  commercial  policy  of  Europe  has  not  yet  perfectly  recovered. 
Queen  Elizabeth  presided  over  the  affairs  of  Reformation  in  England, 
and — ostensibly  for  fear  of  plague — English  cloths  were  excluded 
from  the  Netherlands  until  after  Candlemas.  And  efforts  were  made 
to  create  a  dislike  of  England  by  circulating  exaggerated  complaints 
of  both  privateers  and  merchants.*  Thus  King  Philip  and  his  Priests 
would  place  the  Gospel  under  quarantine. 

The  Cardinal  de  Granville,  favourite  Counsellor  of  Philip,  as  he  and 
his  father  had  been  of  Charles  V.,  was  deputed  by  the  King  to  assist, 
or  rather  to  direct,  the  Duchess  of  Parma  in  her  government,  and  had 
fully  represented  his  master  in  urging  forward  persecution.  Him  the 

*  Strype,  Annala  of  the  Reformation  under  Queen  Elizabeth,  chap.  38. 
2    z    2 


356  CHAPTER    V. 

Stadtholders,  in  common  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  states,  regarded 
•with  extreme  dislike.  Unable  to  submit  to  his  control,  William 
of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  Counts  of  Egmont  and  Horn, 
absented  themselves  from  the  Council  of  State,  and  wrote  to  Philip, 
telling  him  that  if  he  did  not  recall  the  Cardinal  he  would  lose  the 
Netherlands.  They  professed  faithful  submission  to  the  Church 
of  Rome  ;  but  assured  him  that  the  nobility  alone  preserved  the 
Netherlands  in  connexion  with  that  see,  the  common  people  being 
"  entirely  corrupted  with  the  contagion  of  heresy."  And  not  content 
with  epistolary  remonstrance,  the  nobles  most  zealously  opposed  to 
the  Cardinal  put  a  badge  on  their  sleeves,  and  entered  into  a  formal 
confederacy.  Philip  therefore  found  employment  elsewhere  for  his 
representative ;  but  the  confederacy  continued,  ready  to  defend  their 
country  against  the  Inquisition.  The  Prince  of  Orange  and  his  friends 
then  resumed  their  places  in  the  Council. 

To  supply  the  void  which  he  conceived  the  withdrawal  of  the  Car- 
dinal must  have  left  in  the  counsels  of  the  Governess,  and  mindful 
of  ancestral  glories  won  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  Philip  himself 
assumed  the  functions  of  Inquisitor ;  and  the  Spanish  couriers  carried 
letters  without  end  to  Brussels,  written  with  his  own  hand,  instruct- 
ing the  Duchess  how  she  might  best  discover,  worry,  and  consume  the 
heretics.  Lists  of  names  were  furnished ;  descriptions,  that  might 
shame  the  inaccuracy  of  a  modern  passport,  marked  every  peculiarity 
of  personal  appearance,  stature,  and  apparel,  with  notice  of  their  places 
of  abode,  and,  which  was  of  all  the  most  important  to  his  servants, 
the  extent  and  value  of  their  estates. 

Yet  neither  the  caution  nor  the  authority  of  the  royal  Inquisitor 
could  prevent  resistance.  The  civil  authorities  of  Antwerp  found  the 
people  ready  to  rescue  a  Christian  Minister  from  the  stake.  They 
sang  psalms  until  he  was  bound,  when  they  drove  Marquis,  Sheriff, 
and  soldiers  off  the  ground,  and  would  have  saved  their  Pastor,  had 
not  the  hangman  already  buried  a  hatchet  in  his  skull.  The  Magis- 
trates of  Bruges  discharged  a  heretic,  so  called,  whom  the  Inquisitors' 
officers  had  arrested,  and  imprisoned  the  officers  themselves.  Inflic- 
tions of  death  for  religion  continued,  but  rescues  multiplied.  The 
Sheriff  (Scout)  and  Magistrates  of  Horn,  in  spite  of  the  mandates 
of  government  and  the  solicitation  of  their  Bishop  and  his  Dean, 
would  not  be  guilty  of  destroying  life  ;  and  were  rewarded  by  such  a 
degree  of  prosperity  as  never  had  been  known  even  in  the  Nether- 
lands, the  chief  seat  of  European  commerce.  Merchants,  who  appre- 
hended persecution,  came  to  Horn  from  all  the  other  states,  followed 
by  thousands  of  humbler  persons ;  the  harbour  became  too  small  to 
receive  the  shipping,  and  they  were  proceeding  to  enlarge  it.  But, 
"  Send  away  all  the  heretical  skippers,"  said  a  monkish  preacher, 
"and  I  warrant  you  your  harbour  will  hold  all  the  rest."  The  skip- 
pers laughed ;  and  from  that  day  the  men  of  Horn  called  the  Monk 
"  Haven-widener." 

But  the  affairs  of  the  Netherlands  rapidly  approached  their  crisis. 
In  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  State  (latter  part  of  1564)  called  to 
consider  grievances  complained  of,  the  Prince  of  Orange  spoke  with 


MISSION    OF    THE    COUNT    OF    EGMONT.  357 

still  greater  freedom  than  he  had  ventured  on  before.  They  had 
agreed  to  send  the  Count  of  Egmont  into  Spain,  to  submit  their  judg- 
ment to  the  King ;  and  Viglius,  President  of  the  Council,  had  read 
the  draught  of  a  report  to  be  presented  to  His  Majesty ;  but  the  Prince 
pronounced  it  insufficient,  and  said,  that,  if  they  would  save  the 
country,  they  must  demand  deliverance  from  the  sanguinary  placards, 
the  Inquisition,  the  new  Bishops,  and  the  decrees  of  the  Council 
of  Trent ;  and  that,  although  he  adhered  to  the  Roman  Catholic  reli- 
gion, he  could  not  approve  that  Princes  should  attempt  to  exercise 
dominion  over  the  souls  of  men,  or  deprive  them  of  liberty  in  matters 
of  religion  and  faith.  He  spoke  long,  earnestly,  and  with  a  torrent 
of  eloquence  that  overpowered  opposition,  until  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  when  the  Duchess  of  Parma  declared  that  she  must  get  her 
dinner ;  the  Council  separated,  and  Viglius  went  home  terror-smitten, 
ruminating  over  the  threatening  aspect  of  affairs.  All  night  he  lay 
awake,  and  next  morning  suffered  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  which  incapaci- 
tated him  from  again  throwing  much  energy  into  his  work.  The 
Duchess  allowed  his  substitute  to  soften  the  report  a  little,  and  the 
Count  of  Egmont  set  out  for  Spain. 

His  reception  at  court  was  magnificent,  and  no  pains  were  spared 
to  detach  him  from  the  confederated  nobles  ;  but  he  made  good  use 
of  private  audiences,  and  honestly  counselled  the  King  to  enter  on  a 
new  line  of  government.  Philip  summoned  a  company  of  divines  to 
confer  with  the  Dutch  envoy,  and  desired  their  advice, — asked  the 
wolves  how  to  ensure  the  safety  of  the  fold.  Yet,  like  Spaniards 
of  good  sense,  although  Priests,  perceiving  that  liberty  of  conscience 
alone  could  satisfy  the  just  demands  represented  by  Egmont,  they 
most  of  them  maintained  that,  without  sinning  against  God,  he  might 
grant  them  some  degree  of  religious  freedom.  "  I  may"  said  he, 
"but  must  I  ?"  Well  did  he  know  that  they  durst  not  say  that  he 
must  give  a  licence  to  heresy.  They  could  not  venture  so  far.  Then, 
falling  on  his  knees  in  their  presence,  he  addressed  the  following 
prayer  to  a  crucifix  erected  in  the  apartment : — "  I  beseech  thee,  O  God 
and  Lord  of  all  things,  that  I  may  ever  continue  in  this  mind,  never 
to  be  King,  nor  to  be  called  King,  of  any  country  where  thou  art  not 
acknowledged  to  be  Lord." 

Persecution  still  raged,  and  that  more  hotly.  But  resistance  also 
grew  more  bold.  Already  the  Governors  and  the  governed  were  in  a 
posture  of  hostility.  Philip  had  spoken  a  few  soft  words  to  Count 
Egmont,  but  atoned  for  the  momentary  irresolution  by  sending  orders 
for  the  execution  of  several  Anabaptists,  and  other  dissidents.  As  for 
the  Council  of  Trent,  the  Clergy  of  those  states  were  by  no  means 
agreed  that  its  acts  ought  to  be  received  ;  but  he  caused  them  to  be 
promulgated,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  and  disgust  of  his  sub- 
jects, especially  in  Holland;*  and  answered  their  complaints  of  his 

*  The  Court  of  Holland  strennoiisly  objected  to  the  following  sentence:  (Cone.  Trid., 
Sessio  xxv.,  De  Reformat.,  cap.  3  :) — "  Nefas  autetn  sit  sseculari  cnilihet  Magistratui 
prohibere  Ecclesiastieo  judici,  ne  quern  excomihunioet,  aut  mandare  ut  latam  excommu- 
iiicationem  revocet,"  &c.  This  gives  uncontrolled  power  to  the  ecclesiastical  Judge  over 
all  persons,  leaving  none  to  "  any  secular  Magistrate." 


358  CHAPTER    V. 

continued  cruelty  by  coldly  saying  that  he  had  indeed  thought  it 
might  be  desirable  to  execute  heretics  in  private,  since  the  condemned 
persons  gloried  in  dying  for  their  religion  ;  but  that,  whoever  might 
advise  the  contrary,  there  should  be  no  abatement  of  severity :  for  as 
often  as  there  had  been  any  relaxation  in  the  punishment  of  heretics 
they  had  grown  insolent,  and  all  wise  men  had  ever  thought  it  absurd 
to  lessen  penalties  when  crimes  increased.  Viglius  feared  to  publish 
such  an  answer,  but  the  Duchess  insisted  ;  and  the  power  of  the  King 
of  Spain  over  the  Netherlands  received  its  death-blow. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  and  confederates  reclaimed  ;  the  chief  towns 
of  Brabant  refused  to  publish  the  King's  letters,  and  so  did  some 
others  ;  the  King,  the  Duchess,  the  Inquisitors,  and  Clergy  insisted, 
and  urged  on  the  murderous  executions.  Prisoners  were  now  again 
drowned  privately.  The  Reformed  protested  that  they  did  not  desire 
to  raise,  nor  to  encourage,  sedition ;  but  the  press,  which  could  no 
longer  be  bound,  teemed  with  anti-Romish  publications.  The  public 
mind  was  ready  for  resistance.  Then  it  was  that  about  twenty  gen- 
tlemen first  met  privately  in  the  house  of  one  named  Kulenburgh,  in 
the  horse-market  in  Brussels  (November  2d,  1565),  and  concerted  a 
plan  for  seizing  on  the  city  of  Antwerp,  and  soliciting  the  alliance 
of  the  German  Protestant  states.  But  the  Prince  of  Orange,  to  whom 
they  communicated  the  project,  dissuaded  them  with  a  promise 
of  endeavouring  to  effect  their  object,  the  suppression  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, without  force.  This  he  endeavoured  to  do,  by  pleading  in  the 
Council  of  State,  where  he  and  his  associates  were  furnished  with 
materials  for  their  addresses  by  a  Frenchman,  who  was  as  yet  unknown 
to  most  of  them,  even  by  name.  Their  learned  correspondent  was 
Francis  Junius,  who  also  wrote  to  the  King  in  favour  of  liberty 
of  conscience  ;  but  he  was  discovered  by  a  spy  who  had  pretended  to 
be  converted,  found  a  place  in  private  religious  meetings  in  Antwerp, 
traced  him  to  his  lodgings,  and,  being  an  artist,  sent  his  portrait  and 
his  address  to  the  Governess  at  Brussels.  Her  Highness  confided  the 
picture  to  the  Marquis  of  Antwerp,  with  instructions  to  make  sure 
of  the  original.  Junius  escaped  ;  but  with  unremitting  diligence  and 
zeal  laboured  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  in  one  instance  even  preached 
at  Antwerp  while  they  were  burning  some  of  his  brethren,  and  the 
glare  of  the  flames  flashed  into  the  room  where  the  congregation  \vas 
assembled. 

But  the  Prince  of  Orange  could  not  prevail  in  Council.  The  Duchess 
wished  to  employ  the  army  to  repress  heresy,  and  asked  the  Count 
of  Egmont  to  undertake  the  command  ;  but  he  told  her  that  he  would 
not  fight  against  any  man  living  in  defence  of  the  placards  and  the 
Inquisition.  Their  deliberations  were  quickened  by  the  appearance  in 
Brussels  of  the  Lord  Brederode,  chief  of  the  confederated  noblemen, 
with  two  hundred  horse.  Then  came  Count  Lewis,  brother  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  with  a  numerous  train,  and  the  Counts  of  Berg  and 
Kuilenberg.  These  were  all  assembled  by  Brederode,  who  represented 
to  them  the  terror  of  the  Inquisition,  and  their  duty  to  resist  it,  by 
standing  to  the  league  into  which  they  were  compelled  to  enter.  They 
exclaimed  with  one  voice,  "  Let  him  be  accounted  a  traitor  who  for- 


CONFEDERATION    OF    THE    "  GUEUX."  359 

sakesit;"  and  agreed  to  a  memorial  to  the  Duchess,  pointing  out 
that  insurrection  would  certainly  follow  if  the  King  persisted  in 
tyranny  and  persecution,  and  praying  that  a  deputation  might  again 
be  sent  to  bear  him  the  remonstrance  of  the  states.  At  the  head 
of  three  hundred  *  armed  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  all  dressed  in 
brown,  and  carrying  the  memorial  in  his  hand,  Lord  Brederode  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  Duchess,  who  could  not  conceal  her  alarm  at  the 
approach  of  so  formidable  a  company,  as,  in  profound  silence,  they 
filled  the  hall.  A  zealous  royalist  who  happened  to  be  present, 
concealed  his  trepidation  under  a  jeer  :  "  Ce  n'est  qu'un  tas  de  gueux" 
"  This  is  only  a  pack  of  beggars."  However,  their  appearance  extorted 
a  mild,  although  evasive,  reply,  with  a  promise  that  their  memorial 
should  be  forwarded  by  a  deputation  to  the  King  ;  and  they  with- 
drew to  watch  its  progress,  taking  for  a  distinctive  title  the  appella- 
tion given  them  in  contempt.  Their  cry  was,  "  Beggars  for  ever,"  f 
and  their  badge  a  medal,  having  the  King's  head  on  one  side,  and  on 
the  reverse  a  beggar's  wallet  between  two  right  hands,  with  the  motto, 
"  Faithful  to  the  King,  even  to  beggary."  £  The  Duke  of  Arschot 
and  his  servants,  on  the  other  side,  made  a  procession  to  a  shrine 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  with  her  image  on  their  hats,  which  image 
received  the  Pope's  blessing  ;  and  thenceforth  there  were  two  factions, 
the  one  under  Papal  benediction,  and  the  other  strengthened  by  abhor- 
rence of  Papal  wrongs.  The  deputation  were  the  Marquis  of  Mons 
and  the  Baron  of  Montigny,  whom  Philip  did  not  receive  as  before, 
with  endeavour  to  overcome  by  kindness,  but  had  one  of  them 
poisoned,  and  his  colleague  put  to  death  in  prison. 

Reformed  congregations  now  appeared  simultaneously  in  several 
of  the  provinces,  especially  in  Brabant  and  Flanders,  so  numerous,  and 
often  so  well  armed,  that  their  enemies  could  not  venture  to  disturb 
them.  In  vain  did  the  Duchess  of  Parma  command  the  Magistrates 
to  disperse  all  such  meetings,  and  hang  the  preachers  ;  and  the  Coun- 
cil of  Antwerp  strengthened  the  general  resistance  of  this  mandate  by 
roundly  refusing  to  obey.  To  pacify  Antwerp,  where  adverse  parties 
threw  the  city  into  great  confusion,  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  made 
Governor ;  and  under  his  prudent  administration  the  Reformation 
advanced  more  peacefully.  But  open  violence,  intrigues,  and  inqui- 
sitorial severities,  compelled  the  confederates  to  consult  for  their  own 
safety,  as  well  as  for  the  liberties  of  the  Netherlands  ;  and  from  fifteen 
hundred  to  two  thousand  horsemen  assembled  in  council  at  St.  Truy 
(July,  1566),  and  determined  to  demand  liberty  of  worship,  as  well  as 
deliverance  from  the  Inquisition.  Philip  heard  with  amazement 
of  great  congregations,  remonstrant  Magistrates,  confederates  in  arms, 
and  the  perseverance  of  all,  both  Romanists  and  Reformed,  in  reject- 
ing half  concessions.  Instead  of  yielding,  he  disapproved  the  trifling 
show  of  leniency  made,  for  a  moment,  by  the  Duchess,  and,  supported 
by  his  courtiers,  resolved  to  allow  no  other  worship  than  the  Romish, 
either  public  or  private ;  no  relaxation  of  penalties  on  heresy,  nothing 

*  Thuanus  says  four  Imndred.  f  "  Vive  les  Guenx." 

I  "  Fidelles  an  Roi,  jusques  a  la  heaace." 


360  CHAPTER    V. 

but  death  to  every  recusant.  He  ordained  processions  and  litanies 
throughout  his  dominions,  to  implore  of  God  and  the  saints  victory 
over  heresy ;  and  mocked  his  subjects  by  offering  an  indemnity,  from 
which  all  offenders  on  account  of  religion  were  excepted. 

This  aroused  a  tempest  of  popular  fury  which  the  leaders  of  the 
Reformation  could  not  restrain.  The  lowest  of  the  people,  headed  by 
a  few  desperate  men,  first  in  West  Flanders  (August  14th,  1560), 
broke  into  convents  and  churches,  and  demolished  images,  pictures, 
pyxes,  altars,  and  ornaments.  Not  unfrequently  persons  of  rank  joined 
in  the  devastation.  Magistrates  accepted  the  requisitions  of  mobs, 
and  sent  carpenters  and  smiths  to  remove  the  idols  from  their  shrines. 
None  could  stem  the  torrent.  Protestant  preachers  argued  and 
besought  in  vain.  Papists  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses,  while 
the  multitudes  spent  their  vengeance,  not  on  Magistrates  nor  Inqui- 
sitors, but  on  shivered  statues,  showing,  amidst  much  real  profanity 
and  much  unjustifiable  violence,  that  their  hatred  of  Popery  was  cor- 
dial, and  that  the  mawmets  of  the  mass-house  had  never  been 
regarded  with  veneration  by  the  thousands  who  almost  instinctively 
annihilated  what  they  had  so  long  despised  and  worshipped.  "  Look," 
cried  a  man  in  the  midst  of  a  large  congregation  in  the  old  church 
of  Amsterdam,  "  there  hang  those  blasphemous  verses."  Near  the 
pyx,*  which  was  enclosed  in  a  glass  case,  hung  a  board  with  these 
words  :  "  Jesus  Christ  is  locked  up  in  this  box  :  He  is  truly  God  and 
man,  being  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  :  whosoever  does  not  believe  this 
is  damned."  Taking  up  the  heavy  case  with  both  hands,  he  dashed 
it  on  the  pavement,  the  roof  rang  with  the  crash ;  the  Priests  de- 
camped ;  and  volleys  of  stones  and  strokes  of  staves  brought  down  all 
the  gods  of  the  place.  Such  scenes  were  repeated  almost  wherever 
the  Papists  ventured  to  leave  the  churches  open  to  their  own  people, 
who  seemed  to  be  carried  away  by  the  spirit  of  iconoclasm. 

Two  hundred  thousand  people  were  under  arms,  and  declared  that 
they  would  not  lay  down  their  arms  until  they  had  liberty  of  worship. 
The  militia  was  called  out ;  but  the  militia  refused  to  fight  for  the 
Inquisition.  A  royal  placard,  equally  foolish  and  wicked,  circulated 
from  Brussels,  declaring  that  every  one  was  authorized  to  kill  the 
breakers  of  images ;  and  that  to  murder  them  would  be  laudable  and 
pious.  But  the  Inquisition  could  not  now  engage  a  Netherlandish  mob 
to  murder  ;  murder  being  eminently  reserved  for  execution  by  the 
Holy  Office.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  hoping  to  prevail  with  the 
Government  by  a  display  of  impartiality,  signified  his  sincere  disap- 
probation of  the  tumults  in  Antwerp,  by  hanging  three  image-breakers, 
and  banishing  a  few  others ;  but  he  allowed  churches  to  be  built  for 
Reformed  worship,  and  in  most  of  the  towns  churches  were  given  for 
its  celebration,  or  new  ones  were  permitted  to  be  built. 

The  Duchess,  in  alarm,  had  made  some  such  concession  to  the 
Reformed  in  Utrecht  and  Antwerp,  but  she  recalled  it  by  a  placard  a 
few  days  afterwards.  In  this  way  provocations  were  incessantly 
repeated,  and  followed  by  fresh  outbreaks  ;  but,  worst  of  all,  a  plot 

'*  Containing  the  host,  or  wafer. 


THE    DUKE    OF    ALVA.  361 

was  laid  in  the  Spanish  court  to  turn  these  disturbances  to  a  political 
account.  Philip,  it  was  designed,  should  endeavour  to  restore  peace 
by  fair  means  first,  so  as  to  appear  in  the  character  of  a  pacifier 
of  civil  war,  and  then  change  the  government  of  the  Low  Countries 
into  an  absolute  monarchy,  which  he  had  long  desired.  This  being 
done,  he  would  fulfil  an  oath  he  had  made  so  to  punish  the  Nether- 
landers  for  their  disobedience  to  him  and  to  God,  that  the  ears  of  all 
Christendom  should  tingle,  though  it  were  at  the  hazard  of  losing  all 
his  dominions.  The  Prince  of  Orange  had  found  means  to  discover 
this  nefarious  project,  and  assembled  the  confederate  nobles,  who 
determined  to  stand  peaceably  on  the  defensive,  give  every  possible 
proof  of  constitutional  submission  to  the  King,  and  endeavour  to 
repress  tumults.  They  kept  to  this  engagement,  punished  some  of 
the  most  turbulent,  and  loyally  rertlonstrated  with  their  Sovereign, 
who  knew  not  that  his  plans  had  been  discovered.  They  even  offered 
him,  in  return  for  liberty  of  worship,  a  present  of  thirty  tons  of  gold, 
besides  ordinary  contributions,  and  began  to  collect  the  money  ;  but 
the  Spaniards  treated  their  proposal  as  insolent,  as  a  bravado  of  wealth, 
made  for  the  sake  of  inducing  foreign  Princes  to  join  their  confe- 
deracy, and  the  Duchess  levied  new  troops.  War  began.  The  Re- 
formed towns  were  threatened.  Valenciennes  was  besieged,  and  fell. 
About  two  hundred  persons  were  hanged  for  religion  after  the  capitu- 
lation (A.D.  1565).  Several  other  towns  followed,  and  persecution 
unto  death  raged  again. 

By  the  artfulness  of  the  common  enemy  dissensions  rose  between 
the  Lutherans  and  the  Reformed  ;  many  became  weary  of  the  contest, 
and  by  their  defection  discouraged  others  ;  and  the  Prince  of  Orange 
desired  to  resign  his  stadtholdership,  and  retire  to  Germany,  where 
personal  affairs  required  his  attention.  But  his  services  in  preserving 
order  at  Antwerp  were  too  valuable  to  the  Duchess  for  her  to  accept 
his  resignation.  Just  then  it  was  heard  that  she  was  raising  a  great 
army,  and  that  Philip  had  appointed  a  Spaniard,  the  Duke  of  Alva, 
for  General.  The  forces  already  collected  were  employed  to  hunt 
down  Reformed  congregations  ;  and  the  Inquisitors  wreaked  vengeance 
on  an  innumerable  multitude  of  martyrs,  who  endured  extreme  tor- 
ments and  death  with  a  constancy  as  signal  as  the  horrors  of  the  time 
were  appalling. 

The  Duke  of  Alva  crossed  the  frontiers  with  twelve  hundred  horse, 
and  between  eight  and  nine  thousand  foot,  resolved  on  a  war  of  extir- 
pation ;  but  the  confederates  had  not  force  enough  to  meet  him. 
He  marched  into  Brussels  with  part  of  his  troops  (August  28th,  1567), 
and  cantoned  the  remainder  in  the  neighbouring  towns.  The  country 
was  mute  with  terror,  and  it  was  computed  that  not  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  fled.  Germany,  Sweden,  and  Denmark 
were  open  to  them,  and  many  came  over  to  England,  and  settled  all 
over  the  country;  but  especially  in  Norwich,  Colchester,  Sandwich, 
Canterbury,  Maidstone,  Southampton,  London,  and  Southwark,*  to 
contribute  by  their  industry  to  the  prosperity  of  our  nation.  The 

*  Strj-pe,  Elizabeth,  chap.  52. 
VOL.    III.  3    A 


362  CHAPTER    V. 

Duchess  issued  a  placard,  exhorting  the  people  not  to  emigrate  ;  but 
this  only  accelerated  the  flight.  A  "Council  of  Tumults"  was 
formed  in  Brussels  by  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  directed  by  Juan  de 
Vargas,  another  Spaniard,  reputed  to  be  the  most  bloodthirsty  man 
living,  although  that  distinction  might  have  been  disputed  by  the 
Duke  himself.  Their  fury  fell  on  all  without  distinction  of  religion, 
according  to  a  barbarous  sentence  *  of  Vargas  :  "  The  heretics  have 
broken  temples  ;  the  good  have  done  nothing  against  it  :  therefore 
they  must  all  be  hanged."  The  moans  of  the  tortured  and  the  dying 
ceased  not  by  day  nor  night.  Gallows,  wheels,  stakes,  trees  in  the 
highways,  were  laden  with  dead  bodies,  or  mangled  and  dissevered 
limbs,  of  persons  hanged,  beheaded,  or  roasted  to  death.  The  air  was 
polluted  with  the  stench  ;  and  the  knell  of  death  sounded  heavily 
from  every  belfry.  Alva  gloated  "over  the  carnage;  and  the  Duchess, 
although  base  of  birth,  heartless,  and  cruel,  shuddered  with  disgust, 
dropped  the  reins  of  government  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniard,  and 
departed  for  Italy.  She  sent  a  last  warning  to  the  King  that  he  would, 
by  those  proceedings,  lose  the  Netherlands.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  and 
such  confederates  as  Alva  had  not  ensnared  and  imprisoned  on  his 
arrival,  also  fled.  His  first  act  had  been  to  send  for  Egmont  and 
Horn,  smile,  and  throw  them  into  prison. 

Philip  imagined  his  glory  to  be  nearly  consummated,  and  convened 
the  Council  of  the  Inquisition  to  give  him  their  advice  (February 
16th,  1568).  They  counselled  him  to  take  the  shortest  method  by 
declaring  all  Netherlanders,  excepting  those  whom  he  should  spare 
by  name,  to  have  been  guilty  of  treason,  and  to  deal  with  them 
accordingly  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  he  should  depopulate  that  country 
by  the  sword.  They,  and  others,  assured  him  that  the  Pope  would 
release  him  from  his  oath  to  maintain  the  rights  of  those  states,  and 
allow  him  to  treat  the  Netherlands  as  a  conquered  country,  left  to  his 
discretion.-)-  How  shall  we  designate  this  counsel?  Came  it  not  by 
an  inspiration  from  beneath?  Ten  days  afterwards  Philip  com- 
manded it  to  be  put  into  execution  without  respect  of  persons  ;  and 
our  forefathers  thanked  God  that  Philip  had  not  succeeded  Mary  on 
the  tin-one  of  England  ! 

The  forests  of  West  Flanders  became  the  retreat  of  thousands  who, 
houseless  and  starving,  grew  savage  with  misery.  But  even  to  these 
did  God,  in  his  mercy,  eventually  give  a  commission  for  the  good 
of  their  desolated  country.  These  "wild  beggars,"  (r/ueux,)  as  they 
were  called,  after  infesting  the  neighbouring  villages  by  nocturnal 
depredations,  seizing  and  cutting  off  the  ears  and  noses  of  as  many 
Priests  and  Friars  as  they  could  lay  hands  on,  and  carrying  on  a 
predatory  warfare  with  the  parties  of  Spaniards,  that  were  sent  to 
subdue  them,  largely  contributed  to  man  ships  of  war  sent  off  the 
coast  by  the  Prince  of  Orange,  aided  by  his  confederates  and  allies  in 
Germany.  These  were  the  "  water-beggars,"  who,  after  rendering 

*  "  Hseretici  fraxerunt  temple,  boni  nihil  faxerunt  contra  ;  ergo  debent  omnes  pati- 
bnlare."  The  Latin,  if  that  be  the  language,  is  quite  good  enough  for  the  sentiment. 

t  So  says  Thuanus,  a  careful  observer  of  those  events,  who  speaks  of  having  wat.-'urtl 
them  with  anxious  attention.  Histor.,  lib.  xl.,  cap.  3. 


THE    PRINCE    OF    ORANGE.  363 

good  service  in  this  war,  impressed  a  character  of  bravery  and  enter- 
prise on  the  Dutch  fleet,  so  famous  in  the  history  of  commerce  and 
colonization.  The  noble  Prince  sold  his  jewels,  plate,  and  furniture, 
and,  with  their  price,  began  a  levy  of  troops,  for  which  he  issued  a 
commission  at  Dillenburg,  in  Germany  (April  16th,  1567);  and, 
notwithstanding  many  failures  of  success,  his  brother  Lewis  raised 
force  enough  to  march  into  Guelderland  for  "  liberty  of  nation  and 
conscience,"  and  defeated  the  Spaniards  at  Heiligerlee.  Alva,  morti- 
fied at  the  loss,  vented  his  rage  in  a  renewed  slaughter  of  the  Dutch  ; 
and  new  methods  of  torment  were  invented  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  Priests.* 

The  Prince  of  Orange  himself  then  entered  the  country  with  a 
considerable  army,  who  had  now  to  expel  an  enemy  hated  and  loathed 
by  all  except  the  Church  ;  for  the  fury  that  wasted  the  Netherlands 
was  even  felt  in  Spain.  Don  Carlos,  Prince  of  Spain,  had  displeased 
his  father,  by  disapproving,  as  is  generally  supposed,  of  his  treatment 
of  the  Netherlands ;  and  Philip,  not  deigning  to  disclose  the  cause 
of  his  displeasure,  threw  him  into  prison  (January  18th,  1568),  and 
either  wore  him  to  death  by  excessive  cruelty,  or  had  him  despatched 
at  once.f  Pius  V.  extolled  the  piety  of  Philip  in  not  sparing  even 
his  own  son,  and  sent  Alva  a  Christmas  present  of  hat  and  sword  as 
a  mark  of  peculiar  admiration.  To  maintain  and  satisfy  his  troops, 
the  Spanish  General  found  it  necessary  to  levy  exorbitant  taxes  on 
the  half-deserted  country  ;  but  it  was  difficult  to  recover  the  money, 
or  even  to  find  persons  willing  to  undertake  the  employment  of  col- 
lectors. The  Court  of  Holland,  now  touched  more  sensibly  than  ever 
before,  appointed  prayer  to  be  made  that  God  would  vouchsafe  to 
soften  the  hard  and  cruel  heart  of  the  Duke  of  Alva,  that  he  might 
hearken  to  reason  and  equity.  Even  the  Franciscans  of  Amsterdam 
exclaimed  against  him  as  a  tyrant ;  the  most  rigid  Romanists  desired  a 
revolution,  and  turned  for  help  towards  those  whom  they  had  lately 
persecuted.  The  Duke  enforced  his  demand  for  money  with  the 
utmost  rigour  of  military  law,  combined  with  the  bitterness  of  fana- 
ticism ;  and  so  utterly  wearied  were  the  people  of  Utrecht,  that  some 
of  them  offered,  if  the  Prince  of  Orange  would  attack  their  city,  to  set 
fire  to  their  own  houses,  to  hinder  the  garrison  from  opposing  him. 
The  Anabaptists  in  Germany,  now  recovering  from  their  earlier  follies, 

*  One  of  these  was  to  screw  irons  on  the  tongue  of  the  person  to  be  put  to  death, 
and  then  burn  the  tip  with  a  red-hot  iron.  This  caused  the  tongue  to  swell,  the  anguish 
being  increased  by  the  compression  of  the  irons.  It  would  then  roll  in  the  mouth,  and 
the  cries  of  the  sufferer  becoming  shrill,  and  unlike  those  of  a  human  being,  the 
Spaniards  would  make  themselves  merry  at  his  singing. 

t  Even  Mariana  (Ano  1568)  and  Miiiana  (lib.  vi.,  cap.  8)  confirm  the  fact,  which 
they  gently  relate  as  a  thing  suspected.  Llorente  tries  to  vindicate  Philip,  but  has  not 
succeeded.  The  death  of  Philip's  son  was  soon  followed  by  that  of  his  young  and  lovely 
wife,  Elisabeth,  daughter  of  the  savage  Catherine  of  France.  She  had  been  at  the 
French  court,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Duke  of  Alva  and  Catherine,  Queen-mother, 
were  holding  secret  conferences  for  the  extirpation  of  the  Huguenots,  but  showed  no 
sympathy  with  persecutors.  Her  mother  always  treated  her  harshly.  Philip  was 
brutish  towards  her  from  their  first  interview.  She  was  really  pregnant — not  like  his 
former  wife,  Mary;  and  the  physicians,  who  had  drugged  Carlos,  treated  her  as  drop. 
f-irttl.  She  died  under  their  hands  ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  many  historians,  is  also  held 
to  Lave  been  a  victim  of  rage  against  heretics  and  their  abettors. 

3  A  2 


364  CHAPTER    V. 

generously  contributed  money  towards  the  assistance  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  the  Reformed  generally  did  the  same,  and  affairs  began  to 
assume  a  different  aspect. 

The  head-quarters  of  Alva  were  in  Brussels,  where,  as  in  many 
other  places,  he  failed  to  collect  the  taxes  he  had  required.  The 
shopkeepers  shut  their  shops,  declaring  that  they  had  no  goods  to  sell, 
nor  any  money  to  give.  To  obtain  money,  which  was  then  what  he 
wanted  above  all  things,  he  determined  to  turn  the  soldiers  on  the 
inhabitants,  hang  some  of  the  citizens  before  their  own  doors,  and, 
amidst  the  terror  so  produced,  extort  as  much  cash  as  possible. 
While  he  was  making  a  list  of  persons  to  be  hung,  news  came  that 
the  Briel,  a  town  on  the  coast  of  Holland,  was  taken  by  the  "  water- 
beggars"  (April  1st,  1569)  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Vander 
Mark,  whose  fleet  of  six-and-twenty  ships  had  been  driven  to  that 
shore  by  contrary  winds.  Great  part  of  the  Spanish  garrison  had 
vacated  the  place,  to  do  execution  at  Utrecht,  and,  in  their  absence, 
the  wind  of  heaven  brought  deliverers.  It  is  remarkable  that  Vander 
Mark,  at  the  instance  of  Alva,  was  obliged  to  quit  England,  where  he 
had  taken  refuge,  and  where,  after  all,  Alva  would  rather  he  had 
stayed.  The  town  was  soon  stormed,  the  burghers  welcomed  Vander 
Mark,  whose  men  turned  their  violence  on  the  Clergy,  and  joined  the 
inhabitants  in  clearing  the  churches  of  their  images.  Alva  could  not 
stay  to  hang  the  shopkeepers  at  Brussels,  but  marched  away  in  haste 
to  encounter  the  "  beggars  ; "  but  the  beggars  beat  him  on  his  arrival 
at  the  Briel,  and  he  could  only  march  back  again  covered  \vith  shame. 
On  his  return-march  Dort  shut  her  gates  on  him,  lest,  if  he  got  in, 
he  should  force  money  from  the  inhabitants.  At  Rotterdam  his  army 
were  refused  transit,  except  in  small  numbers,  and  he  made  his  case 
the  worse  by  massacring  many  of  the  inhabitants,  and  chastising  the 
people  in  some  other  places  ;  but  the  men  of  Flushing,  animated  by 
the  exhortations  of  a  Romish  Priest,  having  driven  out  the  garrison, 
also  repulsed  him.  And  now  the  tide  was  turned.  Town  after  town 
declared  for  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  petty  tyrants  who  had 
served  Alva  were  in  profound  dismay.  In  Gouda,  for  example,  which 
was  taken  by  sixty  men,  a  Burgomaster  ran  for  refuge  to  the  house 
of  a  widow,  who  kindly  put  him  into  a  cupboard.  "  Am  I  safe 
here  ? "  whispered  he  through  the  key-hole ;  "  am  I  safe  here  ?  " 
"  O  yes,"  said  the  good  woman  :  "  my  husband  has  been  often  hidden 
there  when  you  were  seeking  for  him,  and  the  keeper  of  the  prison 
stood  there  before  him."  So  did  the  cupidity  of  Alva,  and  his  get- 
ting Vander  Mark  sent  out  of  England,  turn  the  tide  of  war  against 
himself.  He  was  caught  in  the  net  that  he  had  spread. 

The  States  of  Holland  met  at  Dort  (July  loth,  1569),  and  declared 
the  Prince  of  Orange  lawful  Stadtholder,  or  Viceroy,  and  Alva  an 
enemy  of  the  country.  One  of  the  members,  representing  the  Prince, 
expressed  his  desire  that  both  Romanists  and  Reformed  should  enjoy 
the  public  exercise  of  their  religion,  under  such  regulations  as  might 
be  duly  made ;  and  Vander  Mark,  as  his  Lieutenant  for  Holland,  was 
instructed  accordingly.  Meanwhile  Alva  had  besieged  Mons  ;  but, 
unable  to  reduce  that  town,  withdrew  his  men  from  Rotterdam  and 


ALVA    BEATKN.  365 

some  other  places  to  join  him  before  Mons,  leaving  Rotterdam  to  be 
occupied  by  the  Admiral.  About  that  time  the  Prince  of  Orange 
came  with  his  newly-recruited  army  from  Germany,  and  for  more 
than  three  years  the  whole  country  was  exposed  to  the  horrors  of  war, 
in  which  some  of  the  Dutch  leaders,  especially  Vander  Mark,  were 
not  guiltless  ;  but  the  Spaniards  added  butchery  to  war  ;  until  Philip 
himself  saw  that  main  force,  being  insufficient  to  conquer,  might 
provoke  his  subjects  to  cast  off  his  authority  as  well  as  that  of  his 
General,  and  transferred  the  command  to  Don  Luis  de  Requesens. 
Alva,  Don  Federico,  his  son,  and  Vargas,  left  Brussels  (December  2d, 
1572)  ;  the  ex-Governor  boasting  that  he  had  passed  eighteen 
thousand  heretics  under  the  hand  of  the  executioner,  besides  the 
uncounted  thousands  whom  he  had  destroyed  in  war.  Vargas  com- 
plained that  the  Low  Countries  were  lost  by  foolish  compassion ! 
Not  by  compassion  nor  by  leniency,  but  (on  the  relief  of  Leyden  from  a 
dreadful  siege,  which  it  endured  amidst  the  horrors  of  famine)  by  the 
"  water-beggars,"  whose  fleet  floated  down  the  dykes, — the  country 
being  flooded,  and  thousands  of  Spaniards  drowned, — Holland  was 
delivered  from  "  the  Spanish  fury,"  but  still  acknowledged  Philip 
as  King  (A.D.  15/5).  The  war  continued  in  the  southern  pro- 
vinces without  abatement,  yet  with  gradual  advantages  in  favour  of 
the  States,  until  they  united  (November  8th,  1576)  at  Ghent  in  a 
league  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards.  As  some  of  them  had 
been  royalist,  and  others  had  acknowledged  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
their  union  was  called  the  pacification  of  Ghent.  Still  Don  Juan 
fought  under  consecrated  banners,  hoping,  by  virtue  of  the  Cross,  to 
conquer  heretics,  as,  by  the  same  sign,  he  had  vanquished  Turks  ; 
and  Gregory  XIII.  encouraged  his  army  by  a  Bull  of  crusade,  grant- 
ing the  soldiers  plenary  indulgence,  and  remission  of  all  sins,  in 
reward  for  killing  heretics. 

At  last,  patriotism  and  religious  reformation  being  associated  in  the 
conception  of  the  people,  and  absolute  government  having  fallen 
by  its  own  severity,  the  States  of  most  of  the  provinces  of  the 
Netherlands  declared,  by  proclamation  (June  2b'th,  1581),  that  the 
King  of  Spain  had  forfeited  all  right  and  title  to  the  government. 
Their  proclamation  affirmed  that  the  people  were  'not  created  by  God 
for  the  sake  of  the  Prince,  to  submit  to  his  commands,  whether  pious 
or  impious,  right  or  wrong,  and  be  his  slaves  ;  but  that  the  Prince 
was  created  for  the  people,  to  feed,  preserve,  and  govern  them  in 
justice  and  equity,  as  a  father  his  children,  or  a  shepherd  his  flock  ; 
that  whoever  pretended  to  enslave  his  subjects,  should  be  deemed  a 
tyrant,  rejected,  and  deposed,  especially  by  virtue  of  a  resolution 
of  the  States  of  the  nation,  if  the  subjects  could  not  obtain  redress  by 
supplication  and  other  means.  The  Sovereign  of  those  provinces, 
they  said,  had  sworn  to  govern  according  to  their  rights  and  privi- 
leges, and,  by  breaking  his  oath,  forfeited  the  sovereignty.  They 
then  recapitulated  the  unlawful  acts  of  Philip,  and  for  them  rejected 
him,  and  ordained  an  oath  of  abjuration.  War  lingered,  much  blood 
continued  to  be  spilt,  but  Philip  had  lost  the  Netherlands  ;  leaving 
the  annals  of  that  war,  with  its  conclusion,  as  n  monition  to  all  such 


3C6  CHAPTER    V. 

persecutors  of  the  vanity  and  mischief  of  attempting  to  establish,  or 
to  destroy,  any  religion  by  fire  and  sword. 

But  Philip  could  not  submit  to  the  decision  of  war,  although  he 
had  pretended  to  confide  his  cause  to  God  and  the  saints.  Now  that 
Alva  and  his  successors  had  failed,  he  endeavoured  openly  to  do  what 
he  had  often  secretly  attempted,  and  offered  a  reward  of  twenty-five 
thousand  ducats  for  the  head  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  with  a  patent 
of  nobility  for  the  assassin.  One  of  his  servants  shot  him,  but  the 
wound  was  not  mortal :  another  shot  him  with  deadly  effect,  and, 
only  able  to  ejaculate  a  prayer,  "  My  God,  have  mercy  on  me,  and  on 
the  poor  people,"  he  expired.  The  tale  is  briefly  told  by  Mariana,* 
in  a  style  which  well  expresses  the  spirit  of  the  deed.  "  In  Antwerp 
a  Biscayan  youth,  called  Juan  de  Xauregui,  resolved  to  kill  the  Prince 
of  Orange." — But  the  Jesuit  says  not  a  word  of  the  rewards  offered 
for  that  service. — "With  this  resolution,  one  day,  after  clearing  the 
table  after  dinner,  he  gave  him  a  pistol-shot.  This  did  not  kill  him, 
but  passed  through  his  cheek,  leaving  a  bad  wound.  The  youth  was 
then  cut  to  pieces,  and  all  who  had  any  knowledge  of  the  conspiracy 
were  put  to  death.  More  happy  was  another  youth,  a  Burgundian, 
who,  having  engaged  himself  as  servant  of  the  said  Prince,  soon 
found  a  favourable  occasion,  and  killed  him  in  Holland."  He  had 
revealed  his  design  to  a  Jesuit  at  Trier,  who  consulted  three  of  his 
brethren  on  the  subject,  and  then  assured  him  that,  if  he  lost  his  life 
in  consequence  of  the  murder,  he  should  be  ranked  among  the 
martyrs.  A  Franciscan  also  encouraged  him,  and  gave  him  his  bless- 
ing, which  he  first  proceeded  to  merit  by  pretending  to  be  the  son 
of  a  martyr,  and  very  religious  ;  in  token  of  which  he  always  carried 
a  Bible,  Psalm-book,  or  some  pious  treatise,  in  his  pocket.  Thus  he 
made  his  way  into  the  service  of  the  Prince. 

War  still  continued,  until,  twenty-seven  years  after  this  murder, 
the  Spaniards,  weakened  by  the  loss  of  their  great  Armada,  fitted  out 
for  the  invasion  of  England  (A. D.*  1588),  and  by  the  declension  of 
their  affairs  in  general,  concluded  a  truce  of  twelve  years. f  Holland 
then  became  independent  and  prosperous  ;  but  the  Spanish  Nether- 
lands, as  they  were  called  by  way  of  distinction,  had  neither  inde- 
pendence nor  prosperity. £  A  successor  to  the  Duke  of  Alva  could 
not  be  found  in  the  service  of  the  Church  ;  and  for  many  years  we 
do  not  find  that  any  more  of  the  Reformed  were  put  to  death,  until 
A.D.  1596,  when  two  ladies  and  their  servant-woman  were  accused 
of  heresy,  and  imprisoned  in  Brussels.  Yielding  to  fear  of  death,  the 
ladies  pleaded  ignorance,  asked  for  pardon,  returned  to  the  Romish 
communion,  and  were  allowed  to  live ;  but  their  servant  maintained 
her  constancy.  Being  a  woman  of  mean  condition,  she  told  the 
Judges,  she  could  not  be  suspected  of  stirring  up  sedition,  and,  as 
she  thought,  had  right  views  of  religion  ;  but  if  not,  her  error  was 

*  Mariana,  Ano  1582. 

t  It  does  not  come  within  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  relate  the  unsatisfactory  history 
of  the  Dutch  churches  while  quarreling  over  points  of  discipline  and  confessions,  and 
endeavouring  to  enforce  conformity  by  laws. 

I  Brandt's  History  of  the  Reformation,  &c.,  in  and  about  the  Low  Countries,  i«  the 
original  authority  for  this  sketch  of  the  religious  war. 


SPAIN.  3G7 

her  misfortune,  and  ought  not  to  be  imputed  to  her  as  a  crime :  but 
if  she  were  to  violate  her  conscience  by  saying,  through  fear,  what 
she  did  not  believe,  even  truth,  so  spoken,  would  be  offensive  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  men  ought  not  to  punish  her  for  error,  but  leave 
that  to  God.  Her  case  was  referred  to  the  Council  of  Government, 
where  the  Archduke  Albert  of  Austria  is  reported  to  have  recom- 
mended that  she  should  be  punished  according  to  the  placards. 
She  was,  accordingly,  condemned  to  be  buried  alive.  They  took  her 
to  a  place  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Brussels,  on  the  canal  of  Heijfelt, 
and  laid  her  in  a  pit,  or  grave,  surrounded  by  Jesuits,  who  seemed 
half  afraid  of  the  consequences  of  their  own  deed.  Instead  of  being 
suffocated  at  once,  the  earth  was  thrown  in  by  shovels-full,  beginning 
at  her  feet,  and  so  gradually  covering  the  whole  body.  At  each  stage 
of  the  slow  burial,  the  Jesuits  asked  if  she  had  re-considered,  and 
offered  her  mercy ;  but  she  cried,  "  They  that  seek  to  save  their  lives 
here  shall  lose  them  hereafter."  The  earth  was  now  scattered  over 
her  body,  up  to  the  neck ;  her  face  was  then  covered,  and  the  execu- 
tioner leaped  into  the  grave,  and  stamped  on  the  half-buried  woman, 
whose  moans  made  the  bystanders  shudder.  Thus  did  Anna  vanden 
Hove  join  the  glorious  company  who  had  gone  before ;  and,  although 
assassinations  were  sometimes  attempted,  and  but  too  successfully, 
and  imprisonments  and  banishments  were  frequent,  few  more  were 
put  to  death  judicially. 

Our  starting-point  was  the  edict  of  Augsburg  (A.D.  1530).  We 
there  saw  Charles  V.  resolved  to  enforce  conformity  to  the  Roman 
Church  throughout  the  empire,  if  possible ;  and,  by  the  example  of 
the  Netherlands,  have  seen  that  he  also  resolved  to  make  an  end 
of  all  religious  diversity  in  that  part  of  his  hereditary  dominions. 
We  shall  also  have  to  trace  the  same  attempt  in  regard  to  the 
Utraquists  and  "  the  Brethren  "  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia  ;  but  our 
attention  must  now  be  directed  towards  Spain,  a  kingdom  which  the 
Sovereign  could  govern  absolutely,  without  the  hinderance  of  any 
constitutional  restriction. 

Charles  conceived,  or,  if  he  did  not  conceive,  admitted,  the  idea 
of  following  up  that  edict  by  a  grand  effort  of  religious  persecution. 
Not  only  Protestants,  Reformed,  Hussites,  Brethren,  but  Jews  and 
Moors,  or  rather  new  Christians,  persons  who  had  been  compelled  to 
submit  to  baptism  and  make  a  profession  of  such  Christianity  as  was 
current, — a  profession  that  was  too  reluctant  and  imperfect  even  to 
induce  the  outward  appearance  of  proselytism, — these  were  to  be 
made  the  subjects  of  a  terrible  coercion.  Judaism  was  all  but  extinct ; 
and  the  Inquisitors  had  nearly  exhausted  the  property  belonging 
to  the  Judeo-Christian  families  who  remained  after  massacres,  emigra- 
tions, banishments,  and  the  great  expulsion  of  1-192.  The  Moors,  or 
Moriscoes,  of  Valencia,  first  compelled  to  submit  to  that  spurious 
Christianity,  were  then  goaded  by  innumerable  vexations,  until  they 
laid  their  complaints  at  the  foot  of  the  imperial  throne,  and  were  at  last 
quieted  by  fire  and  sword.  But  the  humbler  classes  of  the  Granadan 
population  were  almost  entirely  Moorish  ;  and  measures  having  been 
already  taken  for  the  obliteration  of  every  trace  of  their  national 


368  CHAPTER     V. 

origin,  by  prohibiting  the  language,  dress,  and  customs  which  they 
had  cherished  with  an  intense  enthusiasm,  the  Inquisition  was  planted 
in  Granada  (A.D.  1530),  and  its  operations  began.  As  yet  there  were 
no  Lutherans  in  Spain  ;  but  good  books  had  found  their  way  into 
the  country,  if  we  may  believe  those  Inquisitors  who  took  the  civil 
power  into  their  own  hands,  and  published  two  orders  from  their 
Supreme  Council,  the  one  prohibiting  utterly  the  printing  of  books, 
and  the  other  commanding  their  servants  to  visit  and  examine  all 
public  libraries, — although  those  libraries,  being  ecclesiastical,  should 
rather  have  been  expurgated  by  the  Bishops  than  by  the  Inquisition, 
— and  requiring  all  persons  to  give  information  of  those  whom  they 
believed  to  have  possessed  or  read  such  books.  Thus  began  at  once 
the  suppression  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moriscoes.  For  the  latter  purpose  proceedings  were  vigorous,  for  the 
former  but  preliminary ;  and  Charles,  busied  with  the  affairs  of  Ger- 
many, left  both  to  be  executed  by  his  son.  The  neighbouring  king- 
dom of  Portugal  was  not  impervious  to  rays  of  truth  ;  the  King, 
John  III.,  represented  to  the  Court  of  Rome  that  several  converted 
Jews  had  become  Protestants,  and  Clement  VII.  favoured  him  with 
the  appointment  of  an  Inquisitor-General,  Diego  de  Silva,  who  entered 
Lisbon  amidst  the  execrations  of  the  people  ;  but  King  John  had 
already  overcome  "  grave  difficulties,"  their  murmurings  were  awed 
into  silence,  and  an  abundant  harvest  the  year  following  (A.D.  1535) 
was  declared  to  be  a  boon  of  heaven  to  reward  Portugal  for  the 
admission  of  the  Holy  Office.  All  this  notwithstanding,  Don  Diego 
could  not  venture  to  exercise  his  functions  until  two  years'  perse- 
verance had  brought  him  another  Bull,  Lutheran  doctrine  gaining 
ground  meanwhile,  both  in  Portugal  and  Spain. 

Even  in  the  court  of  Charles  V.,  and  subsequently  in  the  vice- 
royal  palace  of  Naples,  Juan  Valdes,  a  learned,  devout,  and  evangelical 
Spaniard,  laboured  in  the  preparation  of  treatises  *  calculated  to  open 
the  eyes  of  his  countrymen  to  some  fundamental  articles  of  Christian 
faith.  While  a  young  man  he  had  imbibed  many  scriptural  ideas 
from  the  writings  of  Tauler,  a  German  mystic,  which  were  confirmed 
by  conversing  with  enlightened  men,  and  by  studying  the  word  of 
God  with  prayer.  He  taught  that  the  holy  Scriptures,  not  the 
Fathers,  are  the  rule  of  faith  ;  that  men  are  justified  by  a  lively  faith 
in  the  passion  and  death  of  Christ ;  that  it  is  possible  for  the  justified 
to  attain  to  certainty  as  to  their  acceptance  with  God.  Other  writers 
partook  of  a  similar  elevation  of  theological  sentiment ;  but  the  living 
voice  was  not  yet  heard,  until  one  who  appears  to  have  owed  little  or 
nothing  to  human  writings,  without  an  earthly  master,  and  taught  by 
God  alone,  broke  silence. 

Rodrigo  de  Valero,  a  native  of  Lebrija,  figured  at  Seville  in  the 
most  brilliant  scenes  of  gaiety  and  fashion.  While  yet  his  health  was 
unbroken,  and  his  fortune  unimpaired,  he  suddenly  withdrew  into 


ne 

Scriptu 
Jint  das. 


RODRIGO    DE    VALERO.  369 

solitude,  laid  aside  his  equipage,  relinquished  all  care  of  personal 
appearance,  and,  shutting  himself  up  iu  his  chamber,  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  reading  and  meditation.  His  book  was  a  Latin  Bible  ; 
and  over  its  pages  he  bent,  night  and  day,  familiarizing  himself  with 
the  language,  committing  sentences  to  memory,  and  comparing 
spiritual  things  with  spiritual.  He  had  turned  his  back  on  the 
formalities  of  the  Church  as  well  as  on  the  follies  of  the  world  ;  and 
while  learning  the  first  elements  of  Christianity,  these  elements  grew 
up  within  his  soul  into  a  body  of  lively  truth  that  he  could  no  longer 
hide  in  secrecy.  Emerging  from  retirement  as  unexpectedly  as  he 
had  gone  into  it,  he  appeared  suddenly  in  society  again,  courting  the 
company  of  Priests  and  Friars,  and  conversing  only  on  religious 
topics.  They  heard  his  arguments  with  the  embarrassment  of  novices, 
and  his  reproofs  with  impatience,  when  he  pointed  out  their  impuri- 
ties and  dishonesty  of  conduct  no  less  freely  than  the  errors  of  their 
doctrine.  To  their  rote  authorities  he  opposed  the  veritable  authority 
of  the  word  of  God.  They  withdrew  from  his  society  ;  but  he  pur- 
sued them.  In  public  companies,  and  on  public  walks,  he  joined  in 
their  conversations,  and  confronted  them  with  the  unanswerable  text 
of  the  neglected  Bible.  Disdainfully  they  asked  whence  he  had 
derived  his  knowledge,  how  he  could  dare  to  teach  them,  and  what 
were  the  pi-oofs  of  his  new  mission.  His  Bible,  he  affirmed,  was  the 
source  of  all  knowledge,  and  the  Divine  Author  of  that  book  the 
authority  on  whom  alone  he  relied  while  endeavouring  to  dispel  their 
ignorance.  They  presented  him  to  the  Inquisitors  ;  but  he  felt  no 
fear,  and  argued  against  the  triers  with  the  same  earnestness  and 
self-possession  as  if  he  had  been  pacing  the  Alameda  with  familiar 
friends.  The  Inquisitors  fancied  him  to  be  mad ;  some  whom  he  had 
already  brought  over  to  his  views  designedly  encouraged  them  in  the 
fancy,  and  the  fathers  contented  themselves  with  depriving  the  insane 
babbler  of  his  property.  This  he  took  joyfully  ;  and,  although  death 
awaited  him,  could  only  be  persuaded  to  cease  from  public  conversa- 
tion for  a  time,  and  employed  the  interval  in  expounding  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans  to  a  secret  congregation.  But  secret  ministrations 
became  wearisome.  He  believed  that  he  ought  to  confess  Christ  openly, 
at  whatever  cost,  and  was  seen  and  heard  again  in  public  as  before. 
Again  the  Inquisitors  had  him  brought  into  their  presence  (A.D. 
1541),  and  condemned  him  to  wear  the  sambenito, — saco  bendito, 
"  blessed  sack  !  " — and  to  be  imprisoned  for  life.  He  was  thus  made 
one  of  a  company  of  "  penitents,"  and  marched  with  the  shameful 
vesture  on  him,  with  shorn  head  and  bare  feet,  to  hear  sermons  in 
the  church  of  S.  Salvador,*  in  Seville  ;  but  he  manifested  neither 

*  If  the  traveller  in  Seville  will  go  to  the  church  of  S.  Salvador,  he  will  see  an  inscrip- 
tion, on  marble,  on  the  outside  of  that  building.  It  is  an  old  law,  which,  mutatis 
mutandis,  the  ecclesiastical  authority  would  wish  to  have  enforced  at  this  day  : — "  The 
King,  Don  Juan,  Law  11.  The  King,  and  every  person  who  shall  meet  the  most  holy 
sacrament,  shall  come  down  from  his  horse,  although  it  be  in  the  mire,  under  penalty 
of  six  hundred  maravedis  of  that  time,  according  to  the  laudable  custom  of  this  city,  or 
he  shall  lose  his  equipage.  And  if  it  be  a  Moor,  fourteen  years  of  age,  or  upwards, 
he  must  kneel  down,  or  lose  all  the  clothes  that  are  on  him,  to  be  given  to  the  accuser. 
This  stone  was  erected  by  the  arch-fraternity  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament  of  this  collegiate 
church,  in  the  year  1714.'' — Copied  on  the  spot  by  the  author. 
VOL.  III.  3  11 


370  CHAPTER    V. 

shame  nor  sorrow ;  and  once,  unwilling  to  lose  the  opportunity  of 
again  publishing  the  truth,  addressed  a  numerous  congregation, 
after  the  preacher  had  left  the  pulpit,  warning  them  not  to  give  heed 
to  anything  that  could  not  be  proved  by  the  word  of  God.  This  act 
sealed  his  earthly  doom.  From  that  time  he  was  hidden  from  every 
eye,  save  that  of  God,  and  the  inmates  of  a  monastery  in  the  little 
town  of  S.  Lucar  de  Barrameda,  on  the  edge  of  the  Guadalquivir, 
where  he  died  at  about  fifty  years  of  age.  His  sambenito,  according 
to  custom,  was  hung  up  as  a  trophy  in  the  cathedral  church  of 
Seville,  surmounted  by  these  words  : — "  Rodrigo  de  Valero,  citizen 
of  Lebrija  and  Seville,  apostate,  a  false  Apostle,  who  pretended 
to  be  sent  of  God."  We  shall  find  a  nobler  memorial  of  this 
confessor, 

By  channels,  of  which  there  is  no  trace  remaining,  the  truth  found 
entrance  into  the  city  of  Valladolid.  In  the  confidence  of  friendship, 
among  persons  who  found  themselves  alike  influenced  by  a  hungering 
and  thirsting  after  righteousness,  the  verities  of  Christianity  found 
frequent  utterance  ;  and  a  lively  desire  to  discover  the  doctrine  that 
freer  nations  had  welcomed,  and  that  martyrs  again  died  for,  pervaded 
the  public  mind,  but  lay  covered  in  silence.  At  length  it  was  noised 
that  an  auto  de  fe  was  to  be  celebrated  ;  and,  at  the  appointed  time, 
the  usual  procession  walked  towards  the  hearth, — quemadero, — as  the 
Spaniards  correctly  call  the  ordinary  place  of  execution.  A  sad  train 
of  penitents  were  made  to  stand  in  order  around  the  spot,  and  one, 
wearing  a  sambenito  and  cap,  with  red  flames  and  devils  painted  from 
head  to  foot,  was  led  out  of  the  train,  and  chained  to  the  stake.  A 
crowd  of  Friars  beset  him  with  offers  of  life  if  he  would  accept  recon- 
ciliation with  the  Church,  but  could  not  extort  a  sentence.  He  stood 
erect  and  placid,  waiting  for  deliverance ;  but  when  they  presented 
him  an  image  of  the  Saviour,  fixed  on  a  lofty  rood,  he  averted  his  eye 
with  sorrow  from  the  idol.  The  people  saw,  for  the  first  time,  a 
Lutheran  taken  in  the  clutches  of  the  Inquisition,  and  waited,  with 
breathless  attention  and  fixed  gaze,  to  catch  every  syllable  and  watch 
every  gesture.  But,  still  and  peaceful,  he  answered  not  a  word. 
When  the  fire  was  applied,  as  the  flame  first  laid  hold  on  his 
body,  he  shrank  involuntarily ;  and  the  Friars,  mistaking  the  move- 
ment for  a  signal  of  surrender,  shouted  that  he  was  penitent,  and  bade 
him  be  taken  from  the  stake.  Then  he  spoke,  loud  and  clear,  "Do 
you  envy  me  my  happiness  ?  "  The  Friars  revoked  their  order,  the 
martyr  finished  his  course  with  joy,  the  penitents  were  taken  back  to 
endure  the  remainder  of  their  penalties,  and  the  inhabitants  went 
home,  repeating  the  single  sentence,  "  Do  you  envy  me  my  happi- 
ness ? "  The  same  day  a  proclamation  rang  through  the  city, 
forbidding  any  to  pray  for  his  soul,  or  to  speak  a  word  in  his  praise. 
But  there  were  thousands  who  would  not  be  silenced  :  they  loudly 
praised  the  man  who  could  find  happiness  in  martyrdom  ;  several 
soldiers  of  the  imperial  guard  came  openly  to  the  place,  and  gathered 
up  the  ashes  ;  and  even  the  English  Ambassador,  being  in  the  city  at 
the  time  (A.D.  1544),  obtained  a  relic  from  his  half-burnt  bones. 
The  guards  were  imprisoned,  and  the  representative  of  Henry  VIII. — 


THE    GOSPEL    SPREADS    IN    SPAIN.  371 

•who  knew  that  his  master  was  weary  of  barbarity  like  that  now 
renewed  in  Spain — was  prohibited  from  appearing  at  court. 

Then  the  citizens  of  Valladolid  repeated  the  history  of  the  martyr. 
His  name  was  Francisco  San  Roman,  son  of  the  old  Alcalde  of  Bri- 
biesca.  He  had  gone  young  into  Flanders,  on  commercial  business ; 
and,  having  been  sent  by  his  employers  from  Antwerp  to  Bremen, 
where  the  Gospel  was  known,  had  heard  Spreng,  of  whom  we  have 
already  spoken,  a  good  Prior  of  the  Augustinian  monastery  of  Antwerp 
who  had  to  flee  to  save  his  life.  Awakened  by  that  sermon,  he  called 
on  the  preacher,  and  obtained  an  introduction  to  a  circle  of  pious  and 
learned  Christians.  Exulting  in  the  treasure  newly  found,  he  made 
allusions  in  letters  to  his  employers  which  betrayed  the  change  he  had 
undergone,  and,  on  his  return,  was  seized  by  some  Friars,  who 
searched  his  luggage,  found  Lutheran  books,  and  threw  him  into 
prison.  On  powerful  intercession,  the  clerical  authorities  allowed  him 
to  be  released  after  eight  months'  confinement ;  but  his  love  to  Christ 
was  not  extinguished.  For  a  time  he  submitted  to  restraint,  at  the 
earnest^entreaty  of  his  friends  and  brethren  ;  but  being  at  Eatisbon  at 
the  time  of  the  inconclusive  Diet  that  was  held  there,  and  encouraged 
by  hearing  of  the  growing  power  of  the  Reformed,  he  obtained  an 
audience  of  Charles  V.,  to  whom  he  deplored  the  state  of  religion  in 
Spain,  and  begged  His  Majesty  to  restrain  the  cruelties  of  the  Inqui- 
sitors. Emboldened  by  a  mild  reply,  he  ventured  to  ask  for  a  second 
hearing,  and  then  spoke  so  freely  that  the  attendants  would  have 
flung  him  into  the  Danube  at  once,  but  Charles  commanded  them  to 
reserve  him  for  trial.  They  threw  him  into  irons,  and  thus  he  was 
carried  in  the  retinue  of  the  Emperor  from  Germany  to  Italy,  from 
Italy  to  Africa,  from  Africa  back  to  Spain,  and  delivered  over  to  the 
Inquisitors  at  Valladolid.  His  last  audience  were  the  Inquisitors, 
who  heard  him  confess  faith  in  the  only  meritorious  death  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  pronounce  the  mass,  auricular  confession, 
image-worship,  saint-worship,  and  purgatory,  to  be  all  blasphemy 
against  the  living  God.  Neither  witnesses  nor  torture  were  necessary 
to  prove  that  he  was  none  of  theirs  ;  and  they  sated  their  own  anger 
and  the  displeasure  of  Charles  by  throwing  him  into  the  fire. 

Witnesses  now  multiplied,  in  spite  of  Emperor  and  Inquisition. 
He  had  imprisoned  Encinas  at  Brussels ;  but  a  friendly  guard,  or  per- 
haps a  more  friendly  Providence,  without  any  intentional  human 
intervention,  left  open  the  prison-door,  the  prisoner  escaped,  and 
became  eminent  as  a  translator  of  the  Bible  into  Spanish. 

Seville,  also,  became  a  seat  of  evangelical  communion  and  prayer ; 
but  the  Christians  there  were  compelled  to  hold  their  conversations 
and  meetings  in  profound  secrecy,  probably  acquiring  a  habit  of  con- 
cealment that  afterwards  exerted  an  injurious  influence  on  the  charac- 
ter of  those  churches.  An  auto  de  fe  in  that  city  *  admonished 
them  of  danger  (A.D.  1552)  ;  and  in  the  neighbouring  kingdom  the 
irrepressible  zeal  of  an  Englishman  gave  the  Inquisition  a  momentary 
advantage,  and  served  as  an  occasion  for  terror  to  all  who  shared  in 
evangelical  opinions. 

*  Probably  of  persons  burnt  for  Judaism  or  witchcraft. 

3   B  2 


372  CHAPTER    V. 

William  Gardiner,  a  pious  young  man,  native  of  Bristol,  well  edu- 
cated, went  out  to  Lisbon  as  a  supercargo,  and  eventually  settled 
there  as  correspondent  of  a  house  in  Bristol,  learnt  Portuguese, 
became  well  known,  and  held  private  intercourse  with  many  persons 
— whether  English  or  Portuguese,  or  both,  the  narrator  *  does  not 
say — who  experienced  the  reality  of  religion.  On  occasion  of  a  mar- 
riage between  the  son  of  the  King  of  Portugal  and  a  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Spain,  Gardiner,  in  common  with  a  great  multitude,  went  to 
witness  the  ceremony.  "  The  hour  being  come,  they  flocked  into  the 
church  with  great  solemnity  and  pomp  ;  the  King  first,  and  then 
every  estate  in  order ;  the  greater  the  persons,  the  more  ceremonies 
were  about  them.  After  all  things  were  set  in  order,  they  went  for- 
ward to  the  celebrating  of  their  mass ;  for  that  alone  serveth  for  all 
purposes.  The  Cardinal  did  execute,  with  much  singing  and  organ- 
playing.  The  people  stood  with  great  devotion  and  silence,  praying, 
looking,  kneeling,  and  knocking  ;  their  minds  being  fully  bent  and 
set,  as  it  is  the  matter,  upon  the  external  sacrament."  The  young 
Englishman  shuddered  at  the  idolatry  that  marred  the  spectacle  ;  he 
pitied  the  King  and  chief  nobility  of  the  kingdom,  who  rendered  the 
homage  of  a  nation  to  the  wafer ;  and  fain  would  he  have  borne  some 
testimony  against  their  deed.  From  that  scene  he  returned  to  his 
lodgings,  fell  on  his  knees,  wept,  prayed  God  to  have  mercy  on  the 
guilty,  and  besought  guidance  that  he  might  clear  his  conscience. 
Scarcely  could  he  take  food  or  sleep  for  some  days,  until  the  Sunday 
following,  when  he  dressed  himself  with  exceeding  care,  so  as  to  be 
admitted  into  the  body  of  the  church  where  the  King,  with  the  royal 
bridegroom  and  bride,  and  the  same  train  of  Cardinals,  Bishops, 
Princes,  and  Lords,  were  to  close  the  nuptial  festivities  with  a  solemn 
mass.  Gardiner  made  Mray  to  the  high  altar,  took  his  station,  and 
stood  reading  a  New  Testament  during  the  ceremonial,  until  mass. 
But  then  he  stirred  not.  The  Cardinal  "  consecrated,  sacrificed,  lifted 
up  on  high."  The  people  knelt  down  and  beat  their  breasts ;  but  the 
Englishman  stood  still,  fixing  his  eyes  only  on  his  book.  At  last,  at 
that  part  of  the  ceremony  where  they  used  to  take  the  host  and  toss 
it  to  and  fro  round  the  chalice,  Gardiner  sprang  on  the  Cardinal,  with 
one  hand  snatched  away  the  wafer  and  trod  it  under  foot,  and  with 
the  other  dashed  the  chalice  to  the  ground.  For  a  moment,  the 
glittering  assemblage  was  struck  silent  with  amazement,  but  only  for 
a  moment.  The  aggressor  stood  still,  and  was  seized  by  those  nearest. 
One  wounded  him  with  a  dagger,  but  the  King  prevented  further 
violence  ;  and  after  he,  and  one  Pendigrace,  his  fellow-lodger,  had 
suffered  torture,  in  order  to  discover  whether  he  had  been  employed  to 
commit  the  act, — Edward  VI.,  a  reputed  heretic,  being  then  King 
of  England, — he  was  first  mutilated  by  the  amputation  of  both  hands, 
and  then  swung  over  a  fire,  to  be  slowly  burnt  to  death.  The  Clergy 
afterwards  appointed  a  solemn  fast  to  placate  the  divinity  which  they 
said  Gardiner  had  profaned.  It  is  not  necessary  to  spend  time  in 
considering  whether  the  doer  of  such  an  act  should  be  blamed  or  com- 

*  Foxe,  (Acts  and  Monuments,  book  ix.,)  who  received  his  information  from  Tendi- 
grace,  the  companion  of  Gardiner. 


GOOD  BOOKS  IN  SPAIN.  373 

mended.  Those  who  reverence  Romish  idolatry  will,  of  course,  cen- 
sure his  excessive  zeal,  deeming  that  complaisance  is  to  be  rendered  to 
every  sort  of  religious  form  ;  but  some  there  are  who  will  honour  the 
spirit  of  the  man  who,  in  a  strange  country,  and  with  certainty  of 
most  cruel  death,  could  dare  to  use  that  awful  moment  to  bear  wit- 
ness against  the  abominable  sin  of  changing  the  glory  of  the  incor- 
ruptible God  into  so  insignificant  an  object  of  adoration.  Others  have 
attacked  Priests  with  weapons  of  death,  and  committed  needless 
violence  ;  but,  at  least,  it  must  be  said  of  William  Gardiner,  that 
every  known  circumstance  of  his  life  until  that  time  defends  him  from 
the  suspicion  of  wanton  fanaticism. 

To  return  to  Spain.  A  remarkable  oneness  of  purpose  actuated 
the  leading  evangelists  of  that  country.  They  were  not  at  first  so 
much  indebted  to  Germany  as  might  be  supposed.  The  religious 
wars  and  persecutions  of  their  own  country  had  provoked  reflection. 
Not  only  the  Koran,  but  the  Old  Testament,  had  been  a  household 
book  through  long  ages  of  trial.  Prevalent  idolatry  and  fiend-like 
persecution  had  closed  the  heart  of  the  afflicted  Jew  against  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity.  How  could  he  compare  the  superstition  and 
malign  violence  of  Romanism  with  any  prophetic  description,  and 
take  it  to  be  the  religion  of  Christ  ?  Yet  the  pure  morality  of  that 
blessed  volume  was  learned  by  the  afflicted  sons  of  Jacob  in  Spain 
perhaps  better  than  in  any  other  country ;  for  there  they  were  more 
learned,  as  well  as  more  oppressed ;  and  their  integrity  sustained 
them  in  the  estimation  of  the  laity,  even  while  the  Clergy  wreaked  the 
utmost  fury  of  bigotry  and  cupidity  upon  their  heads.  Here  was  a 
peculiar  moral  element  in  the  Spanish  character,  as  long  as  Jewish 
blood,  with  the  domestic  traditions  and  customs  of  that  people, 
retained  their  influence.  Following  in  the  track  of  the  expatriated 
Hebrews,  the  more  learned  disciples  of  Valero  and  his  first  com- 
panions left  Spain  ;  but  they  went  in  order  to  prepare  materials  for 
its  conversion.  Not  only  the  Bibles  and  Catechisms  of  Encinas  and 
Perez,  but  many  other  books,  were  proceeding  from  German,  and 
Swiss,  and  Venetian  presses,  and  diffusing  sacred  knowledge  through- 
out Spain,  in  spite  of  prohibitions.  Pope  Julius  III.  (A.D.  1550) 
told  the  Inquisitors  that  he  had  been  informed  of  great  quantities 
of  heretical  books  in  the  hands  of  booksellers  and  private  persons  ; 
and  officers  were  stationed  at  all  the  sea-ports  and  along  the  frontiers, 
to  search  the  luggage  and  person  of  every  one  entering  the  kingdom. 
But  the  barrier  could  not  be  kept  unbroken.  Prohibited  books  were 
sought  after  with  avidity  ;  and  among  the  most  daring  importers  was 
Julian  Hernandez,  amanuensis  of  one  of  the  translators  (Juan  Perez) 
at  Geneva,  who  managed  to  convey  two  large  casks  full  of  books  from 
the  city  of  Calvin  to  the  house  of  one  of  the  Reformed  in  Seville,  who 
quickly  dispersed  their  contents  over  the  kingdom.  Muleteers  carried 
parcels  of  books  within  skins  of  wine  from  one  place  to  another. 

The  Christians  of  Valladolid  were  refreshed  (A.D.  1556)  by  the  visit 
of  a  brother  who  had  endured  severe  trial.  Dr.  Juan  Gil,  or  Egidio, 
had  been  for  three  years  imprisoned  at  Seville,  where  he  once  did 
open  penance  at  an  auto  de  ft.  The  period  of  imprisonment  being 


3/4  CHAPTER    V. 

expired,  he  travelled  to  visit  this  congregation ;  but  the  effort  was 
more  than  his  attenuated  frame  could  bear,  and  he  died  of  fever 
immediately  after  his  return.*  When  Valero  began  his  labours  in 
Seville,  Dr.  Egidio  was  Canon  Magistral,  or  preacher  of  the  cathedral ; 
but,  although  deeply  imbued  with  scholastic  science,  and  of  high  repute 
for  learning,  exceedingly  unpopular,  and  scarcely  less  unhappy.  While 
mortified  and  perplexed,  he  met  with  Valero,  who  told  him  plainly 
whence  a  preacher  may  draw  life,  and  set  him  to  read  the  word 
of  God.  Egidio  applied  himself  to  the  new  study,  and  soon  began  to 
put  forth  pungent  sentences,  stirring  appeals,  and,  at  length,  such 
torrents  of  novel,  heart-awakening  oratory,  as  drew  popular  attention, 
and  brought  crowds  into  the  half-deserted  edifice.  With  admirable 
prudence  he  tempered  his  discourses  to  the  state  of  the  people,  rather 
instructing  them  than  attacking  the  abominations  of  the  Church,  and 
at  once  taught  them  to  trust  in  the  atonement,  and  to  bear  the  cross 
of  Christ.  When  he  was  already  the  centre  of  a  numerous  company 
of  persons,  whose  great  care  was  for  their  personal  salvation,  two 
of  his  former  fellow-students  joined  him  in  the  work  of  preaching 
Christ.  One  was  Dr.  Vargas,  who  read  lectures  to  the  learned,  ex- 
pounding in  order  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  and  the  Book  of  Psalms. 
The  other  was  Constantino  Ponce  de  la  Fuente,  an  eloquent  preacher, 
who  assisted  in  the  pulpit.  These  three  were  for  a  time  the  sup- 
porters of  the  cause  of  God  in  Seville  ;  and,  after  their  public  labours 
during  the  day,  were  used  to  join  parties  of  brethren  in  private 
houses,  and  familiarly  teach  inquirers  the  way  of  life.  This  society 
peacefully  multiplied  in  the  city,  and  ramified  into  other  places  ;  but 
they  were  soon  to  feel  the  weight  of  persecution,  as  well  as  their 
brethren  in  Valladolid,  and  elsewhere.  Vargas  died.  De  la  Fuente 
removed  into  the  Netherlands,  as  Chaplain  to  the  Emperor,  who,  in 
admiration  of  his  lesser  excellencies,  overlooked  his  greater,  as  did  he 
the  real  doctrine  of  Dr.  Egidio,  whom  he  nominated  to  the  vacant 
bishopric  of  Tortosa.  This  appointment  aroused  the  envy  of  several 
aspirants  to  the  same  dignity,  who  charged  the  Bishop  elect  with 
heresy,  and  had  him  thrown  into  a  secret  prison  of  the  Inquisition. 
The  Emperor  wrote  in  his  favour  to  the  Inquisitor-General ;  the 
Chapter  of  Seville  interceded  for  him ;  so  did  many  other  persons ; 
and  for  a  moment  the  Inquisitors  relaxed  their  grasp.  Yet  he  was 
not  quite  free.  The  stain  of  heresy  remained  on  him,  and  by  a  pre- 
tence of  extraordinary  consideration,  he  was  excused  from  examination 
by  the  ordinary  calificadores,  or  triers  of  the  tribunal,  and  permitted 
to  nominate  an  arbiter,  of  whom  the  Judges  approved,  and  Domingo 
de  Soto,  a  Dominican  from  Salamanca,  sat  down  with  him  to  review 
the  doctrine  he  had  been  accused  of  preaching.  After  many  confer- 
ences the  two  divines  seemed  to  have  come  to  an  agreement ;  and  as 
public  expectation  ran  very  high,  it  was  arranged  that  both  Egidio  and 
Soto  should  appear  in  the  cathedral,  and  each  read  a  paper,  previously 
agreed  to  by  the  other,  explanatory  of  their  judgment  on  the  points  in 

*  That  visit  was  known  after  his  death,  and  regarded  as  evidence  that  he  was  still  a 
"  Lutheran."  The  case  was  tried  over  again,  his  body  was  exhumed,  he  was  burnt  in 
effigy,  and  his  property  confiscated. 


JULIAN    HERNANDEZ.  375 

question,  especially  as  to  justification,  wherein  the  Dominican  had 
professed  to  coincide.  At  the  hour  appointed  they  went  to  the 
cathedral,  where  two  pulpits  were  placed,  but  so  far  apart,  that  one 
could  not  distinctly  hear  the  other.  Each,  however,  was  heard  by  a 
considerable  part  of  the  intervening  congregation,  who  found  that, 
notwithstanding  the  pretended  coincidence  of  Soto,  they  pronounced 
contrary  doctrine.  This  difference  was  made  the  ground  of  a  gecond 
process,  and  Egidio  was  imprisoned,  with  penance,  for  three  years  ; 
and  here  was  the  first  blow  that  fell  on  the  infant  church  in  Spain. 
That  church  now  extended  to  Seville,  Valladolid,  and  their  neighbour- 
hoods ;  many  villages  in  the  kingdom  of  Leon,  in  Toro,  Zamora  and 
its  neighbourhood,  Palencia,  Soria,  Logrono,  the  provinces  of  Gra- 
nada, Murcia,  Valencia  ;  and  with  great  strength  in  Aragon,  at  Zara- 
goza,  Huesca,  and  many  other  towns.  Priests,  nobles,  officers,  and 
entire  communities  of  Monks  and  Nuns,  had  become  Reformed. 

Egidio  was  removed  from  the  field  of  labour ;  but  the  Inquisitors 
found  that  the  work  spread,  notwithstanding.  Julian  Hernandez, 
informed  against  by  a  man  to  whom  he  had  given  a  New  Testament, 
was  thrown  into  prison  (A.D.  1557),  and  put  to  the  question,  to  discover 
his  brethren.  During  three  years'  durance  his  courage  never  drooped  ; 
and  after  baffling  his  tormentors  by  silence  in  the  torture-chamber, 
when  dragged  back  again  to  his  cell,  he  would  beguile  the  anguish 
of  his  racked  limbs  by  chanting,  in  one  of  those  airs  that  inimitably 
express  the  spirit  of  Iberian  romance, — 

"  Vencidos  van  los  Frayles,  vencidos  van  ; 
Corridos  van  los  lobos,  corridos  vau." 

"  There  go  the  Friars,  there  they  run  ; 
There  go  the  wolves,  the  wolves  are  done." 

The  secret  that  all  the  apparatus  of  torment  could  not  extort  from 
brave  Julian  Hernandez  was  brought  to  the  Inquisition  at  Seville  by  a 
familiar  in  disguise, — as  all  familiars  are,* — who  had  pretended  to  be 
a  convert,  and  took  part  in  the  private  meetings  ;  and  in  Valladolid 
by  the  wife  of  one  of  the  members,  who  traced  her  husband,  and  then 
went  straightway  to  the  Inquisition  with  the  desired  intelligence,  for 
which  those  scorners  and  corrupters  of  nuptial  fidelity  rewarded  her 
with  an  annuity  for  life.  These  two  informations  gave  the  clue  for 
further  discoveries.  The  Council  of  the  Supreme  instructed  the 
inferior  tribunals,  who  undertook  a  general  search,  observing  profound 
secrecy,  and  registering  every  suspicion.  Then,  at  one  stroke,  the 
brethren  at  Seville  and  at  Valladolid  were  seized  ;  and  as  informations 
multiplied,  hundreds  more  were  added  to  the  captives.  Eight  hun- 
dred persons  were  in  custody  at  Seville,  crowding  the  castle  of  Triana, 
the  common  prisons,  the  convent  prisons,  and  even  private  houses. 
Many  fled ;  yet  few  of  them  could  escape  out  of  the  country,  being 
pursued  and  overtaken.  Some,  desperate,  ran  to  the  Inquisition  and 
informed  against  themselves,  asking  for  mitigated  punishment ;  some, 
even  iu  foreign  countries,  were  ensnared,  and  brought  back  again. 

*  are  where  the  Inquisition  still  exists,  hut  no  longer  in  Spain. 


3/6  CHAPTER    V. 

An  entire  community  in  Seville  was  threatened.  The  Monks  of  San 
Isidro  had  long  possessed  a  stock  of  Bibles,  and,  in  the  privacy  of  that 
house,  had  thrown  aside  all  Popish  observances,  and  given  themselves 
to  the  word  of  God  and  prayer.  How  to  flee,  or  whether  to  remain, 
they  were  not  able  to  decide.  For  a  whole  society  to  escape  at  once 
would  be  impracticable :  so  each  member  of  the  community  was  left 
free  to  follow  his  reason  and  conscience.  Twelve  of  them  left  the 
monastery,  and,  taking  different  routes,  got  safely  out  of  Spain,  and 
at  the  end  of  twelve  months  were  united  to  the  Church  of  Geneva. 
The  monastery  of  San  Isidro  fell  under  suspicion,  and  the  remaining 
community  was  involved  in  the  common  persecution.  Charles  V.,  who 
had  now  retreated  to  a  monastery,  sent  messages  and  letters  to  his 
daughter  Juana,  Regent  of  Spain,  to  the  President  of  the  Council 
of  Castile,  and  to  the  Inquisitor- General,  exhorting  them  to  burn  all 
the  Lutherans ;  to  make  them  Christians  first,  if  possible,  but  to  for- 
give none  ;  bemoaning  his  former  sin  in  not  burning  Luther,  but 
keeping  faith,  with  a  heretic  whom  he  should  not  have  suffered  to  live 
when  he  had  caught  him  at  Worms,  notwithstanding  the  safe-conduct. 
Finding  themselves  in  possession  of  so  great  a  number  of  victims, 
mafcy  of  them  persons  of  rank  and  eminence,  Philip  II.  and  Valdes, 
the  Inquisitor- General,  represented  the  affair  to  the  Pope,  and  solicited 
instructions  equal  to  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion.  Paul  IV.  gratified 
them  with  a  Bull  (January  4th,  1559),  authorizing  the  Inquisitor- 
General  to  deliver  to  the  secular  arm,  to  be  burnt,  all  dogmatizing 
Lutheran  heretics,  even  if  they  were  not  relapsed,  and  those  of  the 
sincerity  of  whose  repentance  there  might  be  any  doubt.  This  was  a 
shameless  excess,  beyond  the  Inquisition  itself;  contrary  to  a  maxim 
of  Canon  Law,*  that  "  the  Church  closes  her  bosom  to  none  that 
return,"  and  has  excited  the  indignation  of  Romanists  themselves.  A 
second  Bull  (January  6th)  commanded,  in  addition  to  the  exertions 
of  the  Inquisitors,  all  Confessors  to  interrogate  all  persons  confessing 
as  to  their  knowledge  of  Lutheran  books ;  and  to  bring  all  such 
information  to  the  Inquisition,  breaking,  at  once,  the  seal  of  confes- 
sion, in  open  contempt  of  another  law  of  the  Church.  And  a  third 
Bull  (January  7th)  provided  further,  that  as  the  Lutheran  heresy, 
propagated  in  Spain  by  many  illustrious,  noble,  and  mighty  persons, 
had  been  checked  by  the  Inquisitor-General,  who  had  taken  many 
delinquents,  multiplied  Inquisitors,  dispersed  them  over  the  provinces, 
and  instructed  them  how  to  prevent  the  flight  of  many  ;  and  seeing 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  incur  much  expense  by  keeping  relays 
of  post-horses,  maintaining  the  poorer  prisoners,  and  so  on,  beyond 
the  existing  resources  of  the  Holy  Office,  and  fearing  that,  for  the 
future,  similar  expenses  would  have  to  be  incurred,  the  Pope  gave  the 
Inquisition  a  canonry  from  each  metropolitan,  cathedral,  and  collegiate 
church,  and  (by  an  additional  brief)  an  extraordinary  subsidy 
of  100,000  ducats  of  gold  out  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues.  All 
this  was  resisted  by  some  of  the  Chapters,  who  could  not  comprehend 
how  the  immense  confiscations  of  estates  of  heretics  should  be  insuf- 

*  •   Ecclesia  nulli  claudit  gremium  redeunti,"— Sexti  Decretalium  lib.  v.  ;  De  Hxret., 
Tit.  2. 


AUTO    DE    FE    AT    VALLADOLID.  3/7 

ficient  to  pay  the  expenses  of  their  capture ;  but  the  majority  yielded 
in  a  fervour  of  delight  at  the  expected  extermination  of  the  Lutherans, 
which  began  dreadfully  in  earnest. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Trinity  Sunday,  1559,  the  sound  of  bells 
was  indistinctly  heard  in  the  cells  of  the  Inquisition  of  Valla- 
dolid,  and  the  officials  brought  out  the  prisoners  to  meet  their 
doom.  The  penitents,  as  they  are  called,  had  heard  their  sentence 
the  evening  before.  Of  those  there  were  sixteen.  At  midnight, 
Confessors  had  entered  the  cells  of  fourteen  others,  awoke  them  to 
announce  that  the  next  day  they  were  to  burn,  and  offered  them  the 
indulgence  of  being  strangled  first,  if  they  would  be  reconciled  to  the 
Church.  The  prisoners  had  been  shaven,  and  their  hair  cut  off,  in 
consideration  of  the  uniformity  required,  or  to  signify  that  they  were 
reduced  to  a  state  resembling  bald  and  naked  infancy,  as  children  of 
wrath,  and  were  now  made  to  put  on  the  last  livery  of  the  Church. 
Each  victim  took  a  loose  yellow  dress,  or  cowl,  and  pasteboard  cap, 
the  zamarra  and  coroza,  prepared  according  to  his  fate.  For  those 
•who  were  to  be  burnt  alive  the  emblems  on  both  were  small  black 
devils,  and  ascending  flames,  with  the  figure  of  a  human  head 
burning  in  flames,  painted  low  on  the  front.  Inverted  flames, 
without  the  devils  or  the  head,  symbolized  the  gentler  chastise- 
ment and  lesser  ignominy  of  the  reconciled  persons,  who  were  to  be 
hung,  and  their  bodies  burnt  after  extinction  of  life.  These  persons 
were  also  permitted  to  carry  a  taper  and  a  rosary.  So  were  the 
penitents,  each  receiving  a  sambenito  marked  with  a  St.  Andrew's 
cross.  Thus  attired,  they  met  each  other  in  a  common  room,  but  in 
sepulchral  silence,  as  if  the  power  of  articulation  were  lost ;  for  none 
of  them  durst  speak,  nor  sob,  nor  groan.  Fixed  like  statues,  not 
a  limb  moved,  but  their  eyes  only.  They  were  subdued,  spirit-crushed, 
and  stupified  with  fear  and  grief,  or,  if  not  so,  silent  because  even  a 
breath  would  have  provoked  some  new  aggravation  of  torment.  There 
was  a  sumptuous  breakfast  prepared,  but  little  of  it  eaten ;  for  every 
one  revolted  from  the  mockery  of  a  feast  in  such  an  hour.  A  few 
who  had  confessed  Christ  most  boldly  were  now  gagged,  lest  they 
should  disturb  the  ceremonial  of  the  day,  or  enlighten  the  bystanders 
with  confession  of  their  Lord ;  the  whole  company  was  drawn  up  in 
order  in  the  prison-yard,  and,  those  condemned  to  die  being  placed  on 
asses,  and  their  hands  bound,  they  moved  towards  the  gate,  where  a 
band  of  soldiers  on  the  outside  waited  to  lead  the  way.  A  body 
of  Priests  in  robes  had  fallen  into  the  order  of  procession,  which  was 
already  formed,  and  after  them  a  numerous  band  of  singing-boys  in 
surplices,  who  joined  in  the  chorus  of  a  litany  as  soon  as  the  prison- 
ers appeared,  intonating  the  response,  "  Ora  pro  illis"  "  Pray  for 
them."  The  sixteen  penitents,  wearing  sambenitos,  walked  first,  each 
with  an  armed  familiar  at  his  side.  The  remaining  fourteen  were 
mounted.  The  corpse  of  one  who  had  died  in  faith  was  also  carried ; 
and  her  effigy,  imitating  life,  that,  with  her  dead  body,  it  might  burn. 
Two  familiars  and  as  many  Monks  led  each  beast,  with  a  heretic  wear- 
ing the  zamarra,  the  coroza  covered  with  flames  and  devils,  and  a  rope 
trailing  from  his  neck.  To  the  sound  of  litany  they  advanced, 

VOL.   in.  3  c 


378  CHAPTER    V. 

followed  by  the  chief  Magistrates  of  the  city,  officers  of  justice,  officers 
of  state,  and  noblemen.  Next  in  order  came  the  Clergy  of  the  diocese, 
each  in  his  proper  place,  the  dignitaries  of  the  chapter,  and  the  Pre- 
lates, regular  and  secular,  bringing  up  the  rear.  After  these  the  red 
silken  banner  of  the  Holy  Office,  bearing  a  cross,  with  sword  and  olive- 
branch,  and  the  legend,  "  Exsurge,  Domine,  etjudica  causam  tuam  :" 
"Arise,  0  Lord,  and  judge  thy  cause;"  and,  on  the  other  side,  the 
Papal  arms.  Over  the  banner  glittered  a  silver  crucifix,  overlaid  with 
gold,  and  filled,  as  the  populace  were  taught  to  think,  with  an  indwell- 
ing Divinity.  The  Fathers  of  the  faith,  Lords  of  the  Holy  Office, 
elate  with  the  glories  of  that  day,  followed  in  step  ecclesiastic  with 
fixed  gravity,  and  robed  in  black.  A  train  of  horsed  familiars,  men 
who  had  often  scoured  the  surrounding  plains  in  chase  of  heretics, 
bestrode  impatient  steeds,  thus  to  separate  their  masters  from  the 
promiscuous  rabble  that  followed  at  their  heels. 

The  vanguard  soon  entered  the  great  square  by  the  church  of  St. 
Francis,  where  a  temporary  amphitheatre  had  been  erected  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  personages  concerned  in  the  celebration  of  this 
act  of  faith.  A  splendid  platform,  on  one  side  of  the  area,  received 
the  Inquisitors,  who  sat  under  a  stately  canopy.  On  another  were 
Dona  Juana,  sister  of  the  King,  Governess  of  Spain  during  his  absence, 
and  Don  Carlos,  Prince  of  the  Asturias,  his  son,  whose  miserable  death 
has  been  already  related,  and  their  suite.  A  magnificent  altar  was 
prepared  for  mass,  and  a  pulpit  for  the  sermon.  The  convicts  of  the 
Church  were  seated  together,  under  guards,  on  one  side  in  a  separate 
gallery,  not  far  from  the  Inquisitors,  whose  first  act,  after  mass,  was 
to  go  to  the  royal  persons  and  adjure  them  to  support  the  Holy  Office, 
and  give  notice  of  everything  that  had  come,  or  ever  should  come,  to 
their  knowledge,  spoken  or  done  against  it.  Don  Francisco  Baca, 
Inquisitor  of  Valladolid,  administered  the  oath  to  the  Queen- Governess 
and  her  nephew,  as  if  they  were  merely  presiding  Magistrates,  whom 
the  law  required  so  to  swear  on  such  occasions.  Young  Carlos, 
although  but  fourteen  years  of  age,  felt  the  humiliation  while  he  took 
the  oath  :  already  he  disliked  the  man  who  exacted  it,  from  that 
moment  hated  the  Inquisition,  and  eventually  became  a  victim  to  its 
malice,  without,  however,  passing  through  its  forms.  The  same  oath 
was  taken  by  all  the  civil  officers  present,  and  the  sentences  of  the 
prisoners  were  then  read.  Melchor  Cano,  Bishop  of  the  Canaiies,  a 
Dominican,  severe  and  vehement,  delivered  the  sermon,  exhorting  all 
present  to  render  faithful  obedience  to  God,  the  Church,  and  the 
Inquisition  ;  and,  this  ended,  the  condemned  were  delivered  over  to 
the  secular  magistracy  with  the  usual  form.  Having  the  holy  Gospels 
open  before  him,  Francisco  Baca  condemned  the  Christians  to  the 
flames.  "  With  God,"  said  he,  "  before  our  eyes,  with  the  holy  Gos- 
pels placed  before  us,  that  our  judgment  may  proceed  from  the  face 
of  God,  and  that  our  eyes  may  look  upon  equity."  The  Magistrates 
of  the  city  then  took  the  condemned  without  the  walls,  and  burnt 
them  to  ashes.*  The  penitents  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, first  to  be  scourged  with  rods,  then  to  undergo  protracted 

*  Twelve  were  strangled  first,  the  other  two  were  burnt  alive. 


AUTO    DK    FE    AT    VALLADOLID.  379 

penance,  and  ever  to  be  branded  with  infamy,  and  their  children  after 
them. 

M'Crie  has  compendiated  the  history  of  these  sufferers  with  so 
great  fidelity  and  clearness,  that  we  will  borrow  from  his  pages.* 
"  The  greater  part  of  the  first  class," — the  penitents,  classed  first  by 
the  Inquisition, — "  were  persons  distinguished  by  their  rank  and  con- 
nexions. Don  Pedro  Sarmiento  de  Rojas,  son  of  the  first  Marquis  de 
Poza,  and  of  a  daughter  of  the  Conde  de  Salinas  y  Ribadeo,  was  stripped 
of  his  ornaments  as  Chevalier  of  St.  James,  deprived  of  his  office  as 
Commander  of  Quintana,  and  condemned  to  wear  a  perpetual  sambenito, 
to  be  imprisoned  for  life,  and  to  have  his  memory  declared  infamous. 
His  wife,  Dona  Mencia  de  Figueroa,  dame  of  honour  to  the  Queen, 
M'as  sentenced  to  wear  the  coat  of  infamy,  and  to  be  confined  during 
the  remainder  of  her  life.  His  nephew,  Don  Luis  de  Rojas,  eldest 
son  of  the  second  Marquis  de  Poza,  and  grandson  to  the  Marquis  de 
Alcaiiizas,  was  exiled  from  the  cities  of  Madrid,  Valladolid,  and  Palen- 
cia,  forbidden  to  leave  the  kingdom,  and  declared  incapable  of  suc- 
ceeding to  the  honours  or  estates  of  his  father.  Dona  Ana  Enriquez 
de  Rojas,  daughter  of  the  Marquis  de  Alcanizas,  and  wife  of  Don  Juan 
Alfonso  de  Fonseca  Megia,  was  a  lady  of  great  accomplishments, 
understood  the  Latin  language  perfectly,  and,  although  only  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  was  familiar  with  the  writings  of  the  Reformers, 
particularly  those  of  Calvin.  She  appeared  in  the  sambenito,  and 
was  condemned  to  be  separated  from  her  husband,  and  spend  her 
days  in  a  monastery.  Her  aunt,  Dona  Maria  de  Rojas,  a  Nun  of  St. 
Catherine  in  Valladolid,  and  forty  years  of  age,  received  sentence 
of  perpetual  penance  and  imprisonment,  from  which,  however,  she 
was  released  by  an  influence  which  the  Inquisitors  did  not  choose  to 
resist," — by  the  intercession  of  the  Queen  of  Portugal.  "  Don  Juan 
de  Ulloa  Pereira,  brother  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Mota,  was  subjected  to 
the  same  punishment  as  the  first-mentioned  nobleman.  This  brave 
chevalier  had  distinguished  himself  in  many  engagements  against  the 
Turks,  both  by  sea  and  land,  and  performed  so  great  feats  of  valour 
in  the  expeditions  to  Algiers,  Bugia,  and  other  parts  of  Africa,  that 
Charles  V.  had  advanced  him  to  the  rank  of  first  Captain,  and  after- 
wards of  General.  Having  appealed  to  Rome  against  the  sentence 
of  the  Inquisitors,  and  represented  the  services  which  he  had  done  to 
Christendom,  Don  Juan  was  eventually  restored  to  his  rank  as  Com- 
mander of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  Juan  de  Vibero 
Cazalla,  his  wife  Dona  Juana  Silva  de  Ribera,  his  sister  Dona  Con- 
stanza,  Dona  Francisca  Zuiiiga  de  Baeza,  Marina  de  Saavedra,  the 
widow  of  an  hidalgo  named  Juan  Cisneros  de  Soto,  and  Leonor  de 
Cisneros,  (whose  husband,  Antonio  Cisneros,  was  doomed  to  a  severer 
punishment,)  with  four  others  of  inferior  condition,  were  condemned 
to  wear  the  sambenito,  and  be  imprisoned  for  life.  The  imprison- 
ment of  Anthony  \Vasor,  an  Englishman,  and  servant  to  Don  Luis 
de  Rojas,  was  restricted  to  one  year's  confinement  in  a  convent. 
Confiscation  of  property  was  an  article  in  the  sentence  of  all  these 
persons. 

*  Making,  however,  some  verbal  corrections. 
3   c  2 


380  CHAPTER    V. 

"  Among  those  who  were  delivered  over  to  the  secular  arm,  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  was  Dr.  Agustin  Cazalla.  His  reputation,  and 
the  office  he  had  held  as  Chaplain  to  the  late  Emperor,  made  him  an 
object  of  particular  attention  to  the  Inquisitors.  During  his  confine- 
ment he  underwent  frequent  examinations,  with  the  view  of  establish- 
ing the  charges  against  himself  and  his  fellow-prisoners.  Cazalla  was 
deficient  in  the  courage  requisite  for  the  situation  into  which  he  was 
brought.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1559,  he  was  conducted  into  the 
place  of  torture,  when  he  shrank  from  the  trial ;  and,  promising  to 
submit  to  his  Judges,  made  a  declaration,  in  which  he  confessed  that 
he  had  embraced  the  Lutheran  doctrine,  but  denied  that  he  had  ever 
taught  it,  except  to  those  who  were  of  the  same  sentiments  with  him- 
self. This  answered  all  the  wishes  of  the  Inquisitors,  who  were 
determined  that  he  should  expiate  his  offence  by  death  ;  at  the  same 
time  that  they  kept  him  in  suspense  as  to  his  fate,  with  the  view 
of  procuring  from  him  additional  information.  On  the  evening  before 
the  auto  de  fe,  Antonio  de  Carrera,  a  Monk  of  St.  Jerome,  being  sent 
to  acquaint  him  with  his  sentence,  Cazalla  begged  earnestly  to  know, 
if  he  might  entertain  hopes  of  escaping  capital  punishment ;  to  which 
Carrera  replied,  that  the  Inquisitors  could  not  rely  on  his  declarations, 
but  that  if  he  would  confess  all  that  the  witnesses  had  deposed 
against  him,  mercy  might  perhaps  be  extended  to  him.  This  con- 
vinced Cazalla  that  his  doom  was  fixed.  '  Well  then,'  said  he,  '  I 
must  prepare  to  die  in  the  grace  of  God ;  for  it  is  impossible  for  me 
to  add  to  what  I  have  said,  without  falsehood.'  He  confessed  him- 
self to  Carrera  that  night  and  next  morning.  On  the  scaffold,  seeing 
his  sister  Constanza  passing  among  those  who  were  sentenced  to 
perpetual  imprisonment,  he  pointed  to  her,  and  said  to  the  Princess 
Juana,  'I  beseech  your  Highness,  have  compassion  on  this  unfortunate 
woman,  who  has  thirteen  orphan  children.'  At  the  place  of  execu- 
tion he  addressed  a  few  words  to  his  fellow-prisoners  in  the  character 
of  a  penitent,  in  virtue  of  which  he  obtained  the  poor  favour  of  being 
strangled  before  his  body  was  committed  to  the  fire.  His  Confessor 
was  so  pleased  with  his  behaviour,  as  to  say  he  had  no  doubt  Cazalla 
was  in  heaven.  His  sister  Dona  Beatriz  de  Vibero,  Dr.  Alonso  Perez, 
a  Priest  of  Palencia,  Don  Cristobal  de  Ocampo,  Chevalier  of  the  Order 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  and  Almoner  to  the  Grand  Prior  of  Castile, 
Don  Cristobal  de  Padilla,  and  seven  others,  shared  the  same  fate  as 
Cazalla.  Among  these  were  the  husband  of  the  woman  who  had 
informed  against  the  meeting  in  Valladolid,  and  four  females,  one 
of  whom,  Dona  Catalina  de  Ortega,  was  daughter-in-law  to  the  Fiscal 
of  the  royal  Council  of  Castile. 

The  two  who  had  the  honour  to  endure  the  flames  were  Francisco 
de  Vibero  Cazalla,  parish  Priest  of  Hormigos,  brother  of  Agustin,  and 
Antonio  Herrezuelo.  They  gave  no  sign  of  weakness  on  the  fatal  day,  and 
bore  the  fire  without  shrinking.  Herrezuelo,  an  Advocate  of  Toro,  con- 
ducted himself  with  surpassing  intrepidity.  His  courage  remained 
unshaken  amidst  the  horrors  of  the  torture,  the  ignominy  of  the  public 
spectacle,  and  the  terrors  of  the  stake.  The  only  thing  that  moved 
him  was  the  sight  of  his  wife  in  the  garb  of  a  penitent ;  and  the  look 


CEREMONIAL    OF    THE    AUTO.  381 

which  he  gave — for  he  could  not  speak — as  he  passed  her  to  go  to 
the  place  of  execution,  seemed  to  say,  '  This  is  more  than  I  can  bear.' 
Enraged  to  see  such  courage  in  a  heretic,  one  of  the  guards  plunged 
his  lance  into  the  body  of  Herrezuelo,  whose  blood  was  licked  up  by 
the  flames  with  which  he  was  already  enveloped." 

Never  before  had  martyrdom  been  attended  by  such  a  pageant. 
The  ceremonial,  so  to  speak,  had  varied,  according  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  persecution,  and  the  state  and  customs  of  the  country.  As 
an  army,  a  mob,  the  magistracy,  or  the  Inquisition,  executed  the  plea- 
sure of  the  Church,  the  rigour  of  justice  or  the  fury  of  passion 
predominated  on  the  scene  of  death ;  but  the  more  firmly  the 
Church  held  the  reins,  so  much  the  more  pompously  was  her  sentence 
executed.  In  Toulouse,  for  example,  a  country  bordering  on  Spain, 
after  the  crusades  against  the  Albigenses  had  seemed  to  suppress 
external  manifestations  of  their  faith,  and  the  remnants  of  that  perse- 
cuted people  could  only  hold  secret  communion,  Popery  being  abso- 
lute, the  sentences  of  the  Inquisition  were  pronounced  with  greater 
public  solemnity ;  Magistrates  were  sworn  to  defend  the  Inquisition, 
and  the  prisoners  were  brought  out  into  open  view.  There  was  no 
apprehension  of  rescue,  the  Inquisitors  ventured  to  parade  their 
victims,  and  secret  executions,  being  unnecessary,  were  never  resorted 
to,  as  in  the  Netherlands,  before  the  coming  of  Alva.  There  were 
processions  of  penitents,  led  out  of  prison  with  crosses,*  and  the  cere- 
monial stripe,  laid  at  first  on  penitents  at  the  time  of  their  absolution, 
was  changed  into  a  cruel  scourging,  to  be  inflicted  on  them  on  the  pave-> 
ment  of  the  holy  cathedral  church  of  St.  Stephen,  in  presence  of  the 
royal  court,  the  Consuls  of  Toulouse,  a  multitude  of  Clergy,  and  a 
throng  of  people. f  At  length  the  idea  of  a  solemn  spectacle  was 
fully  realized  in  Spain.  During  the  imprisonment  of  the  persons 
detected  in  religious  meetings,  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities 
of  Spain  held  consultation  with  the  court  of  Rome,  obtained  sanction 
for  the  alienation  of  certain  ecclesiastical  revenues  to  the  Inquisition 
in  order  to  the  maintenance  of  a  pompous  and  expensive  establish- 
ment, invented  a  new  set  of  robes  to  be  worn  by  the  victims  to  be 
exhibited,  and,  continuing  the  ceremonies  observed  by  the  elder  Inqui- 
sition, added  to  them  the  procession  with  zamarra,  covered  with 
flames,  rising  or  inverted,  an  advance  on  the  red  tongues,  faggots, 
and  other  badges  of  ignominy  already  in  use,  the  sambenito,  tapers, 
&c.  ;  the  amphitheatre,  for  receiving  a  multitude  too  large  to  be 
assembled  in  any  church  with  equal  convenience,  and  a  circus  for  the 
act  of  faith,  (a  forensic  term  newly  employed,)  just  as  they  had  a 
circus  for  bull-fights.  By  giving  the  people  the  entertainment  of  a 
spectacle,  they  bribed  them  to  acquiesce  in  the  deadly  sentence  ;  and, 
not  to  have  the  show  spoiled  by  any  interruption,  the  martyrs  were 
generally,  perhaps  uniformly,  gagged.  Here  the  power  and  artifice 
of  the  Inquisition  unite  and  culminate.  They  can  rise  no  higher. 

*  "  Educti  e  niuro  cum  crucibus." 

t  " Peniteutias  suscepernnt  in  ecclesia  catliedrali  Sancti  Stephani  Tholose,  pre- 

seute  curia  regali,  et  consiilibus  Tholosanis,  et  multitudine  cleri  et  populi  copiosa." 
—Liber  Seutentianun  Inquisitionis  Tholosanw.  Sermu  Cactus,  A.D.  MCCCIX. 


382  CHAPTER    V. 

And  by  these  contrivances,  be  it  observed,  the  pleasures  of  an  enter- 
tainment were  made  to  predominate  over  emotions  of  pity,  until,  iu 
a  few  years,  the  very  mob  that  had  surrounded  a  felon  with  expres- 
sions of  sorrow,  would  beset  a  martyr  with  the  same  sanguinary 
delight  as  if  they  were  looking  on  a  baited  bull.  Tauromachy  and 
heretic-burning  were  now  both  conducted  with  so  much  art  as  to 
fascinate  the  multitude,  and  create  a  demand  for  human  as  well  as  for 
brute  objects  of  attack.  The  circus  had  its  costume  and  order,  and 
so  had  the  hearth. 

The  first  auto  de  ft  took  place  while  Philip  was  at  Brussels,  mak- 
ing peace  with  France,  and  preparing  for  a  more  vigorous  persecution 
of  the  Reformed.  The  reader  will  remember  that  he  embarked  at 
Flushing,  and  that  on  dismissing  the  Prince  of  Orange  who  had 
attended  him  on  board,  he  gave  him  a  list  of  gentlemen  who  were  to 
be  put  to  death  for  heresy,  an  order  which  William  of  Nassau  was 
careful  to  evade.  After  a  voyage  of  fourteen  days  the  fleet  gained 
sight  of  Laredo,  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  where  a  storm  suddenly  arose, 
and  wrecked  most  of  the  ships  ;  and  the  King,  having  landed  with  diffi- 
culty, vowed  to  show  his  gratitude  to  God  by  a  signal  act  of  vengeance 
upon  heretics.  This  vow  was  to  be  fulfilled  in  Valladolid  ;  but  in  the 
royal  city  of  Seville,  Lutheranism,  as  it  was  called,  had  made  greater 
progress  than  at  Valladolid,  where  was  the  residence  of  the  Inquisitor- 
General  ;  and  a  Sub-Inquisitor  was  therefore  occupied  in  Seville  in 
preparing  for  the  consummation  of  Romish  vengeance  on  the  prisoners, 
— a  vengeance  which  did  not  linger.  An  auto  was  celebrated  in  the 
square  of  San  Francisco,  in  the  presence  of  four  Bishops,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  royal  court  of  justice,  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral,  some 
grandees  of  Spain,  many  titled  persons,  and  among  them  the  Duchess 
of  Bejar,  and  other  ladies.  Twenty-one  persons  were  condemned  to 
die,  one  to  be  burnt  in  effigy,  and  eighty  to  do  penance  (September 
24th,  1559). 

The  effigy  represented  the  licentiate  Francisco  Zafra,  beneficed 
Presbyter  of  the  church  of  San  Vicente,  a  man  deeply  learned  in  the 
holy  Scriptures,  and  so  highly  esteemed  by  the  Inquisitors  themselves 
as  to  have  been  often  consulted  by  them  in  doubtful  cases.  While 
acting  thus  as  Trier  of  the  Holy  Office,  lie  had  saved  many  of  his 
brethren  from  trouble,  no  one  suspecting  him  to  be  a  member  of  their 
society.  A  servant  of  his,  also  one  of  their  number,  having  become 
insane,  had  been  confined  to  her  room,  and  in  a  paroxysm  of  madness 
made  her  escape,  went  to  the  Inquisitors,  and  gave  them  three  hun- 
dred names  of  persons  whom  she  affirmed  to  be  heretics,  including 
her  master.  But  Don  Francisco  hastened  after  her,  and  persuaded 
the  Fathers  to  reject  the  delation  of  the  maniac,  and,  if  it  were  but  for 
their  own  credit's  sake,  not  to  be  set  in  motion  by  a  mad  woman.  But 
now  they  perceived  that  some  credit  was  to  be  given  to  her  list ;  and 
when  discoveries  began,  they  apprehended  Zafra,  but  he  managed  to 
escape  amidst  the  confusion  of  preparing  temporary  prisons  without 
sufficient  notice,  and  found  his  way  to  Germany. 

Don  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  son  of  the  Count  of  Baylen,  and  related 
to  the  Duchess  of  Bejar,  and  several  others  of  the  nobility  then  pre- 


AUTO    DE    FE    AT    SEVILLE.  383 

sent,  overcome  by  terror,  submitted  to  confess  to  a  Priest,  in  reward 
for  which  he  was  humanely  strangled,  instead  of  being  burnt  alive. 
His  body  was  consumed,  and  his  family  declared  infamous.  The  last 
part  of  the  sentence  was  afterwards  cancelled,  by  dint  of  great 
interest,  in  favour  of  his  son,  whom  the  Sovereign  permitted  to  inherit 
the  estates  and  title  of  the  family.  Dr.  Juan  Gonzalez,  descended 
from  Moorish  ancestors,  but  a  true  Christian,  and  one  of  the  most 
famous  preachers  of  his  day,  with  two  sisters,  made  an  unequivocal 
confession  of  their  faith,  and  were  burnt ;  their  mother  and  two  bro- 
thers remaining  behind  in  prison.  Four  Monks  of  the  convent  of  St. 
Isidro  mocked  the  threatenings  of  their  persecutors,  as  did  Fernando 
de  S.  Juan,  Master  of  the  College  of  Doctrine,  and  Dr.  Cristobal 
Losada,  a  Physician,  and,  after  having  studied  under  Egidio,  also 
Pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Seville.  Some  Friars  were  so  impru- 
dent as  to  enter  into  a  theological  dispute  with  him  at  the  place  of 
burning  ;  and  the  people  listened  with  so  much  interest  to  his  argu- 
ments that  they  changed  their  language,  and  bade  him  speak  in  Latin, 
which  he  did,  and  in  good  style  too,  although  standing  at  the  stake. 
Ladies  displayed  equal  fortitude,  because  sustained  by  that  grace 
which  made  life  not  dear  to  them.  Dona  Isabel  de  Baena,  a  rich  matron 
of  Seville,  who  had  opened  her  house  for  religious  meetings,  was  one. 
-Dona  Maria  de  Virues,  Dona  Maria  Cornel,  and  Dona  Maria  Bohor- 
ques,  endured  the  flames.  The  last  of  these  had  not  completed 
twenty-one  years  of  age  when  she  was  thrown  into  a  dungeon  of  the 
Inquisition.  Her  instructer  in  religion  had  been  Dr.  Egidio  ;  but  she 
had  also  received  an  excellent  education,  could  speak  Latin  admirably, 
and  had  some  knowledge  of  Greek.  She  could  recite  a  great  part 
of  the  New  Testament  from  memory,  and  possessed  a  well-read  library 
of  the  works  of  the  Reformers.  She  argued  calmly  with  the  theolo- 
gians who  visited  her  in  prison,  maintained  against  them  the  truths 
of  justification  by  faith  and  holiness  of  life,  and  contended  that  they 
should  rather  follow  her  example  than  punish  her  for  heresy.  They  / 
put  her  on  the  rack,  and  extorted  some  words  which  served  as  a  clue 
to  discover  her  sister,  Juana ;  but  her  faith  did  not  waver  for  an 
instant.  A  practice  of  delivering  addresses  to  prisoners  in  order  to 
their  "  conversion  "  was  just  then  introduced ;  and  two  Dominicans 
and  two  Jesuits  delivered  her  their  harangues,  but  left  the  dungeon 
amazed  at  the  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  constancy,  of  the  young  Chris- 
tian lady.  On  the  night  before  her  death,  a  company  of  Ecclesiastics 
made  their  final  effort :  she  received  them  with  cheerfulness,  but 
assured  them  that  argument  was  useless ;  that  they  could  not  desire 
her  salvation  so  heartily  as  she — the  person  directly  concerned — de- 
sired it  ;  that  she  would  have  yielded  to  them  if  she  had  entertained 
the  slightest  doubt ;  but,  being  fully  assured  of  the  truth  she  had 
received,  submission  to  their  doctrine  was  impossible.  At  the  quema- 
dero  (hearth)  itself,  one  who  had  recanted  came  to  advise  her  to  be 
persuaded  by  the  preachers  ;  but  she  called  him  ignorant,  foolish, 
babbler,  and  told  him  that  there  was  no  time  then  to  be  spent  in 
words,  but  in  meditating  on  the  passion  and  death  of  the  Redeemer, 
thereby  to  revive  more  and  more  her  trust  in  Him  by  whom  alone  we 


384  CHAPTER    V. 

can  be  justified  and  saved.  The  iron  was  then  placed  on  her  neck,  and 
some  Priests  and  Friars,  struggling  with  a  manhood  that  should  have 
bidden  them  pluck  her  from  the  stake,  begged  her  to  recite  the  Creed, 
that  they  might,  by  strangulation,  spare  her  from  the  severer  pain  of 
burning.  She  consented  to  recite  the  Creed ;  but  that  this  might  not 
be  misunderstood,  began  to  explain  the  articles  of  "  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church  "  and  "  the  resurrection  of  the  body  "  evangelically.  Not- 
withstanding this  boldness,  they  showed  her  pity  by  strangling  ;  and 
death  ended  her  confession  among  men,  made  in  the  certain  hope  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  confess  her  before  the  angels  of  heaven. 

But  Philip's  vow  was  not  fulfilled  in  the  auto  of  Seville,  inasmuch 
as  he  had  not  taken  part  in  it.  The  honour  was  reserved  for  Valla- 
dolid  (October  8th,  1559),  where  the  Inquisitors  had  thirteen  persons 
to  be  burnt  alive,  a  dead  body  and  its  effigy  to  feed  the  flames,  and 
sixteen  to  be  reconciled  by  penance.  "  Some  causes,"  says  Llorente, 
"  had  been  concluded  since  the  month  of  May  ;  so  that  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  execution  was  deferred  in  order  to  gratify  the  most 
pious  King  with  a  spectacle  that  horrifies  me  while  I  read  and  write 
of  it."  Philip  himself  was  there,  his  son  Carlos,  his  sister,  his  cousin 
the  Prince  of  Parma,  three  French  Ambassadors,  the  Archbishop 
of  Seville,  the  Bishops  of  Palencia  and  Zamora,  with  several  Bishops 
elect,  the  Constable,  the  Admiral,  the  Dukes  of  Nagera  and  Arcos,  and 
others,  too  many  to  be  enumerated.  High  ladies,  Prelates,  and  Coun- 
cillors of  all  sorts  filled  up  the  stage.  The  Bishop  of  Cuenca  preached, 
his  brethren  of  Palencia  and  Zamora  performed  the  degradations  that 
will  be  mentioned,  and  the  Inquisitor-General,  Valdes,  Archbishop 
of  Seville,  called  upon  the  King  to  swear.  His  Majesty  rose,  drew 
his  sword  to  signify,  what  was  already  too  well  known,  his  readiness 
to  shed  blood  for  the  Church,  gave  his  royal  rubric  to  the  oath,  and  a 
Reporter  of  the  Council  of  the  Inquisition  read  it  aloud.  Among  the 
victims  were, — 

Don  Carlo  di  Sesso,  an  Italian,  native  of  Verona,  son  of  a  Bishop 
of  Piacenza,  forty-three  years  of  age,  who  had  been  much  in  the  service 
of  the  Emperor,  and  become  related  by  marriage  to  some  of  the  high- 
est nobility  of  Spain.  At  Toro,  where  he  was  Corregidor,  or  Mayor, 
at  Zamora  and  at  Palencia,  he  had  promoted  the  Reformation  by  oral 
instruction  and  the  circulation  of  books  ;  and  in  Logrono  and  the 
surrounding  country  had  laboured  in  the  same  cause  with  eminent 
success.  For  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  he  had  been  confined  in  a  secret 
prison  in  Valladolid  ;  and,  on  the  evening  before  this  auto,  was  bidden 
to  prepare  for  death.  The  Friars,  as  usual,  exhorted  him  to  avert 
the  extreme  penalty  by  a  full  confession  and  exposure  of  all  he  knew 
or  could  remember,  relating  either  to  himself  or  others.  Not  allowing 
himself  to  be  drawn  into  controversy,  he  asked  for  pen  and  paper, 
and  recorded  his  confession  of  faith.  That,  he  added,  was  the  true 
doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  not  such  as  the  Church  of  Rome  taught, 
which,  he  affirmed,  had  been  for  many  ages  perverted  from  the  truth  ; 
in  that  belief  he  would  die,  offering  himself  up  to  God  through  living 
faith  in  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ.  With  inimitable  energy  and  self- 
possession  he  filled  two  sheets  of  paper,  and  then  placed  the  docu- 


AUTOS    AT    TOLEDO,    MURCIA,    AND    SEVILLE.  385 

merit  in  the  hands  of  his  visiters.  Through  all  the  night,  and  until 
day  dawned,  they  persisted  in  preaching  to  him,  when  the  shameful 
scapulary  was  placed  over  his  shoulders,  and  the  cap  upon  his  head, 
and  he  was  carried,  with  a  gag  in  his  mouth,  to  the  scene  of  the 
former  auto,  endured  the  mass,  the  sermon,  and  the  publication  of 
sentence,  and  was  taken  thence  to  the  stake,  and  chained.  Then  they 
removed  the  gag,  and  exhorted  him  to  confess ;  but  he  only  answered 
their  importunity  by  crying  aloud :  "  If  I  had  time,  you  should  see 
how  I  would  demonstrate  that  you  who  believe  not  as  I  do,  condemn 
yourselves.  Kindle  the  fire  at  once,  that  I  may  die."  The  execu- 
tioners applied  the  brands,  and  he  expired. 

Pedro  de  Cazalla,  a  parish  Priest,  and  Domingo  de  Rojas,  son  of  the 
Marquis  de  Poza,  were  also  distinguished  in  the  first  class.  In  pass- 
ing the  royal  platform,  De  Rojas  appealed  to  the  King  :  "  Canst  thou, 
Sire,  thus  witness  the  death  of  thy  innocent  subjects  ?  Save  us  from 
so  cruel  a  death  !  We  die  for  the  faith  of  the  Gospel."  "  No,"  said 
Philip,  "  I  would  rather  carry  wood  to  burn  my  own  son,  if  he  were 
such  a  wretch  as  thou."  *  Juan  Sanchez  had  escaped  to  Brussels,  but 
was  brought  back  a  prisoner  to  Valladolid.  The  ropes  that  bound 
him  to  the  stake  snapped  in  the  flame,  and  unconsciously  in  his  agony 
he  broke  away  from  the  fire,  and  leaped  on  a  platform  prepared  for 
those  who  would  consent  to  signify  conformity  by  confessing  to  a 
Priest ;  the  Priests  ran  to  receive  his  confession,  half  burnt  as  he  was  ; 
but,  recovering  himself,  he  ran  back  into  the  fire,  crying,  "  I  will  die 
like  Di  Sesso."  The  archers,  indignant  at  his  impiety  in  refusing  to 
confess,  pierced  him  with  arrows.  A  Nun  was  burnt,  only  because 
she  would  not  make  a  confession  after  the  taste  of  the  Inquisitors, 
although  she  was  not  even  thought  to  be  a  Lutheran ;  and  so  were 
others,  on  trifling  evidence. 

At  Toledo,  on  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  Philip  II.  with  the 
French  Princess,  Elisabeth  de  Valois,  thirteen  years  of  age,  for  her 
entertainment,  and  in  presence  of  the  Cortes,  then  assembled  there, 
all  the  grandees  of  Spain,  many  Prelates,  and  representatives  of  cities, 
was  celebrated  an  auto,  wherein  several  Lutherans  were  burnt 
(February  25th,  1560).  The  inhabitants  of  Murcia  were  edified  with 
another  (September  8th),  when  five  Lutherans  shared  the  discipline 
of  penance  with  Jews,  Mohammedans,  and  polygamists. 

The  Inquisitors  of  Seville,  hoping  for  the  presence  of  Philip,  had 
prepared  another  exhibition.  Their  patron,  indeed,  did  not  gratify 
them,  but  the  ceremonial  was  performed  (December  22d,  1560). 
Fourteen  were  burnt  in  person,  three  in  effigy,  and  thirty-four  sen- 
tenced to  penance,  which  was  but  living  death.  Julian  Hernandez, 
the  indefatigable  circulator  of  good  books,  could  not  speak  his 
confession,  being  gagged;  but  he  thrust  his  bare  head  into  the 
faggots,  to  signify  his  readiness  to  burn,  and  then  knelt  down  to 
pray.  Fancying  that  that  gesture  was  intended  to  denote  submission, 
a  Priest  removed  the  gag  ;  but  he  disappointed  them  by  confessing 

*  The  idea  of  destroying  his  own  son  seems  to  have  been  familiar  to  him.  His 
unhappy  son  was  then  at  his  side,  and  could  not  have  forgotten  the  saying,  which  was 
verified  in  a  few  years  afterwards. 

VOL.    HI.  3    D 


386  CHAPTER    V. 

Christ  aloud,  and  rebuking  the  Priest  himself  for  denying  the 
truth  after  having  once  professed  to  believe  it.  Rodriguez,  galled  at 
the  reproach,  called  out,  "  Executioner,  do  your  office."  He  lit  the 
fire,  and  the  guards  plunged  their  lances  into  his  body.  Eight  females 
suffered  death  at  this  time  by  fire,  and  one  had  been  murdered  in 
prison.  This  was  Dona  Juana  de  Bohorques,  sister  of  Maria,  already 
mentioned,  and  wife  of  Don  Francisco  de  Vargas,  Baron  of  Higuera. 
Her  only  offence  was  that  she  had  heard  her  sister  converse  about 
religion  without  expressing  disapprobation.  Being  six  months  gone  in 
pregnancy,  Dona  Juana  was  permitted  to  remain  in  a  public  gaol 
until  after  her  confinement,  when  she  was  taken  to  the  chamber 
of  torture,  put  into  an  engine  called  del  burro,  with  cords  passed 
round  her  limbs,  and  stretched  with  such  violence  that  they  cut 
through  to  the  bones,  and  blood  gushed  in  streams  from  her  mouth 
and  nostrils.  She  was  carried  away  to  a  cell  insensible,  and  died 
in  a  few  days.  The  Inquisitors  endeavoured  to  atone  for  the 
murder  by  declaring  her  innocent ;  and  the  nobility  of  Spain  were 
so  despicably  enthralled  that  they  suffered  the  monsters  to  conti- 
nue those  atrocities  without  presuming  to  resist,  or  scarcely  even  to 
complain. 

The  laws  of  the  Church  of  Rome  being  held  paramount  over  the 
right  of  nations,  three  foreigners  were  burnt  at  this  time.  Nicholas 
Burton,  a  citizen  of  London,  had  traded  with  Spain  in  a  vessel  of  his 
own,  and,  about  two  years  before,  being  at  Cadiz,  was  arrested  by  a 
familiar  of  the  Inquisition.  His  alleged  offence  was  having  spoken 
something  contrary  to  the  religion  of  the  country  to  some  persons  in 
Cadiz,  and  at  S.  Lucar  de  Barrameda.  What  this  something  was 
does  not  appear  ;  but  the  real  cause  of  his  arrest  was  his  being  the 
owner  of  a  fine  ship,  and,  as  the  Inquisitors  believed,  of  all  the  cargo, 
and  other  valuable  property.  Surprised  at  finding  himself  arrested 
by  an  Alyuacil  (Sergeant)  without  a  word  of  accusation,  he  demanded 
the  reason  ;  but,  answered  only  with  threatenings,  was  dragged  to 
the  common  prison,  kept  in  irons  fourteen  days,  and,  not  imagining 
himself  to  be  there  as  a  heretic,  but  on  some  false  accusation  of 
another  kind,  unconsciously  supplied  his  persecutors  with  material  for 
their  purpose,  by  exhorting  the  prisoners  to  repentance,  and  explain- 
ing to  them  the  word  of  God.  Witnesses  to  his  heresy  being  thus 
made,  the  way  of  the  Inquisitors  was  clear.  They  conveyed  him  to 
Seville,  laden  with  irons,  and  threw  him  into  a  secret  prison  in  the 
Triana.*  There  he  must  have  lain  for  two  years,  at  least ;  and  now 
he  appeared  in  the  attire  of  an  obstinate  heretic,  "  his  tongue  forced 
out  of  his  mouth  with  a  cloven  stick  fastened  upon  it,  that  he  should 
not  utter  his  conscience  and  faith  to  the  people ; "  and  whatever  were 
the  torments  he  suffered,  or  the  confession  he  made  before  his  tor- 
mentors, we  know  them  not.  The  ex-Secretary  of  the  extinct  Spanish 
Inquisition  found  records  to  the  effect  that  he  was  a  "  contumacious 
Lutheran  heretic,"  and  that  "  he  remained  constant  in  his  sect,  and 
was  burnt  alive  ;  the  Holy  Office  of  Seville  taking  possession  of  ship 

*  Across  the  Guadalquivir  is  the  Triana  a  town  or  quarter  so  called. — the  South wark 
of  Seville. 


BURTON    BURNT    AT    SEVILLE.  387 

and  cargo."*  To  recover  that  ship  and  cargo,  a  Bristol  merchant,  in 
part  owner,  sent  his  attorney,  John  Frampton,  to  demand  restoration. 
Frampton  spent  four  months  at  Seville  in  useless  legal  formalities ; 
and  finding,  at  last,  that  his  powers  were  pronounced  insufficient,  he 
came  back  to  England  for  a  more  ample  commission.  Thus  fur- 
nished, he  landed  a  second  time  at  Cadiz,  where  the  servants  of  the 
Inquisition  seized  him,  set  him  on  a  mule,  "  tied  him  with  a  chain 
that  came  under  the  belly  of  the  mule  three  times  about,  and,  at  the 
end  of  the  chain,  a  great  iron  lock  made  fast  to  the  saddle-bow." 
Two  familiars,  well  armed,  rode  beside  him  ;  and  thus  he  was  taken 
to  Seville,  crossed  by  the  bridge  of  boats  to  the  Triana,  alighted 
within  the  walls  of  the  old  prison,  and  was  thrown  into  a  dungeon, 
where  he  found  some  Spaniards  under  treatment  for  heresy.  Next 
day  he  was  interrogated  as  to  his  name,  calling,  travels,  and  relations, 
and,  lastly,  required  to  say  the  "  Hail,  Mary."  His  recitation  did 
not  include  the  Romish  addition,  "  Holy  Mary,  mother  of  God,  pray 
for  us  sinners  ;  "  and  this  sufficed  to  prove  that  he  might  be  kept  in 
prison  as  an  English  heretic,  that  the  course  of  law  might  be  inter- 
rupted, and  ship  and  cargo  remain,  by  consequence,  in  possession 
of  the  Inquisitors.  After  this  he  was  subjected  to  torture  ;  and,  at 
the  end  of  fourteen  months'  confinement,  brought  out  in  a  sambenito, 
under  sentence  of  loss  of  goods,  and  ordered  never  to  quit  Spain, 
under  pain  of  death.  Burton  saw  his  baffled  advocate  among  the 
"  penitents,"  but  without  any  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  it  was  he  ; 
and  Frampton,  having  seen  Burton  burnt,  was  taken  back  to  prison 
for  another  fourteen  months,  and  then  released  under  the  usual 
humiliating  injunctions,  with  the  additional  obligation  to  abide  in 
Spain  ;  but  a  favouring  Providence  restored  him  to  his  country,  where 
he  divulged  the  whole.  He  lost  £760  cash,  and  understood  that  the 
gains  of  the  Inquisition  on  that  single  auto  were  above  5650,000.  It 
is  to  be  noted  that  in  this  year,  1560,  the  Spanish  refugees  in  London 
obtained  the  occupation  of  a  church  for  Reformed  worship.  William 
Brook,  a  mariner  of  Southampton,  and  Barthelemi  Fabianne,  a  French- 
man, were  burnt  on  the  same  hearth.  The  effigies  were  those  of  Dr. 
Egidio,  Constantino  de  la  Ponce,  once  a  Chaplain  of  the  Emperor,  and 
Juan  Perez.  Mark  Burges,  an  Englishman,  master  of  the  "  Minion  " 
merchantman,  was  burnt  at  Lisbon,  some  time  in  the  same  year. 

*  Llorente  also  says,  that  "  such  cruel  proceedings  were  so  prejudicial  to  the  com- 
merce and  prosperity  of  Spain,  that  these  would  have  been  annihilated,  if  the  iniquity 
practised  on  Burton,  and  other  similar  examples,  complained  of  hy  foreign  courts,  had 
not  so  pressed  the  court  of  Madrid  that  Philip  IV.  had  to  prohibit  the  Inquisitors  from 
troubling  merchants  and  travellers  on  account  of  religion,  provided  that  they  so  con- 
ducted themselves  as  not  to  propagate  heresy  :  and  even  this  prohibition  was  insufficient ; 
for  the  Inquisitors  often  cloked  their  conduct  under  the  pretence  that  heretical  books 
had  been  introduced,  or  that  conversations  had  taken  place,  calculated  to  propagate 
error ;  and  so  it  has  been  necessary  for  the  Government  to  be  careful  in  this  matter,  on 
to  the  times  of  Charles  IV.,  by  renewing,  on  every  complaint  of  persons  concerned,  or 
of  the  Ambassadors  of  their  courts,  opportune  provisions  for  repressing  acts  of  injustice, 
covered  with  the  veil  of  religious  zeal."  (Llorente,  Hist.  Crit.,  cap.  xxi.,  art.  2.)  The 
Inquisition  is  abolished,  and  with  it  those  prohibitions  are  become  null ;  but  the  law 
of  Spain  for  burning  heretics  continues,  tribunals  are  established  with  power  to  punish, 
— the  penalty  might  be  commuted,  that  is  all,— and  in  Spain,  at  this  hour,  a  Protestant 
has  no  guarantee  of  human  protection  :  nor  yet  at  Rome,  nor  in  any  other  state  where 
Popery  is  dominant. 


388  CHAPTER    V. 

The  strength  of  the  Spanish  Reformation  was  thus  broken,  and  no 
other  name  of  great  eminence  remains  on  our  records.  A  few  more 
surrendered  their  lives,  for  Christ's  sake,  at  Toledo  (A.D.  1561  and 
1565),  Seville  (A.D.  1563),  and  at  several  times  in  Logrono,  Valla- 
dolid,  Barcelona,  and  Zaragoza.  The  rebellion,  as  they  were  pleased 
to  call  it,  of  the  Moriscoes  was  subdued  in  Granada  by  force  of  arms, 
simultaneously  with  the  suppression  of  the  Reformation  ;  and  Spain, 
having  rejected  Christ,  seems  to  have  been  left  almost  without  a 
witness.  The  Inquisition  thenceforth  reigned  absolute  throughout 
the  Spanish  dominions  in  both  hemispheres  ;  and  (A.D.  15/4)  the 
first  spark  of  evangelical  religion  in  Mexico  was  quenched,  to  human 
appearance,  in  the  martyrdom  of  an  Englishman  and  a  Frenchman, 
while  others,  suspected  of  Lutheranism  or  Calvinism,  were  silenced 
under  penances.  Haifa  century  later  (A.D.  1620),  William  Lithgow, 
a  well-known  traveller,  was  imprisoned  and  tortured  in  Malaga ;  as 
was  Isaac  Martin  in  Granada  nearly  a  century  later  again  (A.D.  1714). 
William  Lambert,  an  Irishman,  was  burnt  in  Mexico  (A.D.  1659),  as 
one  infected  with  the  errors  of  Luther,  Calvin,  Pelagius,  Wycliffe,  and 
Huss ;  as  guilty  of  all  imaginable  heresies.  Even  in  the  present 
century  there  have  been  victims  in  Spain.  -Don  Miguel  Juan  Antonio 
Solano,  Vicar  of  Esco,  in  the  diocese  of  Jaca,  a  man  eminently  learned 
and  benevolent,  but  disabled  by  disease  from  pursuing  his  usual  active 
occupations,  applied  himself  closely  to  theological  study.  Wisely 
taking  the  Bible  as  chief  authority,  he  formed  for  himself  a  system 
of  doctrine  such  as  that  in  which  the  churches  of  the  Reformation 
generally  agree,  and,  being  unwilling  to  teach  it  covertly,  drew  up  a 
statement  of  his  belief,  and  laid  it  before  his  diocesan  ;  but,  receiving 
no  answer,  submitted  it  to  the  theological  faculty  of  Zaragoza.  The 
Divines  of  that  University  answered  him  by  an  arrest,  and  he  found 
himself  in  a  cell  of  the  Inquisition  in  that  city.  Some  friends 
enabled  him  to  make  his  escape,  and  he  actually  passed  over  the 
frontier  into  France  ;  but,  on  reflection,  thought  it  wrong  so  to  seek 
his  life,  resolved  to  confess  the  truth  at  any  cost,  and  voluntarily 
returned  to  the  inquisitorial  prison.  The  tribunal  heard  his  doctrine 
and  his  arguments,  and  decided  that  he  should  be  given  over  to  the 
secular  arm.  The  Inquisitor-General,  being  his  friend,  endeavoured 
to  save  him  by  interposing  objections  and  delay  ;  but,  the  hardship 
of  imprisonment  being  more  than  he  could  bear,  he  died  before  they 
could  take  him  to  the  stake  (A.D.  1805).*  Three  years  after  the 
death  of  Don  Miguel,  Napoleon  Buonaparte  invaded  Spain.  His  first 
act  was  to  abolish  the  Inquisition  and  the  Council  of  Castile  ;  and  as 
soon  as  the  constitutional  Cortes  saw  the  French  driven  from  their 
territory,  they  confirmed  the  abolition  by  a  legislative  enactment ; 
and  it  was  only  revived  for  a  short  time,  and  unsuccessfully,  by 
Ferdinand  VII.  (A.D.  1813.)  Still,  tribunals  protective  of  the"  faith 
were  permitted  to  do  what  the  Inquisition  had  done,  although  •svith- 


,  Strype's  Aimals  during 

the  Reign  of  Elizabeth. 


THE    SPANISH    QUAKER.  389 

out  being  intrusted  with  its  instruments,  or  permitted  to  adjudicate 
in   secret ;   and   the    Bishops,  no  doubt,  trod  in   the  track  of  their 
predecessors.     The  last  martyr  known  to  have  suffered  in  Spain  was 
hanged  in  Valencia,  July  31st,  1826.     The  author  has  stood  on  the 
spot  where  he  was  executed,  and  heard  frequent  confirmation  of  the 
following   statement,  written  for  him  by  an  eye-witness,  now  living, 
(as  he  believes,)  and  discharging  the  priestly  functions  in  Madrid  : — 
"  On  the  outskirts  of  the  city  of  Valencia  there  is  a  village  named 
Bnsafa.     In   this  village  was  a   schoolmaster,  who,  although  born  a 
Spaniard,  professed   in  private  life  the  religion  of  the  Quakers.     He 
was  accused  at  the  Tribunal  of  the  Faith,  and  imprisoned  in  the  city, 
in  the  prisons  (so  called)  of  St.  Narcissus.     The  patience  and  meek- 
ness of  this  poor  Quaker  excited  the  admiration  of  the  Alcaide  and 
jailers.      Some   fellow-prisoners  of  the  worst   description,  who  were 
used  to  put  his  patience  to  the  test,  one  day  threw  a  cricket-ball  with 
violence  at  his  face,  which  inflicted  a  wound  on  his  cheek  ;  but  this 
Spanish  Quaker  calmly  picked  up  the  ball,  and,  with  the  most  perfect 
mildness,  put  it  into   the   hand  of  the  person  who  had  thrown  it. 
When  clothing  or  food  was  distributed  among  the  prisoners,  he  inva- 
riably sought  oat  some  other  prisoner  who  appeared  more  necessitous 
than  himself,  to  whom  he  might  impart  a  portion  of  what  had  fallen 
to  him.     The  Senores  of  the  Tribunal  of  the  Faith  endeavoured  to 
induce  him  to  make  a  solemn  recantation  of  his  belief  as  a  Quaker ; 
but  he  said  that  he  could  not  do  anything  against  his  conscience,  nor 
could  he  lie  to  God.     They  condemned  him  to  be  hanged  ;  and  he 
was  transferred  to  the  condemned  cell,  and  resigned  himself  fully  to 
the  will  of  God.     On  July  31st  he  was  taken  from  the  prison  to  the 
scaffold,   displaying    the    most    perfect   serenity.      The    crosses   were 
removed   from  the  scaffold.     He  was  not  clothed  in  the  black  dress 
usually  put  on  culprits  when  brought  out  to  execution,  but  appeared 
in  a  brown  jacket  and  pantaloons.     With  a  serious  countenance  and 
firm  step  he  ascended  the  scaffold,  conducted  by  Father  Felix,  a  bare- 
footed Carmelite  Friar,  exhorting   him   to   change  his  views ;  but  the 
victim  replied  in  these  words,  which  were  almost  all  he  uttered  from 
the  time  of  his  entering  the  condemned  cell, — '  Shall  one  who  has 
endeavoured  to  observe  God's  commandments  be  condemned '?'    When 
the  rope  was  adjusted,  he  desired  the  hangman  to  wait  for  a  moment, 
and,  raising  his  eyes  toward  heaven,  he  prayed.     In  three  minutes  he 
ceased  to  live.     This  fact   occurred   but   a   few  years  ago,  and  was 
witnessed   by  all   the  inhabitants   of  Valencia.     The   hangman   who 
executed  the  sentence,  the  Friar  who  attended   him,  and  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  are   yet   alive    (in    1837)  ;  and  there  is  no  one  but  knows 
that  he  was  an  honest  man,  and  speaks  of  him  as  the  Quaker  school- 
master who  gave  good    instruction    to    the  children,  and    who  was 
condemned  to  be  hanged  because  he  was  a  Quaker."  *     And  with 
him  closes  our  brief  sketch  of  the  Spanish  martyrology. 

*  A  writer  to  the  Courrier  Franyais,  quoted  in  the  "  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  for 
December,  1826,  gives  his  name  as  Rissole;  and  says  that  a  Jewwaa  burnt  at  Valencia 
shortly  afterwards  at  an  auto  def£. 


390 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FRANCE,  from  1530,  the  date  of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg,  tothe  Death  of  Charles  IX  , 
includina  the  earlier  Persecutions,  the  civil  War,  and  the  Massacres  in  Paris 
and  the  Provinces. 

EVERY  earthly  power  contributed  in  Spain  to  blight  and  consume 
the  nascent  Reformation.  Before  the  Reformed  could  unite  for  mutual 
protection  or  defence,  the  two  great  Councils  of  the  kingdom  over- 
whelmed them  by  main  force  ;  and  while  as  yet  the  young  converts 
had  not  risen  to  any  settled  standard  of  practical  confession,  they 
were  betrayed  into  a  habit  of  concealment  bordering,  to  say  the  least, 
on  dissimulation.  There  were  many  true  martyrs  ;  but  the  masses 
had  not  been  sufficiently  imbued  with  just  conceptions  as  to  the  spirit 
of  Christianity  for  many  to  confess  their  Master  o'penly ;  and  thus 
the  Spanish  Reformation,  sincere  and  earnest  as  it  was,  failed  to 
obtain  the  victory  of  faith.  It  could  not  overcome  the  world. 

In  France  the  diffusion  of  truth  was  more  gradual,  more  broadly 
extended,  older  than  the  Inquisition,  revered  in  the  memory  of 
myriads,  and  interwoven  with  national  traditions.  One  might  say 
that  it  sprang  up  again  on  soil  irrigated  by  the  martyrdoms  of  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  of  which  much  lay  within  the 
boundaries  of  modern  Aquitaine.  There  the  Sovereigns  of  Navarre 
protected  evangelical  preachers,  encouraged  changes  in  the  forms 
of  worship,  suffered  inmates  of  monasteries  to  cast  off  the  fetters 
of  their  orders,  and  afforded  refuge  to  the  persecuted.  In  France 
reputed  heretics  were  put  to  death  with  frequency,  not  a  year 
passing  without  the  martyrdom  of  some ;  but  this  was  almost  a 
matter  of  routine,  and  drew  little  observation  amidst  the  barba- 
rism of  Europe,  when  laws  were  sanguinary,  and  human  life  held 
cheap,  until  the  executions  multiplied  beyond  endurance.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  concurrence  of  circumstances  tended  to  favour  the 
Reformation.  The  example  of  Navarre  was  sustained  by  the  more 
complete  examples  of  Switzerland  and  Germany.  In  the  eastern 
states  men  saw  their  neighbours  boldly  and  hopefully  contending  for 
religious  liberty  ;  and  even  at  Paris  the  Reformation  had  a  royal 
advocate.  Marguerite  de  Valois,  Queen  of  Navarre,  the  much-loved 
sister  of  Francis  I., — she  who  had  presented  herself  in  the  Imperial 
Court  to  entreat  Charles  V.  to  deliver  the  captive  Sovereign,  and 
whose  intercession  was  crowned  with  success, — promoted  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  and  both  Francis  and  his  subjects  being  bound  to  her  by  ties 
of  real  gratitude,  he  could  scarcely  make  her  friends  the  subject 
of  persecution.  Still,  he  feared  the  consequences  of  attachment  to 
opinions  reputedly  subversive,  and  invited  her  to  visit  him  in  Paris, 
hoping,  as  it  is  said,  to  disengage  her  from  the  snare. 

She  came,  and,  although  branded  with  the  stigma  of  heresy, 
received  every  mark  of  brotherly  affection.  She  answered  his  expos- 
tulations by  such  powerful  arguments,  that  he  almost  extended  his 
patronage  to  those  whom  Margaret  commended  to  his  favour.  She 


CALVIN    IN    PARIS.  391 

even  induced  him  to  hear  a  sermon  from  Cocq,  Curate  at  St.  Eusta- 
chius,  who  preached  from  the  words  of  St.  Paul :  "  Seek  those  things 
which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God,"  not 
on  the  altar,  but  in  heaven,  adored  and  trusted  in  by  Christians 
whose  faith  contemplates  a  Kedeemer  glorified,  not  one  transubstan- 
tiated in  the  host.  While  the  preacher  cried,  "  Sursum  corda"  "  Lift 
up  your  hearts,"  and  expatiated  on  the  majesty  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Francis  received  new  views  of  sacramental  mystery,  and  afterwards 
admitted  him,  with  Margaret,  to  hold  free  conference  on  a  doctrine 
that  became  almost  his  own.  Even  his  Confessor,  either  bowing 
to  conviction  or  to  royalty,  translated  "  the  Hours "  into  French, 
omitting  many  objectionable  passages.  Margaret  herself  wrote  and 
published  a  work  in  French  rhyme,  entitled,  "  Mirror  of  a  sinful 
Soul,"  free  from  the  errors  of  saint-worship,  merits  of  good 
works,  and  purgatory,  describing  only  the  effectual  purgatory  of  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  applying  the  Salve  Reffina,  a  prayer  hitherto 
addressed  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  to  her  divine  Son  alone.  The  Rector 
of  the  University,  already  instructed  in  secret  by  John  Calvin,  then  a 
young  man  at  Paris,  actually  pronounced  a  discourse  in  the  church 
of  the  Mathurins,  written  by  that  learned,  and  afterwards  so 
eminent,  Reformer.  The  Sorbonne  rose  in  alarm  to  contradict  the 
truthful  innovations,  and  condemned  the  Queen's  performance  as 
heretical.  Cop,  the  Rector,  disavowed  the  censure,  and  the  field 
seemed  open  for  fair  controversy.  But  at  the  cry  of  heresy  the 
University  deserted  their  Rector ;  his  friend  fell  under  accusation,  and 
would  have  been  arrested  had  he  not  escaped  by  letting  himself  down 
by  sheets  from  his  chamber-window.  Cop  fled  to  Basle,  and  Calvin 
to  Saintonge ;  but,  encouraged  by  Margaret,  three  excellent  preachers 
supplied  the  place  of  the  two  who  had  absconded.  These  were  Girard 
Ruffi,  a  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  two  Augustin  Monks,  Bertault 
and  Courault.  Calvin,  also,  returned  the  year  after  (A.D.  1534)  ;  and, 
although  their  superiors  closed  the  pulpits  against  them,  they  commu- 
nicated in  the  form  of  lectures  the  doctrine  that  might  not  be  delivered 
in  sermons,  until  subsequent  proceedings  put  them  all  to  silence. 

The  personal  influence  of  Margaret,  and,  not  improbably,  the 
example  and  friendship  of  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  might  have  dis- 
posed Francis  not  only  to  listen  to  Reformed  preachers  and  allow  the 
circulation  of  good  books,  but  to  encourage  any  movement  calculated 
to  humble  the  Clergy,  and  lead  to  a  transfer  of  wealth  from  their 
hands  to  the  coffers  of  the  state.  Another  class  of  motives,  however, 
gained  strength  with  him  at  this  time.  Clement  VII.  had  spared  no 
effort  to  conciliate  the  King  of  France,  hoping  by  his  means  to  coun- 
teract the  power  of  the  Emperor ;  and,  succeeding  far  beyond  his 
expectation,  negotiated  a  marriage.  His  niece,  Catherine  de'  Medici, 
was  wedded  to  Henry,  heir-apparent  to  the  throne  ;  he  had  conde- 
scended to  visit  Francis  at  Marseilles  in  the  autumn  of  1533,  where 
he  enjoyed  the  festivities  of  nuptials  that  were  to  strengthen  the 
Roman  See  in  a  time  of  religious  revolution,  and  conferred  with  his 
royal  relative  as  to  measures  for  extinguishing  the  Reformation  in 
that  kingdom.  From  that  time  the  King  withdrew  his  patronage 


392  CHAPTER     VI. 

from  the  cause  that  Margaret  of  Navarre  so  earnestly  promoted, 
showing  himself,  at  least,  indifferent,  if  not  utterly  alienated  from  it. 
While  thus  giving  way  under  the  weight  of  a  pontifical  alliance,  an 
incident  occurred  that  suddenly  changed  him  into  as  determined  a 
persecutor  as  the  Spaniard  himself,  and  plunged  the  infant  churches 
into  a  flood  of  sorrows.  Some  of  those  who  fled  from  Paris 
when  the  Sorbonne  and  the  Clergy  demanded  vengeance  on  the 
innovators,  had  taken  refuge  in  Switzerland,  and,  at  Neufchatel,  one 
of  them  wrote  a  paper  containing  "  true  Articles  on  the  horrible, 
great,  and  insupportable  Abuses  of  the  Papal  Mass  ; "  but  abstained 
from  every  expression  of  disrespect  towards  the  King,  although  Romish 
writers  are  pleased  to  affirm  the  contrary.*  Yet  even  in  those  days 
of  rugged  controversy  it  must  have  seemed  intemperate  to  the 
hierarchy  of  the  Romish  Church,  whom  it  censured,  and  most  con- 
temptuous towards  their  doctrine  of  the  eucharist.  Copies  of  the 
articles,  printed  on  a  broad-sheet,  were  brought  to  Paris  for  circula- 
tion :  the  more  prudent  objected  strongly  to  such  a  proceeding ;  but 
the  counsel  of  some  who  deemed  an  impulse  of  zeal  too  sacred  to  be 
resisted  prevailed,  and,  on  one  fatal  night,  those  placards  were  affixed 
to  the  church-doors  of  Paris,  posted  up  at  the  street-corners,  and 
even  placed  on  the  gates  of  the  King's  palace  at  Blois.  Next  morn- 
ing the  city  was  in  an  uproar,  the  people  read  and  repeated  sentences 
which  passed  for  blasphemy,  and  Francis,  not  unwillingly,  caught  at 
the  occasion  for  disentangling  himself  from  the  abettors  of  "  new 
doctrine."  He  was,  or  seemed  to  be,  enraged  at  the  presumption 
of  zealots  who  had  defiled  his  palace-gate  with  a  Lutheran  defiance : 
the  courtiers  made  the  most  of  the  occasion  to  inflame  his  anger. 
Jean  Morin,  Lieutenant-Criminal,  a  man  noted  for  boldness  in  the 
apprehension  of  delinquents,  and  ingenuity  in  convicting  them,  and 
not  less  notorious  for  the  grossest  immorality,  received  a  royal  com- 
mand to  search  out  and  imprison  heretics  and  their  accomplices. 
Calvin  had  eluded  his  pursuit,  and  he  now  determined  to  be  compen- 
sated for  that  disappointment.  A  heartless  renegade,  who  knew  the 
Reformed  well,  and  could  point  out  places  wherein  he  had  often 
assembled  with  them,  betrayed  multitudes  of  his  former  brethren,  and 
the  prisons  of  Paris  were  crowded  in  a  few  days.  This  took  place  in 
November,  1534 ;  and  the  year  following  is  distinguished  in  the 
ecclesiastical  history  of  France  as  "  the  year  of  placards." 

Rejoicing  in  the  successful  diligence  of  Jean  Morin,  the  King 
awaited  the  termination  of  the  usual  formalities,  and  then  came  to 
Paris  to  assist  in  a  general  procession  and  litany  in  honour  of  the 
Holy  Sacrament,  blasphemed,  as  they  said,  by  the  exhibition  of  those 
placards.  After  an  early  breakfast  (January  21st,  1535)  His  Majesty 
went  to  the  church  of  St.  Genevieve,  patron  of  Paris,  whose  image, 
only  brought  forth  in  times  of  public  distress  or  peril,  was  most 

*  The  contimiator  of  Floury  says  that  it  was  "  full  of  injurious  language  against  the 
person  of  the  King;"  (cxxxiv.,  170  ;)  but  not  a  sentence  of  the  kind  is  found  in  the 
articles  themselves.  It  is,  indeed,  said  of  the  Priests,  that  "  ils  ont  desherite  Princes 
et  Rois,  seigneurs,  marchans,  et  tout  ce  qu'on  peut  dire,  soit  mort  ou  vif,"  (Gerdes, 
Evang.  Renov.,  torn,  iv.,  Mouumenta,  num.  xi,,)  which  is  rathur  loyal  than  otherwise. 


THE   "HOLY  SACRAMENT"  AVENGED.  393 

appropriately  surrounded  by  a  company  of  butchers,  its  bearers 
by  a  prescriptive  right,  being  -washed  clean  for  the  occasion,  and 
prepared  for  it  by  fasting.  Panting  under  their  burden,  the  hungry 
devotees  carried  the  idol  on  their  shoulders  ;  others  bore  aloft  relics 
of  the  same  saint,  as  well  as  of  Saints  Germain,  Merry,  Marceau, 
Opportune,  Landre',  Honored  and  perhaps  of  others  also,  that  had 
reposed  in  their  places  unmoved  since  the  funeral  of  St.  Louis. 
Cardinals,  Bishops,  Abbots,  and  other  hierarchs,  followed  in  full  dress. 
"  The  Holy  Sacrament,"  whose  divinity  had  been  denied,  was  carried 
under  a  gorgeous  canopy,  that,  in  order  to  the  placation  of  his 
displeasure,  he  might  witness  the  amende  of  worship.  The  uncrowned 
King,  bare-headed,  as  if  to  own  the  presence  of  a  superior  Majesty, 
and  carrying  a  large  waxen  taper,  walked  behind  the  host,  and  the 
Queen,  the  Princes  of  the  blood,  two  hundred  gentlemen,  the  royal 
guard,  the  Court  of  Parliament,  and  officers  of  law  and  justice, 
followed  him.  The  body  of  Ambassadors  added  their  splendour  to 
the  train  which  pressed  through  a  kneeling  crowd  along  the  chief 
streets  of  Paris,  attended  by  bands  of  martial  music,  with  singers 
from  the  churches.  Six  times  the  procession  halted  near  a  temporary 
altar,  and,  having  blessed  themselves,  the  great  men  witnessed  an  act 
of  vengeance,  in  honour  of  the  sacrament.  At  each  station  there  was 
a  hot  fire  burning,  and  near  it  a  huge  machine,  or  crane,  having  a 
projecting  beam,  and  from  the  beam  swung  a  "  Sacramentarian," 
whom  they  lowered  over  the  flame  so  as  to  be  scorched,  then  raised, 
and  then  again  lowered  into  the  fire.  This  was  repeated  until  life 
became  nearly  extinct,  when  he  was  dropped  into  the  hearth  amidst 
the  shouts  of  the  spectators  of  every  degree.*  The  mob  had  already 
signified  their  zeal  by  endeavouring  to  seize  the  Lutherans,  that  they 
might  tear  them  to  pieces  ;  but  the  soldiers  kept  them  to  be  immo- 
lated for  the  gratification  of  their  royal  master.  The  martyrs  of  the 
day  were  Barthelemi  Milon,  a  paralytic,  Nicolas  Valeton,  receiver 
of  Nantes,  Jean  de  Bourg,  merchant-draper  of  Paris,  Etienne  de 
Laforge,  a  rich  and  charitable  gentleman,  resident  in  Paris,  a  school- 
mistress, named  La  Catelle,  and  Antoine  Poille,  a  native  of  Meaux. 
But  the  total  number  of  martyrs  at  that  time  was  eighteen.  When 
the  royalty,  nobility,  and  high  clergy  of  France  had  finished  their 
sanguinary  devotions,  the  Priests  restored  St.  Genevieve  and  the  relics 
to  their  niches  and  sanctuaries,  the  court  assembled  at  a  banquet, 
and,  after  dinner,  at  the  moment  when  men  are  apt  to  be  most 
prodigal  of  words,  Francis  I.  arose,  told  the  company  that  he  had 
commanded  the  severest  punishments  to  be  inflicted  upon  heretics, 
and  required  all  his  subjects  to  denounce  them  and  their  accomplices, 
without  respect  of  kin,  friendship,  or  alliance.  For  himself  he  pro- 
tested, that  if  one  of  his  limbs  were  infected  with  the  Sacramentarian 
heresy,  he  would  pluck  it  from  his  body  ;  and  made  the  fashionable 
boast,  that  if  one  of  his  own  children  were  found  guilty,  he  would 
yield  him  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  God.  A  week  afterwards  he  issued  a 

*  There  must  have  been  some  etiquette  in  the  use  of  this  balanpoire,  or  swinging- 
machine  ;  for  it  seems  to  have  heen  first  erected  in  honour  of  crowned  heads.     It  was 
made  use  of  also  in  Lisbon,  when  Gardiner  suffered  (A.D.  1552)  by  order  of  the  King. 
VOL.    III.  3    E 


394  CHAPTER    VI. 

decree  for  the  extermination  of  "  Lutheran  and  other  heresies," 
framed  after  the  accustomed  fashion,  offering  the  fourth  part  of  con- 
fiscations and  fines  to  the  informers. 

Many  of  the  best  men  in  France  were  driven  away  by  that  tempest, 
and,  amongst  others,  Calvin  and  Olivetan,  who  devoted  themselves,  at 
Neufchatel,  to  the  best  of  all  works,  a  new  translation  of  the  holy 
Scriptures  into  French.  The  fires  continued  to  burn,  both  in  the 
metropolis  and  the  provinces  ;  but  the  number  of  sufferers  cannot  be 
calculated.  Foreign  Protestants  remonstrated,  and  respect  for  the 
League  of  Smalcald  gave  their  expostulations  some  weight  with  the 
temporizing  Monarch,  who  told  them  that,  contrary  to  his  inclination, 
he  had  been  compelled  so  to  deal  with  a  few  who  troubled  the  state 
under  pretext  of  religion  ;  *  while  Calvin's  Institutes,  published  at  the 
same  time,  served  as  a  book  of  reference  for  ascertaining  the  doc- 
trines entertained  by  the  Swiss  and  French  section  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  utmost,  however,  that  Francis  did,  was  to  publish  an  edict 
(July,  1535),  exempting  from  death  such  as  would  abjure  ;  and  suc- 
cessive events  show  that  even  that  mockery  of  mercy  was  not 
observed.  A  custom  characteristic  of  this  persecution,  borrowed  from 
the  Vandals,  was  that  of  rooting  or  cutting  out  the  tongues  of  per- 
sons condemned  to  death,  that  they  might  not  be  able  to  spread 
their  doctrine  by  oral  confession  ;  and  the  violence  of  mobs  towards 
those  who  publicly  surrendered  their  lives  as  witnesses  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  is  another  evidence  of  the  ferocity  and  fury  of  the  French 
population  in  those  days,  which  the  Clergy  were  careful  to  inflame 
and  make  use  of  against  the  "  new  religion,"  as  they  were  wont  to 
designate  revived  Christianity. 

As  yet,  indeed,  the  persecution  was  not  general ;  but  here  and  there 
a  martyrdom  tested  the  constancy  of  Christians,  and  sustained  the 
terror  of  the  Church.  Among  others,  Alexandre  Canus,  otherwise 
called  Laurent  de  la  Croix,  who,  from  being  a  Jacobin,-)-  as  Beza  says, 
had  become  a  Christian,  was  arrested  at  Lyons,  where  he  had  been 
preaching  for  some  days  to  a  few  goldsmiths,  and  others  of  the  city. 
They  took  him  thence  to  Paris,  tortured  him  so  violently  that  one  of  his 
legs  was  broken,  and  he  was  then  burnt,  after  making  a  full  confes- 
sion of  his  faith.  A  woman  of  Rochelle,  named  Marie  Becaudelle, 
having  been  instructed  in  the  truth,  offended  a  preaching  Friar  by 
some  freedom  of  rebuke,  and  was  burnt  at  Poitou,  displaying  admira- 
ble constancy.  Jean  Cornon,  a  labouring  man,  quite  unlettered,  but 
BO  conversant  with  the  word  of  God  that  he  put  all  his  troublers  to 
silence,  died  in  like  manner  at  Mascon. 

In  the  years  following,  even  during  hot  war  with  Charles  V.,  perse- 
cution was  continued  until  the  death  of  Francis  I.,  by  all  the  Parlia- 

*  The  German  Princes  were  not  able  to  deny  this.  They  reminded  the  representa- 
tive of  Francis,  however,  that  accusations  of  political  misconduct  were  frequently  made 
in  order  to  get  rid  of  good  men.  In  reply  to  this  it  was  easy  to  put  them  off  their  guard 
by  descanting  on  the  republican  principle  of  Calvinism  in  France,  aud  contrasting  it 
with  the  conservative  policy  of  Lutheranism  in  Germany.  And  this  was  done.  Gerdes, 

after  Sleidan  and  Freherus,  discloses  the  tact  of  this  King. Evang.  Reaov.,  iv.,  109, 

seq. 

t  Monk  of  the  order  of  St.  Dominic,  so  called  in  France. 


PERSECUTION    IN    THE    PROVINCES.  395 

ments,*  notwithstanding  their  endeavours  to  conceal  it  from  the 
Germans.  Persons  whose  names  never  were  recorded,  nor  confessions 
heard,  because  their  tongues  had  been  cut  out  in  prison,  were  thrown 
into  the  fires.  We  can  only  mark  a  few  of  the  more  notable  exam- 
ples. In  the  year  1536,  the  Waldenses  of  Piedmont  sent  two  of  their 
brethren,  Jean  Girard  and  Martin  Gonin,  to  confer  with  Farel  in 
Geneva.  The  latter  of  these,  in  returning  through  France,  had  nar- 
rowly escaped  death  by  poison  at  Grenoble ;  and  after  having  openly 
resisted  the  adversaries  of  the  truth  in  such  a  manner  that  the  people 
of  the  city  began  to  show  him  favour,  the  Inquisitor,  not  daring  to 
have  him  executed  by  day,  contrived  to  have  him  drowned  secretly  in 
the  night  (April  26th).  Philbert  Sarrasin,  a  learned,  virtuous,  and 
God-fearing  man,  who  had  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  persons  of  noble 
rank,  came  to  Agen  in  Guienne,  to  establish  a  school,  but  soon  fell 
under  suspicion  of  Luthcrerie,  as  they  called  it ;  and  with  him  the 
whole  town  seems  to  have  been  suspected,  for  the  King  sent  thither 
one  Rochez,  a  Dominican  Inquisitor,  to  investigate  the  disposition 
of  the  inhabitants,  accompanied  by  a  Councillor  of  the  Parliament 
of  Bordeaux.  Sarrasin  saved  himself  by  timely  flight ;  but  the  inqui- 
sition went  forward,  and  a  large  number  of  persons  were  thrown  into 
prison,  and  condemned  to  do  penance  in  the  principal  church,  standing 
in  their  shirts,  with  tapers  in  their  hands.  They  endured  the  penance, 
which  was  not  a  little  aggravated  by  a  pompous  sermon  from  the  lips 
of  the  Inquisitor,  while  they  stood  half  naked  in  the  congregation  ;  and 
it  deserves  to  be  noticed  that  two  Priests  were  among  them.  It  would 
have  been  more  consistent  with  Romish  wisdom  to  have  killed  those 
persons,  for  they  could  never  forget  that  day,  nor  their  children 
either  ;  and  in  the  next  generation  an  evangelical  church  flourished  in 
Agen.  A  learned  nobleman,  Jules  Cesar  de  1'Escalle,  who  had  favoured 
the  martyr  Caturce,  and  placed  one  of  his  sons  under  the  care 
of  Sarrasin,  was  also  accused ;  but,  by  means  of  the  Councillor  him- 
self, and  other  persons  of  influence,  found  indulgence.  The  truth,  as 
we  have  seen,  obtained  a  lodgment  in  Agen,  and  shortly  afterwards 
the  Bishop's  prisons  received  a  converted  Dominican,  Jerome  Vindocin, 
who  boldly  answered  every  question  of  the  official  that  examined  him, 
underwent  degradation  at  the  hands  of  the  same  official,  contrary  to  the 
Canons,  and  although  he  had  appealed  to  the  Parliament  for  protec- 
tion. Delivered  to  the  secular  arm,  he  heard,  forthwith,  the  accus- 
tomed sentence  ;  and  one  day  after  dinner,  a  very  usual  time  for  such 
doings,  when  the  magisterial  persons  to  be  employed  were  warm  with 
wine,  they  took  him  into  a  meadow  on  the  bank  of  the  Garonne,  and 
burnt  him  (February  4tb,  1539).  As  it  was  the  first  spectacle  of  the 
kind  ever  exhibited  in  that  place,  a  great  multitude  had  come  to  see ; 
but  Agen  was  too  far  south  for  the  effect  to  be  produced  on  which 
the  Priests  had  calculated.  Some  of  the  Reformed  at  Beume,  in 
the  duchy  of  Bourgogne,  were  compelled  to  save  themselves  by  flight 
about  this  time  ;  and  at  Nonnay,  where  the  martyr  Renier  had 

*  The  French  Parliaments  were  not  legislative,  but  judicial,  courts.  It  was  their 
business  to  accept,  and  then  to  administer,  the  laws.  The  metropolis  and  provinces  hud 
their  respective  courts.  That  of  Paris  claimed  to  be  supreme. 

3  E   2 


396  CHAPTER    VI. 

laboured,  a  man  named  Andre"  Berthelin  was  burnt  alive,  only  because 
he  had  not  bent  his  knee  before  an  image  set  up  on  the  highway. 

A  poor  labourer  of  the  village  of  Recorder  in  Dauphiny,  named 
Stephen  Brun,  was  barbarously  put  to  death  ;  and  in  Paris,  Claude  le 
Peintre,  a  goldsmith,  passed  through  the  fire  without  a  groan  (A.D. 
1540).   A  little  church  in  Agenais  derived  honour  from  the  intrepidity 
of  its    Pastor,  Aymon  de  la  Voye,  who  presented  himself  willingly 
to  the  apparitor  who  came  to  apprehend  him,  refusing  to  play  the 
mercenary  and   false   prophet   by   forsaking  his   flock,    as  some   had 
advised  him  to  do,  and  declared  himself  ready,  not  only  to  be  bound 
at  Bordeaux,  but  to  seal  his  doctrine  with  his  blood.    While  expecting 
to  be  apprehended,  he  had  made  a  confession  of  faith  in  three  ser- 
mons, exhorting  his  flock   to  abide  therein  ;  and  it  was   during  the 
delivery  of  the  last  that  they  made  him  prisoner.     After  nine  months' 
imprisonment,   beset  incessantly  by   disputatious  Monks,  again   and 
again  interrogated  concerning  the  eucharist  and  other  articles  of  doc- 
trine, and  as  often   repeating  a   clear  confession   of  Christ,  he  was 
numbered  with  those  who  resist  even  unto  death    (August  21st,  1541). 
He  walked  out  of  prison,  for  the  last  time,   cheerfully   singing  the 
114th  Psalm:   "When  Israel  went  out  of  Egypt,"  &c.     At  Rouen, 
a  good  man  named  Constantine,  with  three  of  his  brethren,  was  con- 
demned to  the  fire,  and  carried  thither  in  a  scavenger's  cart, — a  mark 
of  contempt  usually  shown  to  persons  taken  to  execution  on  account 
of  religion.     But  to  him  this  was  an  occasion  of  joy,  and  drew  forth 
these  remarkable  words :    "  Truly,  as  the  Apostle  says,  we  are  the 
oiFscouring  of  the  earth,  offensive  now  to   the  nostrils  of  men  of  this 
world.     But  let  us  rejoice.     The  odour  of  our  dying  will  be  sweet  to 
God,  and  he  will  preserve  our  brethren."   (A.D.  1542.)     Pierre  Bon- 
pain,  a  wealthy  manufacturer  of  Meaux,  having  removed  to  Aubigny, 
devoted  himself  there  to  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
was  soon   surrounded  by  a   congregation  consisting    of   the   richest 
merchants  of  the  place,  who  used  to  read  the  Scriptures  together  and 
pray.     The  Lord  of  Aubigny,  a  native  of  Scotland,  coveting  the  fruits 
of  confiscation,  caused  him  to  be  seized  and  carried  to  Paris,  where 
he  was  burnt  alive  (A.D.   1544).     The  inhabitants  of  Metz,  then  a 
German  town,  had  a  foretaste  of  the  bitter  persecution  which  their 
future  masters,  the  French,  would  shortly  exercise  on  multitudes  toge- 
ther.    The  Protestants  of  that  town  having  been  permitted  to  hear 
sermons,  but  not  to  partake   of   the   eucharist,  about  two  hundred 
of  them,  men  and  women,  went  to  the  castle  of  the  Count  of  Furst- 
enberg,   at    Gorze,   to  communicate    at  the  hands   of  Fare],   invited 
thither  for  that  purpose  ;  and  on  their  return  were  attacked  by  a  body 
of  French  cavalry,  who  killed  one  old  man,  drove  many  into  the  river 
Moselle,  where  they  were  drowned,  and  the  women  were  seized  and 
subjected  to  brutish  violence.     The  leader  of  this  iniquitous  assault  was 
Claude  de  Lorraine,  Duke  of  Guise  ;   and  the  King  made  himself  an 
accomplice  by   refusing   even  to  express  disapprobation.     This  took 
place  in  Easter,  1543.  About  the  same  time,  by  order  of  the  Parliament 
of  Rouen,  an   apothecary  of  Blois,    Guillaume  Husson,  suffered  for 
having  distributed  some  tracts  during  the  assemblage  of  that  court. 


WALDENSES    OF    MURINDOL,    &C.  397 

His  offence  having  come  under  the  cognisance  of  that  high  authority, 
it  behoved  him  to  die  by  the  balancoire,  swung  in  the  air,  and  dipped 
into  the  fire.  But  as  they  alternately  lowered  and  raised  him,  he 
directed  his  eyes  towards  heaven,  and  resisted  the  torment  by  the 
energy  of  prayer.  The  multitude  gazed  on  him  first  with  wonder, 
then  with  awe,  while  his  prayerful  silence  preached  the  power  of  his 
faith  :  God  heard  him,  and  an  answer  to  his  intercession  appeared  in 
the  conversion  of  many  who,  without  having  listened  to  any  preacher, 
now  believed  the  truth,  and  hastened  to  unite  themselves  to  the  afflicted 
church  in  Blois,  the  place  of  his  abode,  and  scene  of  his  martyrdom. 

Notwithstanding  the  brutality  of  mobs,  often  prepared  by  their 
superiors  for  adding  insolence  and  tumult  to  judicial  executions,  the 
ashes  of  those  victims  were  as  a  living  seed,  scattered  over  France  no 
less  than  over  other  lands,  rendering  hopeless  the  labour  of  attempt- 
ing to  subdue  the  cause  of  Christ  by  now  and  then  murdering  one 
of  his  servants.  The  project  of  a  crusade  seemed  far  more  feasible  ; 
and  although  no  crusade,  nor  succession  of  crusades,  had  utterly 
destroyed  either  the  Moslems  or  Christians  of  any  country,  it  was 
remembered  that  they  had  suppressed,  for  a  time,  powers  adverse  to 
the  Church.  It  was  either  too  late  or  too  soon  to  attempt  a  crusade 
on  the  Christians  in  France  ;  but  there  was  a  little  tract  near  the 
frontier  of  Italy  where  such  an  experiment,  it  was  thought,  might  be 
tried  with  impunity.  A  small  colony  of  Alpine  Waldenses,  towards 
the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  had  been  introduced  by  the  Lords 
of  Cental  and  Rocca  Sparviere  into  their  waste  lands  in  Provence,  in 
hope  that  by  their  industry,  so  successful  in  the  High  Alps,  those 
lands  might  be  brought  into  cultivation.  Their  expectation  was  fully 
answered ;  the  villages  of  Merindol,  Cabrieres,  Lourmarin,  and  some 
others,  gradually  rose  where  the  presence  of  man  had  scarcely  dis- 
turbed the  solitude,  and  the  entire  region  flourished  under  their  cul- 
ture. Corn,  wine,  oil,  honey,  and  almonds  were  the  produce  ;  and 
the  grazing-lands  were  covered  with  herds.  The  neighbouring  markets 
were  indebted  to  them  for  supplies  ;  the  people  of  Provence  did  not 
eye  the  Waldenses  with  suspicion  or  dislike  on  account  of  the  religion 
which  they  had  exercised  peacefully  among  themselves  ;  and  if  the 
zeal  and  orthodoxy  of  their  Barbs  had  declined  after  ages  of  ignorance, 
if  they  had  been  more  intent  on  agriculture  than  on  worship,  they 
were  on  that  account  the  less  to  be  dreaded  by  the  Church  of  Rome, 
with  which  they  prosecuted  no  controversy. 

But  when  they  heard  that,  by  the  grace  of  God,  a  religion  similar 
to  that  of  their  fathers  had  been  received  by  multitudes  in  Germany, 
and  in  Switzerland,  they  sent  Georges  Morel  of  Freissiniere,  in  Dau- 
phiny,  a  Minister  who  had  been  educated  at  the  public  expense,  and 
Pierre  Masson  of  Bourgogne,  to  confer  with  CEcolampadius  at  Basel, 
with  Capito  and  Martin  Bucer  at  Strasburg,  and  with  Berthold  Haller 
at  Berne.  Aroused  by  this  communion  to  endeavour  a  restoration 
of  true  religion  among  themselves,  they  sent  messengers  to  Calabria  to 
invite  their  brethren  there  to  unite  in  the  holy  purpose ;  and  after- 
wards, when  Calvin  and  Olivetan  had  translated  the  Bible  into  French, 
defrayed  the  cost  of  an  impression,  that  the  sacred  volume,  hitherto 


398  CHAPTER    VI. 

almost  sealed  to  France,*   might  be  distributed.     These  movements 
irritated  the  Romish  Clergy,  who  began  to  trouble  them   again ;  but 
they  appealed   to   the  King,  who   was  induced  to  inhibit  their   Par- 
liament from  persecution  by  letters  dated  July  16th,  1535.     But  the 
persecutors  appealed  in  turn  ;  and  by  other  letters,  issued  May  31st, 
153(5,  they  were  required  to  abjure  within  six  mouths.     The  result 
of  this  was,  that  several  of  them  were  summoned  to  appear  before  the 
Parliament  of  Aix,  and  some  put  to  death,  others  branded,  and  others 
deprived  of  their  property.     The  body  of  the  people,  however,  were 
not  assailed  until  1540,  \vhen,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  Bishop  of  Aix, 
and  other  Ecclesiastics,  the  Parliament  summoned  fifteen  or  sixteen 
of  the  principal  persons ;  and  they  failing  to  appear,  an  edict,  equal- 
ling in  barbarity  any  that  ever  saw  the  light,  consigned  them  to  the 
flames  as  contumacious,  declared  their  children,  servants,  and  relatives 
to  be  proscribed  and  infamous,  and  announced  that  Merindol  should 
be  rased  to  the  ground,  and  its  surrounding  plantations  laid  waste. 
Even  the  caves  and  vaults  where  their  fathers  had  been  wont  to  hide 
in  times  of  persecution  were  to  be  filled  up,  that  the  ejected  popula- 
tion might  have  no  place  of  shelter.     But  the  President  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, Barthelemi  Chassanee,  and  several  of  the  members,  objected  to 
the  execution  of  the  order,  which  was  confided  to  the  ordinary  Judges 
of  Aix,  Tournon,  St.  Maximin,  and  Apt.     Others  would  have  preci- 
pitated the  execution  ;  and  the  Bishops  of  Aix  and  Aries  urged  him 
to  lose  no  time,  but  proceed  at  once  against  the  rebels  with  an  armed 
force,   promising    for    themselves    and    other    Prelates    a    large    sum 
of  money  towards  the  expenses  of  the  work.     While   they  were  dis- 
puting with  great  warmth,  a  gentleman  of  Aries,  Nicholas,  Lord  of 
Allenc,  a  friend  of  the   President,  reminded  him,  that  when,  in  the 
earlier  days  of  his  professional  life,  a  sentence  for  the  excommunica- 
tion of  a  swarm  of  mice  had  been  applied  for  by  the  country  people 
near  Autun,  and  the  Bishop  would  have  the  crier  of  the  civil  court  to 
publish  three  citations  of  the  mice,  which  might  then  have  been  pro- 
ceeded against  for  contumacy  if  disobedient  to  the  summons,  he  had 
undertaken  to  plead  for  them,  and  obtained  that  the  Curates  of  the 
parishes  should  set  them  a  more  distant  day  for  trial.     He  appealed 
to  a  book  the  President  had  published,  containing  pleasant  arguments 
that  proved  his  ingenuity  in  pleading  for  those  insignificant  clients ; 
arguments  drawn  from  Scripture,  too,  which  ought  now  in  earnest  to 
be  repeated  on  behalf  of  a  threatened  human  population.-)-     Glad  to 

*  Because  either  not  to  be  had  printed  in  French,  or  badly  translated.  As  to  versions 
previously  existing,  Beza  says  that,  "  quant  a  la  traduction  des  Bibles  Francaises,  aupa- 
ravant  imprimees  durant  les  tenebres  de  1'ignorance,  ce  n'etait  que  faussete  et  barbarie." 

t  Thuanus  (lib.  vi.)  formally,  and  at  length,  relates  this  circumstance,  which  haa 
appeared  to  some  too  ridiculous  to  be  credible.  They  therefore  suppose  that  the  pro- 
ceeding in  the  court  of  Autun,  was  nothing  more  than  a  piece  of  pleasantry  played  off 
at  the  expense  of  the  Priests.  But  there  is  nothing  improbable  in  it ;  and  the  author 
believes  that,  if  he  could  submit  to  waste  time  in  such  researches,  he  could  produce 
examples  of  the  like  folly  from  many  sources.  He  will  content  himself,  however,  with 
translating  an  authorized  form  of  conjuration  for  the  expulsion  of  mice  without  the  aid  of 
cats.  After  six  versicles  and  two  prayers,  follows  the  exorcism,  thus  : — "  I  exorcise  you, 
O  ye  mice,  that  stand  and  vex  this  place,  (or  this  house,)  by  the  living  -f  God,  by  the 
true  +  God,  by  +  God  who  created  all  things  out  of  nothing  ;  and  1  command  you  ia 


WALDENSES    OF    MERINDOL,    &C.  309 

be  entreated,  Chassanee  dismissed  the  troops  which  were  already 
assembling,  and  referred  the  matter  to  the  King,  with  a  request  that 
he  would  cause  further  inquiry  to  be  made  as  to  the  conduct  of  those 
Waldenses.  Meanwhile,  the  people  of  Merindol,  unable  to  defend 
themselves  by  any  material  weapons,  committed  their  case  to  God  in 
prayer,  and  awaited  the  issue  of  events,  expecting  to  be  led  as  sheep* 
to  the  slaughter. 

Francis,  aware  of  the  diversity  of  opinion  respecting  the  justice 
of  the  edict,  instructed  his  Lieutenant  for  the  territory  of  Piedmont, 
the  Baron  of  Langey,  to  inform  himself  of  the  whole  case,  and  send 
him  a  report.  Perquisition  being  made,  the  Lieutenant  reported  that 
those  Waldenses  had  hired,  about  three  centuries  before,  a  rocky  and 
uncultivated  part  of  the  country,  which,  by  dint  of  constant  tillage, 
they  had  made  very  fruitful.  He  described  them  as  patient  of  labour 
and  of  want,  abhorrent  of  contention,  kind  to  the  poor,  punctual  in 
payment  of  rent  and  taxes,  exact  in  the  exercise  of  their  own  wor- 
ship, and  unblamable  in  conduct.  But  he  also  reported  that  they 
seldom  entered  the  churches  of  the  saints,  except  incidentally,  when  iu 
any  of  the  towns  :  that  when  in  them  they  paid  no  adoration  to  the 
images  of  God  and  the  saints,  brought  no  tapers,  no  gifts,  nor  pur- 
chased masses  for  the  dead,  nor  crossed  themselves,  nor  used  holy 
water  ;  but,  looking  towards  heaven,  addressed  their  prayers  to  God 
alone.  Moreover,  he  related  that  they  never  went  on  pilgrimages, 
nor  uncovered  the  head  before  crucifixes  erected  by  the  way-side  ; 
that  they  strangely  prayed  in  their  vulgar  tongue,  paid  no  honour  to 
Pope  nor  Bishop,  but  had  Priests  and  Doctors  of  their  own.  On 
receiving  this  report,  Francis  sent  a  letter  to  the  Parliament  (February 
8th,  1541),  requiring  them  to  suspend  the  execution  of  the  edict, 
pardoning  the  persons  condemned  for  contumacy,  and  desiring  the 
court  not  to  proceed  in  future  with  so  extreme  rigour ;  yet  commanded 
the  Waldenses  to  make  a  solemn  abjuration  of  their  errors  within 
three  months.  The  Parliament,  however,  presumed  to  suppress  this 
document,  until  publication  was  extorted  from  them  by  repeated 
solicitations ;  and  even  then  they  added  a  requisition  of  their  own, 
that  all  of  them,  men,  women,  and  children,  who  were  suspected  of 
Lutheranism,  should  appear  to  undergo  examination  at  Aix.  The 
inhabitants  of  Merindol  represented  the  impossibility  of  all  appearing 

the  name  of  the  Lord,  that  ye  quit  this  place,  (or  this  house,)  and  remove  to  those  places 
where  ye  will  not  be  ahle  to  injure  any  person.  Which  may  He  deign  to  grant  who 
shall  come  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  the  world  by  fire.  Amen.  Christ  + 
conquers,  Christ  +  reigns,  Christ  +  commands  you  hurtful  animals,  that  ye  flee  from 
this  house,  and  do  110  more  mischief  in  it.  Pray  for  us,  blessed  Gregory,  that  we  may 
be  made  worthy  of  the  promises  of  Christ."  Then  follows  another  prayer : — "  We 
beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  trusting  in  the  prayers  of  St.  Gregory,  thy  confessor,  that  this 
house  may  he  cleansed  from  the  stains  of  sinners,  and  delivered  from  the  plague  of 
mice  ;  through  Christ  our  Lord.  Ainen."  Then  the  rubric  directs  : — "  He  shall  sprinkle 
holy  water."  (Manual  para  Sacerdotes,  &c.  Escrito  por  el  P.  Fr.  Nicholas  de  Jesus 
Belando,  &c.,  &c.,  en  Valencia,  por  Salvador  Pauli,  Ano  1773.  With  licences, 
approbations,  and  censorship  of  all  the  authorities.)  St.  Gregory,  the  confessor,  being 
the  accredited  mouse -expeller  of  the  Apostolic  See,  it  was  not  beneath  the  gravity  of  the 
Justices  of  Autun  to  cite  mice  to  answer  for  themselves.  And  the  living  mice  were 
quite  as  likely  to  obey  the  citation  as  any  deceased  heretic  that  was  ever  summoned  in 
like  manner. 


400  CHAPTER    VI. 

at  Aix  in  person,  and  at  last  obtained  permission  to  send  two  repre- 
sentatives, Francois  Chay  and  Guillaume  Armant.  They  came,  but 
could  not  obtain  so  much  as  a  copy  of  any  document  that  had 
appeared  against  them,  and  therefore  appealed  to  the  King,  who 
required  them  to  be  furnished  with  copies  and  duplicates  of  all  such 
dcts ;  revoking  an  order  of  the  Parliament  to  all  clerks,  notaries, 
and  other  officers,  not  to  give  them  any  sort  of  written  information. 
Having  obtained  this  documentary  assistance,  they  employed  a  notary 
to  put  into  due  form  a  confession  of  their  faith,  and  defence  of  their 
conduct  (April  6th,  1541). 

The  only  answer  to  this  was,  that  ten  of  them  might  come,  to  declare 
whether  or  not  they  would  accept  pardon  of  the  King.  The  people  of 
Cabrieres  and  its  neighbourhood,  being  of  the  old  county  of  Veuaissin, 
under  the  sovereignty  of  the  Pope,  sent  the  same  articles,  with  a  more 
ample  declaration,  to  the  Bishop  of  Cavaillon,  and  Cardinal  Sadolet, 
Bishop  of  Carpentras.  Sadolet  received  them  kindly  ;  and,  yielding 
to  an  impulse  of  benevolence,  and,  perhaps,  also  to  the  force  of  con- 
science, promised  to  interest  himself  in  their  behalf  at  Rome,  and 
endeavour  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  them  and  his 
Church.  Such  a  reconciliation  he  might  have  known  to  be  impos- 
sible. The  Archbishop  of  Aries,  and  the  Bishops  of  Aix  and  Cavaillou, 
on  the  other  hand,  clamoured  for  the  execution  of  the  edict,  unless 
the  Waldenses  would  make  a  solemn  abjuration  ;  and  the  Parliament, 
not  being  unanimous  for  the  severer  measure,  sent  a  Councillor  and 
Secretary,  the  Bishop  of  Cavaillon  and  a  Doctor  of  Theology,  to 
attempt  in  person  the  suppression  of  heresy  in  Merindol.  The  Bishop 
and  his  Doctor  hastened  to  work  without  waiting  for  the  others ;  but 
his  Lordship  was  mortified  to  hear  the  Doctor  acknowledge,  after 
examining  the  articles  of  their  confession,  and  without  attempting  to 
dispute,  that  he  had  not  learnt  so  much  of  the  holy  Scriptures  in  all 
his  life,  as  during  the  week  then  spent  in  comparing  those  doctrines 
with  the  sacred  text.  The  Bishop  then  brought  four  Monks  from  the 
University  of  Paris  ;  but  one  of  these  frankly  acknowledged,  that  in 
all  the  disputes  he  had  carried  on,  or  witnessed,  in  the  Sorbonne,  he 
had  not  heard  so  much  that  was  good  as  in  the  answers  of  the  little 
children  of  Meriudol  when  catechised.  When  the  entire  deputation 
came,  they  proceeded  to  hold  a  formal  disputation,  or  pretended  so  to 
do  ;  but  the  Bishop  would  only  speak  into  the  ear  of  the  Commis- 
sary ;  and  the  Doctor,  who  came  last,  would  not  condescend  to  speak 
at  all,  except  in  Latin,  so  that  a  conference  could  not  be  effected  ;  the 
deputation  returned  without  having  dared  to  confront  the  people, 
whose  children  displayed  greater  wisdom  than  all  the  wise  ones  of  the 
University  ;  and,  through  the  favour  of  the  humane  President,  it 
pleased  God  to  preserve  those  Christians  in  peace  for  that  time. 

But  those  who  presumed  to  thwart  the  purposes  of  the  Church 
seldom  attained  to  long  life.  Chassanee  died  suddenly.  To  him,  as 
President  over  the  Parliament  of  Aix,  succeeded  Menyer,  Baron 
D'Opede,  a  notoriously  bad  man,  oppressor  of  his  tenantry,  and 
troubler  of  his  neighbours.  Against  his  tyranny  the  inhabitants  of 
Merindol  soon  had  to  appeal  again  to  the  King,  who,  knowing  their 


D'OPEDE  SLAUGHTERS  THE  WALDENSES.  401 

innocence,  quashed  the  proceedings  of  the  Parliament,  and  evoked  to 
himself  (October,  1 543)  the  execution  of  his  edict.  The  Ecclesiastics 
had  then  no  other  instrument  than  falsehood  left  for  compassing  their 
design ;  and  this  they  did  not  hesitate  to  use.  The  Cardinal  de 
Tournon  employed  one  Courtain,  an  apparitor  of  the  Parliament,  to 
report  that  the  Waldenses  of  that  district  had  levied  a  force  of  fifteen 
thousand  men,  who  were  already  assembling  at  head-quarters  with 
unfurled  banners,  and  intended  to  march  on  Marseilles,  take  posses- 
sion of  that  city,  and  set  up  a  republican  canton  like  those  of  Swit- 
zerland. The  King  chose  to  credit  the  report,  sent  letters  to  the 
Privy  Council  (January  1st,  1545),  empowering  them  to  execute  the 
long-suspended  edict,  and  commanding  them  to  employ  the  ban  and 
arriere-ban  of  the  country,*  with  the  veteran  bands  of  Piedmont, 
who  were  then  said  to  be  preparing  for  a  voyage  to  England.  On 
receiving  these  letters,  D'Opede  laid  them  aside  until  the  Baron  de 
Grignan,  Governor  of  Provence,  a  better  man  than  he,  should  have 
gone  abroad,  and  left  the  entire  management  in  his  hands,  so  that 
they  were  not  published  until  three  months  afterwards,  when  the  exe- 
cution was  committed  to  chosen  officers,  and  war  proclaimed  with 
sound  of  trumpet  at  Aix  and  Marseilles. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1545,  those  officers  and  their  men  met  at 
the  little  town  of  Pertuis,  where  they  found  one  Captain  Volegine,  who 
had  been  plundering  the  cattle  of  the  Merindolese  for  about  a  month 
before,  without  resistance  from  the  peasantry,  who,  far  from  having  a  host 
of  fifteen  thousand,  had  not  one  man  in  arms  to  withstand  his  depre- 
dations. Next  morning  they  advanced  to  Cadenet,  where  the  veterans 
collected  forage,  and  on  this  day  D'Opede,  with  his  staff  and  a  strong 
contingent,  joined  them  and  entered  on  command.  On  the  morning 
of  the  16th,  one  Poulain  began  the  dreadful  work  by  destroying  the 
villages  of  Cabrierette,  Papin,  La  Mothe,  and  St.  Martin,  the  property 
of  the  Baron  of  Cental,  then  a  child,  and  therefore  unable  to  help  his 
tenantry,  who  were  utterly  defenceless,  and  slaughtered  without 
resistance.  The  soldiers  not  only  killed  men,  but  violated  women, 
murdered  pregnant  women  and  children,  and  cut  off  the  breasts  of  living 
mothers,  leaving  them  and  their  infants  to  perish  together.  D'Opede 
exulted  in  this  beginning  of  glory ;  and,  amidst  the  shrieks  of  the 
peasantry,  caused  a  crier  to  proclaim  that  no  one  should  give  food  or 
shelter  to  any  fugitive  under  pain  of  death.  The  villages  were  pil- 
laged and  then  burnt  down,  covering  with  ashes  the  bodies  of  the 
slain  ;  Poulain  having  first  of  all  selected  the  most  able-bodied  youth 
for  service  in  his  galleys.  After  a  night's  repose,  D'Opede  himself 
would  have  led  the  veterans  to  a  similar  achievement ;  but  the  villages 
of  Lourmarin,  Villelaure,  and  Treizemines  were  deserted,  and  he  could 
only  burn  cottages  without  the  satisfaction  of  shedding  blood.  On 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  Durance,  the  Baron  de  Rocque,  with  a  few 
Catholic  auxiliaries,  burnt  down  Gensson  and  La  Rocque,  which  were 
also  utterly  deserted.  On  the  18th,  D'Opede  entered  Merindol,  at 

*  "  When  those  who  held  of  the  King  were  summoned  to  attend  him  in  his  wars,  they 
were  the  ban,  and  tenants  of  the  secondary  rank  the  arriere-ban." — Bonn's  Cyclopaedia 
of  Political,  &c.,  Knowledge. 

VOL.    III.  3  F 


402  CHAPTER    VI. 

about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  found  that  place  also  empty 
of  inhabitants.  One  person  alone  remained,  and  he  an  idiot.  He 
had  surrendered  himself  to  a  soldier,  who  demanded  twelve  francs  for 
his  ransom.  The  brave  General  disbursed  the  francs  for  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  captor,  tied  poor  Morisi  Blanc  to  a  tree,  and  shot  him. 
His  troops  emptied  the  two  hundred  houses  of  Merindol  of  all  that 
they  could  carry  away,  then  burnt  them  down,  and  destroyed  the 
blossoming  orchards  around  the  town,  according  to  the  letter 
of  the  edict.  On  the  19th,  the  marauders  environed  Cabrieres,  a 
slightly-walled  place  in  which  some  of  the  inhabitants  unfortunately 
tried  to  stand  a  siege,  and  the  next  day  opened  a  breach,  and  offered 
the  defenders  their  property  and  life,  with  justice,  if  they  would  admit 
them  without  more  resistance.  There  were  but  sixty  men,  and  thirty 
intrepid  women,  who  had  resolved  to  fight  for  hearth  and  altar, 
but  now  saw  that  Cabrieres  was  lost.  Others  had  fled  away  to  the 
caverns  in  the  neighbouring  mountains,  and  the  church  was  filled  with 
women  and  children.  Their  leader,  Etienne  le  Marroul,  capitulated 
honourably;  and  they  were  in  the  act  of  marching  out,  unarmed, 
when  the  President  and  his  crew  rushed  on  them,  and  made  them 
prisoners.  About  thirty  were  taken  into  a  meadow,  and  hacked  to 
pieces,  limb  from  limb ;  and  the  others  were  taken  to  Marseille,  Aix, 
and  Avignon  for  justice.  D'Opede,  however,  had  not  ended  his  day's 
work.  He  caused  the  thirty  women  to  be  shut  up  in  a  barn,  and  then 
set  fire  to  the  building  at  the  four  corners.  A  soldier,  in  pity,  opened 
a  door,  or  \vindow,  that  they  might  escape  ;  but  his  comrades  ran  to 
the  spot,  and  pitched  them  back  again  into  the  flames  with  their  pikes 
and  halberts.  Meanwhile  parties  of  ruffians  had  gone  to  the  caverns, 
and  dragged  out  fugitives,  whom  they  brought  into  the  castle-hall, 
where,  driven  together  like  a  flock  of  sheep,  they  were  surrounded  by 
soldiers,  while  two  Captains,  Yalleron  and  Gaye,  entertained  D'Opede, 
and  acquired  a  stock  of  merit,  by  murdering  them  all.  To  the  troop 
of  Avignon  was  assigned  another  service.  Their  Captains  led  them  to 
the  church,  where  they  found  eight  hundred  women  and  children  ; 
but  in  a  sanctuary  of  heretics  there  could  be  no  refuge,  and  they  were 
slaughtered  as  rapidly  as  the  butchers  could  bury  weapons  in  their 
bodies.  Just  as  they  were  wading  out  of  the  church  through  the 
blood  yet  flowing,  a  relative  of  D'Opede,  the  Baron  de  Coste,  came  to 
offer  him  all  the  inhabitants  of  La  Coste,  to  be  taken  alive  to  Aix,  and 
to  dismantle  the  place,  if  he  would  send  him  a  sufficient  force  to  take 
possession.  His  object  was  to  diminish  the  amount  of  murder,  by 
removing  the  people  into  a  position  where,  for  shame's  sake,  some 
pity  might  be  shown ;  and  his  offer  was  instantly  accepted,  at  least 
in  words.  Three  companies  of  infantry  marched  over  to  La  Coste, 
•where  the  people  were  ready  to  depart ;  but  they  had  no  sooner 
entered  the  village  than  they  began  to  kill  the  men,  and  treat  the 
women  with  the  usual  brutality.  To  finish  all,  they  burnt  the  place. 
The  campaign  being  ended,  after  other  ravages  of  the  same  kind, 
the  President  and  his  men  prepared  to  carry  home  their  spoils  ;  and 
as  they  were  marching  off,  messengers  from  the  multitudes  that  lay 
famishing  in  their  mountain  hiding-places  ventured  to  appear  before 


REFORMED    CHURCH    IN    MEAUX.  403 

the  Chief,  and  ask  permission  for  their  companions  to  emigrate  in  a 
body  into  Germany,  desiring  only  free  passage  so  far  as  the  frontier, 
the  scanty  clothing  that  was  on  their  backs,  (leurs  pauvres  chemises,) 
and  their  women  and  children.  But  the  prayer  was  vain.  The  mes- 
sengers returned  only  to  tell  their  friends  that  no  alternative  was 
allowed  by  the  persecutors  but  to  deny  Christ  or  die.  Not  one  aban- 
doned his  profession,  although  many  died  of  hunger,  cold,  and  weari- 
ness ;  and  at  last  the  remnant  re-occupied  some  part  of  the  desolated 
country,  resumed  their  simple  worship,  again  made  the  ground  fruit- 
ful under  cultivation,  and  the  Vaudois  have  been  preserved  by  the 
blessing  of  God  as  a  distinct  people  unto  this  day.  Merindol, 
Cabrieres,  La  Coste,  and  others  of  those  villages,  exist  no  more ;  but 
the  names  are  an  imperishable  accusation  of  worse  than  Saracen  bar- 
barity against  the  Church  of  Rome.  Signals  of  divine  judgment 
followed  the  ruffians  of  Provence.  Two  of  the  Captains  were  drowned 
as  the  troops  passed  over  the  Durance.  Europe  heard  of  the  massacre 
with  horror  ;  and  the  Parliament,  covered  with  shame,  endeavoured 
to  justify  themselves  by  sending  some  one  to  the  King,  to  assure  him 
that  the  people  thus  destroyed  had  been  previously  heard  and  con- 
demned as  heretics.  At  their  request,  His  Majesty  gave  them  letters 
(August  23d,  1545),  approving  of  their  zeal ;  but  the  thought  of  guilt 
rankled  in  his  bosom,  and  forced  him  to  make  a  profession  of  death- 
bed repentance.  Four  thousand  persons,  as  it  was  estimated,  were 
butchered,  twenty-two  villages  laid  waste,  and  seven  hundred  men 
sent  to  the  galleys. 

Wholesale  slaughter  now  began  to  characterize  the  French  persecu- 
tions. The  Reformed  of  Meaux,  where  the  Gospel  had  been  preached 
many  years  before  by  Bri9onnet  the  Bishop,  and  Le  Clerc  the  martyr, 
had  formed  themselves  into  a  church  after  the  model  of  the  Calviuist 
congregation  of  Strasburg,  and  assembled  in  a  private  house,  under 
the  pastoral  direction  of  Pierre  le  Clerc,  formerly  a  wool-carder,  but 
chosen  to  be  Minister  in  consideration  of  his  piety  and  creditable 
knowledge  of  holy  Scripture,  although  an  illiterate  man,  knowing 
nothing  of  any  language  but  his  own.  Under  the  blessing  of  God  on 
his  ministrations,  the  little  church  flourished.  Persons  frequented  the 
congregation  from  places  many  leagues  distant,  three  or  four  hundred 
were  united  in  communion,  and  their  assembling  could  no  longer  be 
concealed.  This  was  the  first  church  organized  in  France  ;  and  the 
authorities  resolved  that,  as  far  as  in  them  lay,  it  should  cease  to  be. 
On  the  day  when  the  Church  of  Rome  celebrates  the  nativity  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  (September  8th,  1546),  the  Lieutenant  and  Provost  of 
the  city,  with  their  Sergeants,  surprised  a  congregation  of  sixty  per- 
sons, whom  they  arrested  in  the  King's  name,  without  the  slightest 
resistance.  They  gave  their  hands  to  be  manacled,  and  went  meekly 
to  prison,  chanting  the  79th  Psalm  by  the  way : — 

"  Jjiia  gens  entre  sont  en  ton  heritage, 
1  Is  ont  souille,  Seigneur,  par  leur  outrage, 
Ton  temple  saint,  Jerusalem  detruite, 
Si  qu'en  monceaux  de  pierres  1'ont  reduite." 

The  very  words  that  still  are  sung  in  the  Geneva  congregations,  and 

3   F  2 


404  CHAPTER    VI. 

have  not  ceased  to  be  applicable  even  at  this  day  :  "  0  God,  tlie 
Heatben  are  come  into  thine  inheritance  ;  thy  holy  temple  have  they 
defiled  ;  they  have  laid  Jerusalem  on  heaps.  The  dead  bodies  of  thy 
servants  have  they  given  to  be  meat  unto  the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  the 
flesh  of  thy  saints  unto  the  beasts  of  the  earth,"  &c.  Not  a  sentence 
of  that  psalm  fell  to  the  ground.  Those  forty-one  men  and  nineteen 
women  were  leashed  together,  packed  into  carts,  and  carried  to  Paris. 
There,  bruised  with  cords,  fainting  from  the  journey,  without  a 
moment's  respite,  they  were  thrown  upon  the  wheel,  and  thence  con- 
veyed to  dungeons.  After  nearly  four  weeks'  imprisonment,  sentence 
was  pronounced  thus  :  Fourteen  to  suffer  extreme  torture,  and  then 
be  burnt  alive  at  Meaux  near  the  house  of  Etienne  Mangin,  formerly 
the  place  of  their  assemblage,  and  all  their  property  to  be  confiscated. 
Five  to  do  public  and  painful  penances,  and  then  be  imprisoned  or 
banished  for  life.  The  others  to  do  penance  in  the  usual  way,  except 
five  women,  who  were  released.  The  house  where  they  were  taken  to 
be  rased  to  the  ground,  a  chapel  built  on  the  site,  and  mass  sung 
therein  daily,  the  Priest  to  be  paid  out  of  the  confiscated  property. 
After  the  fourteen  had  spent  a  few  more  hours  in  prison,  and  resisted 
the  importunity  of  Priests,  who  would  have  persuaded  them  to  recant, 
they  were  conveyed  to  Meaux  again,  accompanied  by  two  Doctors 
of  the  Sorbonne,  who  laboured  vainly  to  pervert  them;  and,  on  the  con- 
trary, arrived  at  Meaux  with  one  more  recusant  than  they  had  brought 
out  of  Paris :  for  a  good  man,  seeing  them  thus  in  custody,  ran  after 
the  waggon,  crying,  "  My  brethren,  remember  Him  who  is  in  heaven 
above  !"  The  archers  seized  him,  threw  him  bound  into  the  vehicle ; 
and  he  made  the  best  of  the  occasion  by  exhorting  them  to  constancy. 
At  Meaux  they  were  tortured  according  to  the  sentence  ;  but  not  a 
word  escaped  their  lips  that  could  lead  to  the  detection  of  any  others ; 
and  one,  superior  to  pain,  even  bade  the  tormentors  pull  harder,  and 
not  spare  the  body  that  had  so  long  resisted  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  long 
done  contrary  to  the  will  of  its  Creator.  Mangin,  who  had  opened 
his  house  to  receive  the  congregation,  had  his  tongue  cut  out ;  but, 
when  the  operation  was  finished,  audibly  articulated,  "  Blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord !"  Le  Clerc  and  he  were  dragged  on  a  hurdle,  the 
others  in  a  scavenger's  cart :  they  were  then  swung  in  chains  on  four- 
teen gallowses  placed  in  a  circle,  and  in  that  position  sang  the  praises 
of  God  as  long  as  they  had  breath,  while  a  band  of  Priests  bellowed 
Latin  hymns  to  drown  their  voices ;  and  next  morning  (October  8th), 
while  the  embers  were  yet  glowing,  a  Priest,  richly  robed,  came  on 
the  ground  and  preached  a  high-flown  sermon  on  the  extinction  of 
heresy  in  Meaux.  Yet  a  few  living  stones  from  the  ruins  of  the 
church  thus  overthrown,  being  removed  by  the  good  providence 
of  God  into  other  places,  became  the  foundations  of  new  churches 
there. 

Some  other  honourable  names  complete  the  martyrology  of  this 
reign.  Francois  d'Augy,  travelling  through  Toulouse  on  return  from 
Geneva,  was  burnt  by  order  of  the  Parliament,  shouting  the  praise 
of  God,  and  cheered  aloud  by  the  bystanders.  Jean  Chapot,  a  learned 
distributor  of  books,  after  having  been  admitted  to  a  conference  with 


HENRY    II.  405 

three  Doctors,  who  found  themselves  unable  to  cope  with  his  superior 
knowledge  of  holy  Scripture,  was  almost  killed  by  the  extremity  of 
torture  ;  but,  supported  between  two  persons  at  the  place  of  execu- 
tion, bore  his  last  oral  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  the  Gospel,  and 
then  sealed  it  with  a  willing  death.  A  gentleman  named  Seraphin,  and 
four  others,  were  brought  from  Langres  to  Paris,  and  there  executed ; 
Picard,  the  late  orator  at  the  executions  of  Meaux,  strangely  exhorting 
them  to  patience.  "  My  master,"  said  Seraphin,  "  God  be  praised  that 
you  have  changed  your  language  ;  but  if  you  were  burning  here,  would 
you  have  so  much  patience  as  you  see  that  God  has  given  me?"  Jean 
1' Anglais,  an  Advocate  of  Sens,  a  learned  and  upright  man,  was  the 
first  offering  of  that  church  to  Christ  in  martyrdom  ;  and  his  own 
uncle,  (or  father,)  Archdeacon  in  the  cathedral,  defrayed  the  expense 
of  the  execution,  so  much  did  he  desire  it  (A.D.  1547).  Jean  Bru- 
gere,  burnt  in  chains  at  Issoire,  displayed  so  tranquil  a  courage,  that 
when  Ory,  a  furious  Inquisitor,  and  the  officers  who  conducted  the 
execution,  saw  him  bow  his  head  and  expire  without  a  struggle,  they 
fled  precipitately,  struck  with  terror  ;  and  the  Priest  of  the  parish,  when 
asked  what  he  thought  of  it,  answered  that  he  prayed  God  he  might  die 
in  the  faith  of  Brugere.  Nor  were  these  the  only  persons  who  overcame 
the  fear  and  pains  of  death  through  faith  in  Christ :  while  evidences 
of  a  rapid  spread  of  Christian  knowledge  multiplied  ;  the  fear  of  those 
who  attained  to  this  knowledge  seemed  to  give  place  to  boldness  ;  new 
congregations  were  established  all  over  France,  and  persons  of  rank 
openly  avowed  approbation  of,  if  not  adherence  to,  the  cause  of  Christ. 
Even  Francis  had  begun  to  speak  favourably  of  Protestants, — although 
it  must  be  owned  that  he  seldom  retained  the  same  opinion  longer  than 
circumstances  favoured  it,- — when  he  died  (March  31st,  1547). 

The  day  after  the  death  of  Francis  I.,  his  only  son  succeeded  him, 
as  Henry  IT.  An  easy,  heartless  man,  he  saw  and  heard  with  the 
eyes  and  ears  of  others,  who  therefore  reigned  over  him  and  the 
kingdom.  His  favourites  were  Anne  de  Montmorency,  Constable, 
superstitious,  rather  than  zealous  in  opposition  to  "  the  new  reli- 
gion;" Charles  de  Lorraine,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  Cardinal,  and 
a  thorough  Cardinal ;  Diana  de  Poitiers,  afterwards  Duchess  de 
Valentinois,  and  Jacques  d'Ablon,  afterwards  Marshal  of  St.  Andre",  a 
man  profoundly  selfish,  and  lover  of  good  cheer.  They  all  agreed 
that  the  Reformation  tended  to  subvert  civil  government,  and  ought 
to  be  suppressed  at  any  cost ;  the  Parliament  of  Paris  so  diligently 
ministered  to  the  bigotry  of  the  Court,  that  people  called  it,  "  the 
burning  chamber "  (la  chambre  ardente)  ;  Jean  Morin  exerted  his 
utmost  skill  in  apprehending  victims,  and  Pierre  Liset,  the  first  Presi- 
dent, was  careful  to  let  none  of  them  escape.  When  these  men 
passed  off  the  scene,  others  of  the  same  kind  came  on,  and  the  course 
of  events  under  such  an  administration  may  be  easily  conceived. 
Between  the  faith  and  perseverance  of  good  men  in  the  cause  of  God 
on  one  hand,  and  the  cruelty  of  those  in  power  on  the  other,  there 
was  an  incessant  conflict :  even  to  specify  the  names,  or  calculate  the 
numbers,  of  the  martyrs  would  be  impossible,  and  we  shall  only  mark 
the  principal  events  of  the  reign  of  Henry  II. 


406  CHAPTER    VI. 

They  say  that  his  father,  stung  with  remorse  on  account  of  the 
butchery  of  the  Waldenses,  had,  from  his  death-bed,  charged  him  to 
do  justice  on  those  who  had  instigated  him  to  the  commission  of  that 
crime  ;  and  that,  during  a  visit  to  Piedmont,  about  a  year  after  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  he  heard  much  of  the  horrible  affair  :  and  it  is 
certain  that  an  appeal  from  the  mother  of  the  young  Baron  of  Cental, 
whose  estate  was  the  first  ravaged  by  Poulain,  determined  him  to 
order  an  investigation  of  her  claims.  But  it  was  a  feint  of  justice, 
whence  no  effect  resulted  ;  and  so  far  was  he  from  disapproving 
of  spoliation  and  murder,  when  the  sufferers  lay  beyond  the  Romish 
pale,  that  in  a  summary  of  the  case  which  he  caused  to  be  drawn  up 
as  the  basis  of  inquiry,  and  authenticated  by  his  own  signature,  he 
represented  the  right  of  Madame  de  Cental  as  resting  mainly  on  the 
plea  that  her  tenants  were  not  Waldeuses,  but  good  labourers  and 
good  Christians.  The  Judges,  after  long  formalities,  acquitted  all  the 
murderers  but  one,  Guerin,  King's  Advocate  at  the  Parliament  of  Aix, 
whom  they  gibbeted  to  save  appearances.  And  no  sooner  was  this 
done  than,  by  way  of  reprisal,  a  literary  man,  a  lawyer,  and  several 
others,  were  burnt  immediately  at  Aix  by  D'Opede,  leader  of  the 
butchery,  whom  the  King  not  only  acquitted,  but  received  to  favour. 

Shortly  after  this  mock  inquiry  Henry  entered  Paris  with  his 
Queen  and  Court  to  celebrate  their  coronation,  and  surrender  them- 
selves to  the  unrestrained  licence  usual  on  such  occasions.  Hearing 
that  there  \vere  many  persons  in  the  prisons  on  account  of  religion, 
he  expressed  a  wish  to  see  one ;  and  the  Cardinal  de  Lorraine,  fearing 
that  conversation  with  a  scholar  might  not  excite  the  contempt  of 
Lutherans  which  His  Majesty  should  entertain,  caused  a  poor  tailor 
to  be  brought  into  his  presence.  Castellanus,  Bishop  of  Macon,  who 
had  once  favoured  the  Reformation,  was  there  to  perplex  the  man 
with  such  questions  as  a  renegade  might  put ;  and  Diana,  the  King's 
lady-favourite,  undertook  to  shame  him  with  her  wit.  However,  the 
worthy  tailor  perplexed  the  Bishop  ;  and,  instead  of  being  amused, 
the  King  was  astonished,  and  the  Prelates  mortified.  Diana  then 
endeavoured  to  relieve  them  from  embarrassment  by  a  sally  of  raillery 
on  the  prisoner  and  his  religion,  but  met  with  an  unexpected  and 
unanswerable  rebuke  :  "  Madam,"  he  replied,  "  be  contented  with 
having  corrupted  France,  and  do  not  endeavour  to  pollute  a  thing  so 
sacred  as  the  truth  of  God."  This  roused  the  ire  of  the  King,  who 
loved  her  better  than  any  other  being  in  the  world,  and  furiously 
commanded  that  he  should  be  burnt  alive  in  the  street  of  St.  Antoine. 
The  courtiers,  both  laic  and  ecclesiastical,  anticipated  with  impatience 
the  religious  entertainment ;  and  on  the  first  convenient  day  (July 
4th,  1549)  a  general  procession,  resembling  that  of  St.  Genevieve, 
issued  from  the  church  of  Notre  Dame.  The  King  himself  walked  in 
it,  and  stayed  at  the  stations  to  witness  the  burning  of  the  tailor  and 
three  others.  One  of  them  was  a  servant  of  his  own  household, 
whom  he  had  given  up  in  token  of  devotion  to  the  Church  ;  but  so 
horrible  were  the  cries  of  the  poor  man,  that  he  lay  awake  all  the  next 
night  thinking  of  them.  The  figure  and  voice  of  his  dying  servant 
haunted  him  for  many  days,  and  he  would  never  again  witness  a 


REFORMED    CHURCH    OP    PARIS.  407 

similar  execution.  The  Clergy,  however,  not  being  so  sensitive,  they 
employed  another  day  (July  9th)  in  burning  many  others,  and 
distributed  the  fires  over  various  parts  of  the  city,  in  order  to  fill  the 
entire  population  with  terror  of  the  Church.  Disgust  and  pity 
mingled  largely  with,  the  terror,  and  those  emotions  grew  stronger  as 
the  Reformed  congregations  multiplied,  and  their  most  active  members 
were  added  to  the  crowd  of  martyrs. 

Assuredly  Henry  II.  was  among  the  last  of  Princes  to  whom  the 
Lutherans  of  Germany  might  have  been  expected  to  look  for  help. 
But  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  Maurice,  the  bold  and  unprincipled 
Elector  of  Saxony,  and  his  associate,  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  while 
contriving  that  revolt  against  Charles  V.  which,  by  its  successful 
issue,  gave  Protestantism  a  legal  establishment,  entered  into  secret 
communication  with  Henry,  addressed  him  with  the  title  of  Protector 
of  the  Empire,  and  used  his  feud'like  hatred  of  the  Emperor  for  the 
advancement  of  their  project.  Lest  it  should  be  inferred,  from  his 
aiding  Protestant  Princes  in  the  prosecution  of  their  plans,  and  with 
them  resisting  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  forbidding  the  transmission 
of  money  to  Rome,  that  he  participated  in  their  views  of  religion,  he 
published,  previously  to  appearing  openly  in  that  alliance,  the  edict 
of  Chateau-Briant  (June  27th,  1551),  a  compilation  of  the  worst 
passages  that  ever  made  part  of  such  documents.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Pope  excommunicated  him,  and  pronounced  an  interdict  on 
France,  on  account  of  some  proceedings  of  his  in  Italy  ;  but  amidst 
those  political  quarrels  it  was  deemed  expedient  that  every  Popish 
Prince  should  keep  above  suspicion  of  heresy  by  oppressing  and  kill- 
ing those  of  his  subjects  who  ventured  to  dissent  from  Popery.  This 
edict  produced  full  effect ;  but  true  religion  spread  with  new  rapidity 
from  the  moment  of  its  publication  ;  and  although  the  year  1553  is 
marked  in  the  history  of  France  as  the  year  of  martyrdoms,  it  is 
scarcely  less  distinguished  by  the  rise  of  congregations ;  and  a  similar 
progress  continued  until  1557,  when  the  rabble  of  Paris  were  incited 
to  a  murderous  onslaught  on  a  company  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

The  Reformed  Church  of  Paris  dates  its  formation  in  the  year 
1555.  When  a  congregation  had  for  some  time  assembled  in  the 
house  of  the  Baron  la  Ferriere,  a  gentleman  of  Maine,  his  wife  gave 
birth  to  a  child,  which  he  could  not  consent  to  have  baptized  after 
the  Romish  manner  ;  but  neither  could  he  take  it  to  Geneva,  nor 
allow  it  to  remain  without  the  sacrament,  "  by  which  the  children 
of  Christians,"  as  he  truly  said,  "  ought  to  be  consecrated  to  God." 
There  was  no  Minister  in  Paris,  perhaps  not  in  France  ;  for,  although 
congregations  were  gathered,  no  churches  had  been  organized,  except 
one  at  Meaux,  which  was  soon  dispersed,  and  its  Minister  put  to 
death.  Thus  isolated,  they  perceived  no  other  alternative  than  to 
remain  without  a  Minister,  or  to  elect  one  themselves.  At  first  the 
congregation  refused  to  proceed  to  an  appointment  for  which  they 
could  find  no  precedent  in  Scripture ;  but,  yielding  to  an  apparent 
necessity,  agreed  to  seek  for  divine  direction  with  fasting  and  prayer, 
and,  this  done,  elected  Jean  le  Macon.  a  young  man  of  respectable 
family,  to  be  their  Pastor.  His  first  ministerial  act  was  to  baptize 


408  CHAPTER    VI. 

the  child.  Elders,  as  they  called  them,  and  Deacons  were  then 
chosen  ;  and  a  church  was  constituted,  as  nearly  after  their  idea  of  the 
apostolic  model  as  circumstances  would  allow.  The  fact,  however, 
could  not  have  been  divulged,  or  the  new  Pastor,  with  his  Elders  and 
Deacons,  would  not  have  escaped  the  flames.  God  was  pleased  to 
shelter  them  from  observation  for  a  little  ;  but,  meanwhile,  the  Cardi- 
nal of  Lorraine  took  the  lead  in  persecution,  and  a  catastrophe  was  in 
preparation.  To  exalt  his  house  and  gratify  the  Pope,  Lorraine  had 
associated  with  himself  the  Cardinals  of  Bourbon  and  Chatillon  to 
prepare  a  plan  for  the  establishment  of  an  Inquisition  in  France  like 
that  of  Spain,  committing  Chatillon  to  the  affair,  on  account  of  his 
known  benevolence  towards  the  Reformed  ;  for  they  calculated  that 
either  by  objecting  to  the  Inquisition  he  would  put  himself  into  their 
power  as  an  abettor  of  heresy,  or,  by  approving  of  it,  would  deprive 
the  Reformation  of  the  credit  of  his  name.  Henry  prayed  of  the 
Pope — by  this  time  reconciled — to  allow  France  the  benefit  of  a 
Holy  Office  :  Paul  IV.  gladly  gave  a  Bull  (April  26th,  1557)  ;  and  a 
royal  edict,  dated  at  Compeigne  (July  24tb),  conveyed  powers  for  its 
erection.  But  either  custom  or  policy  required  that  the  edict  should 
be  submitted  to  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  who  were  tenacious  of  their 
prerogatives,  and  had  often  refused  to  confirm  royal  decrees  by  regis- 
tration. This  decree  was  obviously  dangerous  ;  and  they  therefore 
represented  to  the  King  that  if  they  were  to  receive  it  his  subjects 
would  be  abandoned  to  ecclesiastical  Judges,  the  power  of  the  Inqui- 
sitors would  be  amplified  without  limit,  and  the  authority  and 
sovereignty  of  the  crown  greatly  diminished,  by  leaving  those  who 
were  naturally  subjects  of  the  King  to  fall  into  the  power  of  inquisi- 
torial officials.  The  King's  subjects,  they  further  remonstrated, 
would  be  disheartened  and  alienated  on  finding  themselves  abandoned 
by  their  natural  governor,  and  suffered  to  become  subjects  and 
administrators  of  ecclesiastical  Judges  ;  and  would  be  yet  more 
distressed  when  an  official  or  Inquisitor  undertook  to  judge  them 
without  appeal,  exercising  power  over  property,  life,  and  honour,  and 
leaving  no  recourse  for  the  redress  of  wrong,  nor  any  refuge  for  the 
innocent.  The  King,  they  insisted,  ought  to  be  the  protector  and 
preserver  of  the  innocent,  and  only  Sovereign  Lord  of  his  subjects, 
not  surrendering  his  prerogatives  to  others,  nor  allowing  a  way  to  be 
opened  for  oppression,  death,  torment,  and  confiscation  without 
remedy.  They  also  reminded  him  that  the  existence  of  such  a 
tribunal  would  be  incompatible  with  the  rights  and  duties  of  the 
Peers  of  France,  Dukes,  Counts,  and,  indeed,  of  all  others.  To 
coerce  the  Parliament  into  submission  would  have  been  impossible  : 
the  King  was  further  embarrassed  by  a  defeat  of  his  army  arid  loss 
of  St.  Quentin,  and  the  affairs  of  France  were  thrown  into  confusion. 
Ever  excellent  in  the  use  of  opportunity,  the  Priests  declaimed  that 
the  sudden  calamities  which  befell  the  country  were  in  punishment 
of  the  King's  leniency  towards  heretics,  and  the  multitude  began  to 
threaten  violence.  The  Reformed  Church  of  Paris  perceived  the 
danger,  and  prayed  without  ceasing  that  the  wrath  of  God  might  not 
indeed  be  poured  out  upon  the  King  and  his  kingdom.  They  met 


CONGREGATION    OF    ST.  JACQUES.  409 

more  frequently  than  ever,  and  prayed  more  fervently.  They  usually 
assembled  in  the  street  St.  Jacques,  in  a  house  opposite  the  College 
of  Plessis,  and  behind  the  Sorbonne.  The  Priests  in  that  neighbour- 
hood had  observed  the  frequent  passing  of  an  unusual  number  of 
persons,  marked  the  times,  and  tracked  them  to  the  place  of  meeting. 
At  night,  on  the  4th  of  September,  between  three  and  four  hundred 
had  assembled  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper,  without  any  appre- 
hension of  danger ;  and  while  occupied  in  that  solemnity,  men 
employed  by  the  Priests  were  piling  up  stones  on  the  outside,  to  be 
ready  for  an  assault.  Towards  midnight,  just  as  the  congregation 
was  about  to  disperse,  the  mob  began  to  batter  the  door,  and  raise  a 
cry  that  thieves,  murderers,  and  traitors  were  in  that  house.  The 
neighbours  sprang  from  their  beds ;  alarm  spread  through  the  city ; 
people  fancied  that  an  enemy  had  entered  Paris,  ran  to  arms,  and 
crowded  to  the  spot  whence  the  noise  proceeded.  Fires  were  kindled 
in  the  streets,  for  lack  of  lamps,  that  the  traitors  might  not  escape 
unseen  ;  and  when  they  found  that,  instead  of  some  formidable 
enemy,  it  was  a  congregation  of  Lutherans  that  had  caused  the 
uproar,  instead  of  being  content  that  Paris  was  yet  safe,  they  became 
furious,  demanded  blood,  formed  themselves  into  armed  parties,  and 
kept  up  the  watch-fires,  while  those  outside  the  house  attacked  it 
with  a  battery  of  stones.  The  Elders  of  the  congregation  exhorted 
the  others  to  trust  in  God  ;  and,  after  a  short  prayer,  several  of  them, 
at  great  hazards,  escaped  by  back-ways,  while  some  remained,  afraid  to 
face  the  mob  :  nor  without  reason,  for  the  streets  began  to  be  choked 
with  barricades,  showers  of  stones  and  other  missiles  rained  from  the 
windows,  and  one  of  the  brethren,  being  discovered,  was  beaten  to 
death.  A  very  few  men,  with  women  and  children,  were  now  in  the 
house.  Morning  drew  neai*,  and  it  seemed  every  moment  that  the 
defences  of  the  building  would  give  way  ;  a  military  guard  came  to 
the  spot,  and,  just-  at  the  moment  of  their  arrival,  the  women  ven- 
tured to  appear  at  the  window,  and  implore  pity.  They  came  into 
the  house,  interrogated  the  remnant  of  the  congregation,  and  might 
have  shown  mercy  if  they  had  been  dealing  with  common  offenders. 
But  when,  in  describing  the  order  of  their  worship,  one  of  them 
mentioned  the  Lord's  supper,  he  disclosed  an  unpardonable  offence. 
They  were  instantly  handcuffed,  to  be  taken  to  prison,  and  exposed, 
in  passing  through  the  street,  to  the  violence  of  the  mob,  who  pelted 
them  with  mud  and  stones.  Even  the  ladies — some  of  them  of 
considerable  rank — were  beaten  ;  and  the  soldiers,  unable  to  protect 
their  charge,  with  difficulty  brought  them,  bruised  and  bleeding,  to 
the  gaol.  After  such  a  night,  the  Chatelet  itself  was  welcome  as  a 
place  of  refuge  :  they  were  divided  into  companies,  and  soon  made 
the  prison  resound  with  hymns  of  praise. 

The  Priests,  having  failed  in  the  attempt  to  destroy  them  by  a 
mob,  now  tried  the  old  expedient  of  bringing  false  witnesses.  They 
revived  the  tales  of  nocturnal  and  impure  banquetings,  which  had 
been  invented  of  the  ancient  Christians.  One  of  the  Judges  of  the 
Chatelet  scrupled  not  to  tell  the  King  that  he  had  found  evidence  in 
proof ;  and  the  King,  deaf  to  every  intercession  on  their  behalf, 

VOL.    III.  3    G 


410  CHAPTER    VI. 

pretended  to  believe  those  allegations,  and  directed  the  trial  to  pro- 
ceed. One  Musnier,  a  person  of  doubtful  reputation,  but  holding  the 
office  of  Lieutenant  Civil,  was  then  in  concealment  to  avoid  a  prosecu- 
tion for  perjury  ;  but,  being  either  pardoned,  or  discharged  without  a 
trial,  was  commissioned  to  manage  the  affair,  which  he  despatched 
entirely  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  employers.  His  manner  was  to 
lavish  promises  or  threateniugs  on  the  prisoners,  as  he  found  them 
firm  or  yielding,  and  even  to  quote  Scripture,  urging  the  timid  ones 
to  make  their  confession,  and  then,  from  their  own  words,  to  convict 
them  of  heresy.  The  enemies  of  Christ  exulted  ;  his  people  were 
afflicted,  and  offered  prayer  in  every  family  and  every  congregation. 
Defences  and  apologies,  notwithstanding  the  laws  of  prohibition,  were 
printed  and  circulated  throughout  France  to  refute  the  calumnies 
of  the  Romanists,  while  familiar  expositions  of  doctrine  and  practice 
enlightened  the  public  as  to  the  real  character  of  the  persecuted  ;  and 
the  King  received  an  elaborate  memorial  imploring  him  to  give  their 
cause  an  impartial  hearing.  No  one  would  venture  to  present  such  a 
document ;  but  it  was  conveyed  secretly  into  his  chamber,  and  he 
deigned  to  hear  it  read.  It  contained  an  honest  exposal  of  the 
motives  of  the  persecutors,  whose  chief  desire  was  to  suppress  the 
true  religion,  in  order  to  retain  the  revenues  which  accrued  to  them 
from  the  prevailing  superstition.  "  If  it  was  enough  to  accuse,"  the 
memorialists  pleaded,  "  who  would  be  innocent  ?  "  If  he  would  be 
pleased  to  inform  himself  of  the  truth,  he  would  find  that  nothing 
had  brought  those  poor  people  together,  but  the  desire  to  pray  to 
God  for  him,  and  for  the  preservation  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  that  their 
doctrine  did  not  tend  to  sedition,  nor  to  the  ruin  of  states,  as  many 
pretended,  although  experience  had  clearly  shown  the  contrary.  Not 
for  want  of  numbers,  but  because  the  word  of  God  had  taught  them 
to  obey  established  authorities,  and  not  to  meddle  with  affairs  of 
state,  but  to  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  Saviour  of  the 
world,  they  had  refrained  from  insurrection  or  sedition.  They  pro- 
posed that  the  prisoners  should  be  confronted  with  the  theologians 
of  the  Uoiversity,  in  order  that  it  might  appear  on  which  side  lay  the 
truth.  The  Doctors  would  not  hazard  a  conference  ;  but  some  of 
them  wrote  answers  to  the  memorial :  questions  of  doctrine  were 
consequently  brought  into  public  discussion,  and  discussion  tended 
to  the  eventual  advancement  of  the  truth.  The  Reformed  also 
appealed  to  the  Protestant  Princes,  asking  their  intercession  with  the 
King  ;  but  before  intercession  could  be  made,  many  of  the  sentences 
bad  been  pronounced  and  executed.  Within  twelve  days  from  the 
morning  of  their  imprisonment  the  Lieutenant  had  finished  his 
reports,  and  Henry  had  issued  a  commission  (September  17th), 
empowering  a  Court  to  adjudicate  thereon.  Again  the  Parliament 
objected  to  acknowledge  the  commission,  or  to  receive  the  report 
of  the  Lieutenant ;  because  the  commission  tended  to  the  derogation 
of  their  privilege,  and  the  Lieutenant  himself  lay  under  an  accusation 
of  falsehood.  He  therefore  found  it  necessary  to  set  him  aside,  and 
allow  the  Parliament  to  exercise  absolute  jurisdiction. 

Nicolas  Clinet,  Taurin   Gravelle,  and   the  widow   of  the  Baron  of 


MARTYRS    OF    ST.  JACQUKS.  411 

Graveron,  were  first  brought  before  the  Commissioners  of  Parliament. 
Clinet,  a  venerable  Elder  of  the  congregation,  sixty  years  of  age,  was 
thought  to  be  a  Minister,  and  therefore  solicited  by  several  Sor- 
bonnists  to  recant ;  but  he  stood  firm.  Gravelle,  another  lay  Elder, 
and  Advocate  in  the  court  of  Parliament  in  Paris,  had  provided  the 
church  with  the  place  of  meeting  in  which  they  were  surprised,  and 
was  the  object  of  special  enmity  ;  but  when  assailed  in  open  court  by 
a  Doctor  whom  he  had  familiarly  known,  he  put  him  to  silence  by 
reminding  him  of  the  gross  immorality  of  his  life.  The  widow  lady, 
Philippe  de  Luns,  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  had  come  to  Paris 
with  her  husband  for  the  single  purpose  of  joining  the  church,  and, 
after  his  early  death,  persevered  in  that  communion,  with  exemplary 
piety,  during  the  few  months  that  followed.  Judges  and  theologians 
laboured  hard  to  bring  her  to  recantation  ;  but  she  argued  with  them 
in  the  prison,  and  held  fast  her  faith.  Some  friends  at  Court  endea- 
voured to  save  her  life,  and  might  have  succeeded  at  one  time,  had 
not  Bertrandi,  Keeper  of  the  Seals,  set  his  heart  on  the  confiscation 
of  her  property.  These  three  were  soon  sentenced  to  die  ;  and,  after 
being  put  to  the  rack,  were  taken  to  the  condemned  cells,*  to  await 
the  happy  hour  of  deliverance,  and  thence  carried  in  the  usual  igno- 
minious manner  to  the  place  of  execution.  Clinet  told  those  who 
advised  him  to  recant,  that  he  had  never  said  nor  defended  anything 
contrary  to  the  truth  of  God  ;  and  when  a  Doctor  asked  if  he  would 
not  believe  St.  Augustine  on  some  point,  replied  that  he  not  only 
would  believe  St.  Augustine,  but  could  prove  everything  he  had  said 
by  his  authority.  The  lady  displayed  equal  constancy  and  self- 
possession.  When  desired  to  present  her  tongue  that  it  might  be  cut 
out,  she  said,  "  I  have  not  spared  my  body,  and  should  I  wish  to 
withhold  my  tongue  ?  No,  no  ! "  and  the  executioner  tore  it  out. 
Gravelle  came  out  of  his  cell  with  a  smiling  countenance,  also  sub- 
mitted to  the  same  barbarous  operation,  and,  when  it  was  finished, 
pronounced  these  words  intelligibly,  "  I  pray  you,  pray  God  for  me." 
They  were  burnt  in  the  place  Maubert  ;  the  Elders  alive,  the  lady 
after  being  strangled.  A  physician  and  a  solicitor  were  put  to  death 
a  few  days  afterwards  (October  4th),  the  guards  being  scarcely  able 
to  restrain  the  mob  from  tearing  them  to  pieces  by  the  way  ;  and 
many  Bibles,  New  Testaments,  and  other  good  books,  were  consumed 
in  the  same  fires.  Some  friends  of  the  surviving  prisoners  then 
interposed,  successively  presenting  reasons  for  objecting  to  the  Judges 
as  their  causes  came  on  ;  but  the  King  ended  the  delay  so  gained,  by 
issuing  new  letters  patent  (October  7th),  commanding  all  exceptions 
to  be  set  at  nought,  and  instructing  the  Judges  to  proceed,  deferring 
all  other  business  until  that  had  been  completed,  and  overruling  every 
other  conceivable  impediment.  Then  the  Judges  hoped  to  revenge 
themselves  on  the  appellants  by  quickening  their  speed  in  the  work 
of  death  ;  but  scarcely  had  they  condemned  other  two,  when  envoys 
arrived  from  the  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzerland  to  implore  mercy 
for  the  prisoners.  At  the  same  instant  ambassadors  from  the  Count 
Palatine,  first  Elector,  came  on  the  same  errand  ;  and  as  the  King 

*  — a  la  chapeUf,  "  to  the  chapel." 

3  G   2 


412  CHAPTER    VI. 

stood  in  need  of  foreign  help  to  support  him  in  his  quarrels,  he 
suffered  himself  to  be  entreated,  and  ordered  the  Judges  to  slacken 
their  severity.  Imprisonment  and  penances  were,  therefore,  substi- 
tuted for  capital  punishment.  Some  escaped  from  prison,  some  few 
were  dischai'ged  ;  but  many  died  in  miserable  dungeons,  refusing 
liberty  at  cost  of  conscience.  Others,  deficient  in  that  grace  which 
would  have  sustained  them  tinder  any  suffering,  submitted  to  abjure, 
and  be  re-admitted  into  the  Romish  Church. 

Yet  new  congregations  arose  in  all  directions.  Those  of  Sens,  the 
Isle  d'Allevert,  Saintes,  Guy^une,  Pons,  Rochelle,  and  Troyes  already 
flourished  ;  and  men  of  God,  willing  to  lay  down  their  lives  in  his 
cause,  were  sent  from  the  few  elder  churches  in  France,  or  from 
Geneva,  to  be  their  Ministers.  Familiar  with  the  prospect  of  death, 
no  other  fear  deterred  those  confessors  from  the  exercise  of  their 
religion,  and  frequent  martyrdoms  produced  courage  rather  than 
dismay.  A  compactly  organized  Inquisition  might  have  retarded  the 
work  of  God,  or  precipitated  civil  war ;  but,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
Parliament  of  Paris  had  successfully  resisted  its  establishment.  That 
failure,  the  growth  of  evangelical  religion,  and  the  interference  of 
Protestant  Princes  on  behalf  of  their  persecuted  brethren,  weakened 
the  confidence  of  the  priesthood  ;  and  the  appearance  of  some  power- 
ful advocates  in  France  itself  gave  matters  a  new  turn.  These  were 
Anthony  de  Bourbon,  King  of  Navarre,  in  whose  little  domain  the 
Reformed  enjoyed  a  good  degree  of  liberty  ;  his  brother,  Louis  de 
Bourbon,  Prince  of  Conde,  and  Francis  de  Coligny,  Baron  of  Andelot, 
brother  of  Gaspard  de  Coligny,  Admiral  of  France,  then  a  prisoner 
of  war  in  the  Netherlands,  and,  during  his  captivity,  brought  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  The  King  of  Navarre,  after  having  aided  in 
the  capture  of  Calais  and  expulsion  of  the  English,  visited  the  King 
at  Fontainebleau,  came  to  Paris,  and  hesitated  not  to  frequent  devo- 
tional meetings,  join  there  in  prayer  with  persons  of  humble  con- 
dition, and  render  succour  to  imprisoned  brethren.  His  subsequent 
irresolution,  inasmuch  as  it  could  not  be  foreseen,  did  not  then 
weaken  his  influence  as  a  friend  of  the  rising  cause.  The  Prince  of 
Conde,  with  Madame  de  Roye,  his  mother-in-law,  and  Eleanor,  his 
wife,  cordially  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of  divine  things,  and 
lived  under  their  power.  D' Andelot,  the  boldest  of  all,  took  into  his 
train  one  of  the  Ministers  of  the  Parisian  church,  and,  going  to  his 
extensive  estates  in  Britany,  introduced  the  Gospel  there  as  freely  as 
if  the  edict  of  Chateau-Briant  had  never  been  heard  of.  His  Chap- 
lain, Fleury,  preached  with  open  doors  wherever  they  went. 

In  Paris,  too,  a  new  method  was  found  of  gaining  public  attention, 
by  singing  psalms.  The  version,  in  metre,  by  Marot,  set  to  new 
music,  was  sung  in  the  public  walks  by  the  best  voices  ;  persons 
of  all  ranks  sang  those  compositions  in  their  houses,  and  the  courtiers 
themselves,  last  of  all  people  to  sing  psalms,  could  not  refrain  from 
joining  in  the  melody.  It  became  fashionable  to  sing  favourite 
psalms.  The  King  of  France  himself,  when  a  hunting,  sang,  "As 
the  hart  panteth  after  the  water-brooks."  The  King  of  Navarre 
chose,  "  Judge  me,  0  God,  and  plead  my  cause."  Even  the  courte- 


PSALMODY.  413 

san,  De  Valentinois,  strangely  pleased  herself  with,  "  Out  of  the 
depths  have  I  cried  unto  thee."  And  Queen  Catherine  seemed  almost 
devout  while  chanting,  "  In  thee,  0  Lord,  do  I  put  my  trust." 
When  select  bands  of  choristers  joined  in  those  performances  on  the 
promenade  of  the  Pre-aux-Clercs  in  summer  evenings,  to  the  excessive 
displeasure  of  the  Sorbonne,  the  Court  came  to  listen,  and  the 
adjacent  walls  were  covered  with  hundreds  of  citizens,  who  would 
take  up  the  chorus,  and  afterwards  walk  the  streets  in  companies, 
singing  again,  while  the  inhabitants,  standing  at  their  windows  and 
doors,  and  crowding  the  balconies,  caught  up  the  novel  strains,  and 
all  Paris  became  vocal  with  the  words  of  David,  and  Asaph,  and 
Moses.  It  is  most  remarkable  that  all  this  was  done  without  rant  or 
confusion,  and  the  most  unsteady  people  in  the  world  were  subdued 
into  order  by  the  melodies,  and  paid  a  decorous  reverence  to  the 
sacredness  of  the  words.  As  long  as  the  charm  lasted,  every  one 
wondered  that  so  good  a  thing  should  have  been  prohibited.  The 
charm,  indeed,  passed  away,  but  a  blessing  remained  after  it  in  many 
hearts.  Henry  was  at  a  distance  from  Paris  when  those  extraordinary 
scenes  were  at  their  height ;  and  some  Priests,  dreading  the  conse- 
quences, hurried  away  to  the  camp  at  Amiens,  told  him  that  the  city 
was  on  the  verge  of  insurrection,  that  large  bodies  of  armed  men 
walked  the  streets  singing  Lutheran  psalms,  that  every  hour  symp- 
toms of  a  revolution  multiplied,  and  represented  that  throne  and 
altar  would  both  be  overthrown  unless  that  psalm-singing  were 
suppressed.  Others,  however,  assured  him  that  the  only  arms  were 
dress-swords,  such  as  gentlemen  usually  carried ;  and  that  so  little  did 
the  Parisians  think  of  sedition,  that  they  always  opened  their  evening 
entertainments  with  psalms  containing  prayer  for  the  King.  But  the 
Priests  prevailed  ;  and  he  sent  Cardinal  Bertrand  with  an  order  that 
public  singing  should  thenceforth  cease,  and  that  whoever  sang  a 
psalm  on  the  Pre  should  be  punished  for  sedition,  and  published  a 
decree  forbidding  Judges  to  mitigate  the  penalties  on  heresy.  The 
Reformed  Ministers  exhorted  their  flocks  to  abstain  from  those  popular 
bands,  and  so  they  did  ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  silence  the  popula- 
tion at  a  stroke,  and  Bertrand  imprisoned  several  who  had  broken  the 
King's  commandment.  This  disobedience  served  to  establish  a  sort 
of  proof  that  the  Lutheran  singers  were  seditious,  although  the  per- 
sons called  Lutherans  were  the  first  to  yield  obedience,  and  some 
zealous  preachers  told  their  congregations  that  they  had  permission 
to  kill  every  Lutheran  they  might  meet ;  and  but  for  the  popularity 
of  the  prohibited  amusement  there  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  many 
murders.  As  it  was,  only  one  man  was  killed,  and  he  a  Romanist, 
mistaken  for  a  Lutheran. 

Of  D'Andelot,  returned  from  his  visit  to  Britany  (A.D.  1558),  it 
was  reported  that  he  had  both  caused  sermons  to  be  preached  from 
place  to  place  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  and  in  his  apartments  at 
Paris,  and  appeared  on  the  Pre-aux-Clercs,  followed  by  five  or  six 
thousand  persons,  every  evening.  In  order  to  answer  the  charge, 
D'Andelot  hastened  to  present  himself  before  the  King,  with  whom  he 
found  but  few  persons,  and  among  them  the  Cardinal  de  Lorraine. 


414  CHAPTER    VI. 

Henry  began  by  reminding  the  Baron  of  the  many  favours  done 
him,  after  which  he  had  not  expected  to  find  him  in  revolt  against 
the  religion  of  his  Prince,  and  repeated  the  complaints  that  he  had 
caused  new  doctrine  to  be  preached,  had  been  singing  with  the  Luther- 
ans on  the  Pre-aux-Clercs,  had  refused  to  go  to  mass,  and  had  sent 
Genevan  books  to  the  Admiral,  his  brother.  He  answered  in  such 
terms  as  these : — "  Sire,  the  obligation  under  which  I  am  laid  to 
your  Majesty  for  your  favours  and  honours  has  so  far  bound  me  that 
I  have  spared  nothing  in  your  service,  but,  times  out  of  number,  have 
hazarded  my  life,  and  spent  my  property  ;  nor  will  I  fail  to  do  the 
same,  as  long  as  I  have  breath,  in  fulfilment  of  my  natural  duty. 
But  your  Majesty  must  not  think  it  strange  if,  after  having  fulfilled 
this  duty  in  your  service,  I  study  how  to  make  sure  of  my  own 
salvation,  and  for  this  employ  the  remainder  of  my  time.  The  doc- 
trine which  I  confess  to  have  had  preached  is  holy  and  good,  taken 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  approved  by  the  ancient  Councils 
and  the  early  church,  and  is  that  which  our  fathers  held  and  believed. 
It  will  not  be  found  that  I  was  on  the  Pre-aux-Clercs,  as  they  accuse 
me ;  but  even  if  I  had  been  there,  I  should  not  think  that  an  offence 
either  against  God  or  your  Majesty ;  for  I  have  carefully  inquired, 
and  find  that  nothing  has  been  suug  there  but  the  Psalms  of  David, 
and  that  prayer  has  been  offered  to  God  to  turn  away  his  anger  from 
us  in  these  times  of  peril,  give  us  peace,  and  maintain  you,  Sire,  in 
prosperity.  I  confess  that  I  have  not  been  at  mass  for  a  long  time 
past ;  and  in  this  I  have  not  proceeded  lightly,  but  with  the  advice 
of  the  wisest  men  in  your  kingdom  ;  and  if  your  Majesty  had  care- 
fully investigated  the  truth,  you  would  not  have  been  able  to  praise 
God  enough  for  delivering  me  from  the  veil  of  ignorance,  which,  I 
assure  you,  I  shall  not  put  on  again.  I  have  also  sent  a  book  to  the 
Admiral,  my  brother,  full  of  consolation,  and  likely  to  comfort  him 
amidst  the  weariness  of  an  imprisonment  suffered  in  your  service. 
And  now,  Sire,  I  pray  you  to  leave  my  conscience  free,  and  I  will 
serve  you  with  my  person  and  my  property,  which  are  always  yours." 
The  King  could  scarcely  answer  to  this  unexpected  declaration  ;  but 
the  Cardinal  interposed  a  few  words  of  warning,  to  which  D'Andelot 
rejoined  by  reminding  him,  on  the  witness  of  his  conscience,  that  he 
had  himself  once  favoured  the  same  holy  doctrine  ;  but  "  honours 
and  ambition,"  he  added,  "so  far  pervert  you,  that  you  have  pre- 
sumed to  persecute  the  members  of  Jesus  Christ."  This  irritated 
Henry,  who  exclaimed,  pointing  to  the  badge  of  an  order  hanging 
from  his  neck,  "  Never  would  I  have  given  you  that  order,  if  it  were 
to  be  abused  thus,  by  one  who  swore  that  he  would  go  to  mass,  and 
follow  my  religion."  "  Never,"  answered  the  Baron,  "  would  I  have 
accepted  it,  had  I  then  known  what  it  is  to  be  a  Christian,  as  God 
has  taught  me  now."  The  King  ordered  him  out  of  his  presence,  the 
archers  on  guard  arrested  him,  and  threw  him  into  prison  at  Melun. 

An  inferior  person  would  not  have  lived  many  days  longer ;  but 
the  Cardinal  reflected  on  the  consequences  that  might  be  feared  from 
prosecuting  the  matter  any  further.  The  uncle  of  D'Audelot  was 
Constable  of  the  kingdom,  and  a  favourite  of  the  King.  D'Andelot 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    REFORMED    CHURCHES.  415 

himself  had  great  influence  over  the  army,  and  continued  in  prison  to 
show  as  much  courage  as  he  had  manifested  in  the  presence  of  the 
King,  justifying  his  familiar  appellation,  "  the  fearless  Knight."  The 
Cardinal  therefore  bethought  him  of  a  compromise.  A  Doctor  of  the 
Sorbonne,  and  King's  Confessor,  visited  the  illustrious  prisoner,  and 
suggested  that  by  merely  allowing  a  mass  to  be  said  in  his  presence 
the  honour  of  the  Church  would  be  saved,  his  own  honour  would 
remain  untarnished,  and  thus  he  might  go  free.  His  wife  added  her 
entreaties  :  he  saw  the  mummery  performed,  but  took  no  part  in  the 
matter,  not  even  by  a  gesture,  and,  without  pronouncing  a  word 
of  abjuration,  walked  out  of  confinement.  Yet  his  conscience  smote 
him  for  even  an  apparent  connivance  at  idolatry  ;  he  never  ceased  to 
labour  that  his  conduct,  in  every  other  respect,  might  counteract  the 
scandal ;  and  his  confession,  added  to  the  less  constant  adherence 
of  Anthony  of  Navarre,  gave  importance  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the 
estimation  of  its  adversaries.  From  this  time  the  Reformed  appear  as 
an  important  body ;  but  the  fires  of  persecution  raged  as  fiercely  as 
ever.  The  powers  of  light  and  darkness  pursued  the  conflict,  and,  in 
spite  of  prison  and  stake,  the  churches  of  Senlis,  Chartres,  Gien, 
Beaune  in  Burgundy,  several  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Orleans,  and 
about  sixty  in  Provence,  were  constituted. 

The  constitution  and  discipline  of  those  churches  originated  in  the 
necessities  of  their  birth.  In  Paris,  for  example,  the  first  Minister 
was  elected,  and  that  without  any  probation,  by  the  people  them- 
selves. They  were  by  no  means  unanimous  as  to  the  propriety  of 
their  act ;  but  having  yielded  to  the  importunity  of  the  person  in 
whose  house  they  assembled,  considered  themselves  justified  by  the 
exigency  of  the  time,  and  then,  according  to  their  best  judgment, 
ordered  their  affairs  "  as  far  as  possible  after  the  example  of  the 
primitive  church  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles."  *  As  the  society 
constituted  itself,  so  was  it  self-governed.  The  popular  Consistory, 
although  in  its  own  judgment  approximating,  as  far  as  might  be,  to 
the  example  of  an  apostolic  church, — an  example  studied  in  the  light 
of  Geneva,  (and  the  Genevan  discipline  took  its  character  from  the 
republican  constitution  of  the  Swiss  cantons,  where  the  civil  magis- 
tracy exercised  authority  in  the  construction  of  the  new  ecclesiastical 
system,) — now  exhibited  a  remarkable  departure  from  that  model, 
inasmuch  as  the  Elders  were  laymen,  and  the  Deacons,  instead  of 
merely  distributing  the  charities  of  the  church,  watched  over  it 
spiritually,  together  with  the  Elders  and  Ministers.  The  churches 
both  in  Paris  and  the  provinces  were  independent,  some  of  them 
receiving  Ministers  from  those  formed  first,  and  others  being  supplied 
from  Geneva.  But  the  inconveniences  of  isolation  were  soon  disco- 
vered ;  and  a  communication  between  societies  involved  in  a  common 
persecution,  as  well  as  partaking  of  the  same  faith,  led  to  a  formal 
union.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1558,  Antoine  de  Chandieu 

*  " — il  fut  aussi  dresse  quelque  petit  ordre  selon  que  les  petits  commencements  le 
pouvaient  porter,  par  1'etablissement  d'un  Consistoire  compose  de  quelquea  anciens  et 
diacres  qui  veillaient  sur  1'eglise,  le  tout  au  plus  pres  de  1'exemple  de  1'eglise  primitive 
du  temps  des  Apotres." — Beze,  Histoire  Ecclesiastique,  livre  i. 


416  CHAPTER    VI. 

•went  from  the  church  of  Paris  to  that  of  Poitiers  on  an  affair  of 
discipline  in  which  both  churches  were  concerned,  met  several 
neighbouring  Ministers,  addressed  a  very  large  congregation,  assisted 
in  the  celebration  of  "  the  supper,"  and  afterwards  held  a  conference 
with  the  Ministers  alone.  The  doctrine,  order,  and  discipline  of  their 
several  flocks  passed  under  consideration  :  germs  of  dissension  were 
detected  on  one  hand,  while  strong  inducements  to  union  appeared  on 
the  other.  To  avoid,  therefore,  evils  that  were  to  be  feared,  "  the 
churches  not  being  bound  together,  and  ranged  under  the  same  yoke 
of  order  and  ecclesiastical  direction,"  the  company  desired  Chandieu 
to  communicate  their  views  to  the  church  at  Paris,  and  "see  whether 
there  could  be  any  means  of  procuring  such  a  benefit  for  the  churches 
in  future,  so  as  to  avert  the  confusion  which  seemed  to  threaten 
them."  He  did  so;  and,  after  much  correspondence  with  all  the 
churches  of  France,  and  after  contending  with  many  difficulties, 
objections  to  the  scheme  were  overcome.  As  a  large  number  of 
Ministers  and  Elders  might  meet  in  Paris  without  being  discovered 
more  easily  than  in  any  other  place,  but  under  an  explicit  declaration 
that  that  church  should  not  assume  any  superiority  over  others,  the 
first  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France  met  there  with  all 
possible  secrecy  in  the  night  of  May  26th,  1559.  A  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  some  Canons  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  received  the  signa- 
tures of  those  present  two  days  afterwards.  The  former  was  retained 
until  the  dispersion  of  the  churches  on  the  revocation  of  the  edict 
of  Nantes ;  and  the  latter  were  modified  and  enlarged,  from  time  to 
time,  during  twenty-nine  National  Synods,  holden  from  the  year  1559 
to  1659.* 

The  concluding  articles  of  this  Confession  relate  to  civil  govern- 
ment, which  they  believed  to  be  ordained  of  God,  and  allowed  that 
the  civil  Magistrate  had  authority  to  punish  sins  committed  against 
the  first  table  of  the  Decalogue,  as  well  as  against  the  second.  "  It 
is  therefore  necessary,"  said  they,  "  for  His  sake,  not  only  to  endure 
the  rule  of  superiors,  but  also  to  render  them  all  reverence  and 
honour,  regarding  them  as  His  representatives  and  officers,  whom  He 
has  appointed  to  exercise  legitimate  and  holy  charge." — "  We,  there- 
fore, hold  that  it  is  necessary  to  obey  their  laws  and  statutes,  pay 
tribute,  imposts,  and  other  dues,  and  bear  the  yoke  of  subjection  with 
a  good  and  free  will,  even  if  they  should  be  infidels,  while*  the 
sovereign  empire  of  God  remains  entire.  Therefore  we  detest  those 
who  would  reject  superior  authorities,  set  up  community  and  con- 
fusion of  goods,  and  reverse  the  order  of  justice."  They  did  not 
know  that  this  holy  principle  of  obedience  to  the  powers  ordained 
of  God  would  soon  be  tested  by  a  flagrant  contempt  of  established 
order  from  the  highest  power  in  the  realm. 

The  Parliament  of  Paris  consisted  of  two  Courts, — the  "Grand 
Chamber,"  or  Court  of  Peers,  and  the  "  Tournelle,"  or  Criminal 
Court  of  Parliament.  The  former  condemned  persons  accused  of 

*  As  complete  a  record  as  could  be  made  of  the  confession,  discipline,  and  acts  of  tfr 
National  Synods  of  the  French  Reformed  Churches,  is  to  be  found  in  Quick's  "  Synod- 
icon  in  Galli^  Reformata,"  two  volumes,  folio,  written  in  English. 


THE    "MERCURIALE."  417 

heresy  with  the  utmost  rigour,  while  the  latter  used  as  much  lenity  ns 
consisted  with  the  letter  of  edicts,  and  the  letter  of  evidence,  liberally 
interpreted.  The  Presidents  of  the  Tournelle,  too,  were  thought  to 
have  some  knowledge  of  evangelical  religion.  The  Clergy,  the  upper 
Chamber,  and  the  mob,  incensed  at  their  humane  decisions,  demanded 
that  the  door  to  heresy  should  be  no  longer  open,  but  that  both 
Courts  should  act  uniformly.  To  amend,  then,  the  alleged  irre- 
gularity, it  behoved  another  Court  to  deliberate.  This  was  the 
"  Mercuriale,"  so  called  because  it  met  on  Wednesdays,  (dies 
Mercurii,)  and  consisted  of  the  Attorney-General,  the  King's  Advo- 
cate, the  Presidents  of  the  two  Chambers  and  subordinate  Courts,  and 
a  deputation  from  the  Councillors.  Sometimes  the  King  presided. 
At  one  of  the  regular  sessions  of  the  Mercuriale,  on  the  Wednesday 
after  Easter,  in  the  exercise  of  their  office,  they  proceeded  to  examine 
the  administration  of  justice,  and  provide  a  remedy  for  any  defect 
that  might  be  apparent.  Such  defect  was  alleged  against  the 
Tournelle ;  and  this  introduced  the  question  of  religion,  on  which 
the  Parliament  of  Paris,  as  well  as  other  judicatures  throughout  the 
kingdom,  were  more  and  more  divided  every  day.  Several  of  the 
members,  following  the  Councils  of  Constance  and  Basel,  rather  than 
that  of  Trent,  thought  that  a  more  honest  Council  should  be  assem- 
bled to  extirpate  the  errors  that  had  sprung  up  in  the  Church  ;  that 
the  King  should  endeavour  to  procure  a  General  and  free  Council, 
according  to  an  article  of  a  treaty  of  peace  lately  made  with  the  King 
of  Spain,  and  that,  meanwhile,  capital  punishments  for  Lutheranism 
ought  to  cease.  This  opinion  pleased  some  others,  who  advised  that 
the  penalty  of  death  should  be  commuted  into  banishment ;  and 
others  again  thought  that  before  the  execution  of  any  sentence  what- 
ever, evidence  should  be  had  that  the  condemned  persons  were  really 
guilty  of  heresy,  since  that  point  had  never  yet  been  sufficiently 
examined.  Therefore  they  also  advised  that  the  King  should  procure 
the  convocation  of  a  Council,  to  settle  wherein  heresy  consists.  A 
few  advanced  further  still,  and  argued  for  a  good  and  thorough 
reformation  according  to  the  word  of  God  alone,  setting  aside  cus- 
toms, antiquity,  and  the  sentences  of  men,  whose  judgments  were 
often  selfish,  to  the  condemnation  of  the  innocent.  The  persons  per- 
secuted in  those  days,  as  they  believed,  were  not  unable  to  produce 
reasons  in  justification  of  themselves,  they  appealed  to  the  word  of 
God.  and  would  submit  thereto.  From  the  word  of  God  they  had 
argued  against  purgatory,  saying,  that  there  is  no  other  purgatory  than 
the  blood  of  Christ  :  against  prayer  to  saints  they  had  produced  com- 
mandments to  worship  God  alone,  through  one  only  Mediator,  Jesus 
Christ,  with  promises  that  through  him  we  shall  be  heard,  and  so  on. 
As  to  their  life,  it  was  irreproachable.  The  Court  had  witnessed  the 
fervour  of  their  prayers,  and  their  constancy  in  suffering,  which 
proved  that  God  had  not  abandoned  them,  as  many  thought.  In 
short,  most  members  of  the  Mercuriale  would  either  mitigate  the 
penalties,  or  acquit  the  alleged  heretics  ;  and  few  thought  that  the 
severity  hitherto  exercised  should  be  continued.  But  two  of  the  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Grand  Chamber,  mortified  and  alarmed  at  the 
VOL.  in.  .3  H 


413  CHAPTER    VT. 

prevalence  of  these  humane  opinions,  ran  to  some  of  the  courtiers 
whom  they  knew  to  have  greatest  influence  over  the  King,  and  told 
them  that  many  memhers  of  the  Mercuriale  were  Lutherans,  and  thar, 
if  their  counsels  were  not  frustrated,  there  would  soon  be  an  end 
of  the  Church.  They  related  "  horrible  things"  that  had  been  spoken 
in  that  debate  concerning  the  mass,  the  ordinances,  and  the  defenders 
of  the  Church.  The  Cardinal  de  Lorraine  and  the  Constable  took  up 
the  matter,  advised  the  King  to  summon  the  Mercuriale  again,  and 
preside  in  person,  and  the  10th  day  of  June  was  fixed  on  for  the 
purpose. 

Attended  by  the  Cardinals  of  Lorraine  and  Guise,  the  Princes 
of  Montpensier  and  De  la  Roche,  the  Duke  of  Guise,  Constable,  and 
Cardinal  Bertrand,  Chancellor,  the  King  proceeded  to  the  Augustine 
monastery,  where  a  large  hall  was  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  made 
an  oration  on  religious  uniformity,  as  that  thing  which  above  all  others 
he  desired  to  establish  in  his  kingdom  ;  and  concluded  by  saying,  that 
therefore  he  had  come  to  hear  them  investigate  the  present  state 
of  affairs  in  relation  to  religion,  and  to  give  their  acts  greater  autho- 
rity by  his  presence.  Then  Cardinal  Bertrand  invited  them,  in  the 
King's  name,  to  resume  their  deliberation  on  religion,  leaving  every 
other  subject,  and  to  express  their  opinions  freely,  whatever  those 
opinions  might  be,  speaking  in  his  presence  with  as  great  liberty  as  in 
their  last  meeting.  Fair  as  the  challenge  seemed,  it  did  not  dispel 
the  suspicion  of -the  more  cautious  ;  but  one  Councillor,  Anne  du 
Bourg,  son  of  a  Chancellor  of  France,  and  eminent  for  knowledge  and 
integrity,  frankly  gave  his  mind.  He  thanked  God  for  having  brought 
the  King  thither,  to  be  present  at  the  decision  of  such  a  cause,  and 
exhorted  His  Majesty  to  afford  it  aid  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
whose  truth  above  all  other  considerations  ought  to  be  maintained  by 
Kings.  He  then  descanted  on  the  whole  subject  with  extraordinary 
boldness  ;  but  when  he  appealed  directly  to  the  conscience  of  the  per- 
secutors, telling  them  that  it  was  no  light  thing  to  condemn  those  who 
invoked  the  Saviour,  even  when  thrown,  by  their  sentence,  into  the 
flames,  the  Cardinal  Bertrand  gnashed  his  teeth  with  rage,  the  King 
rose,  called  the  Cardinals  aside,  and,  after  the  consultation  of  a 
moment,  walked  out  of  the  room,  and  sent  in  the  Captains  of  his 
guard  to  arrest  Du  Bourg,  and  another  named  Faur.  To  these  were 
afterwards  added  three  others,  and  all  were  thrown  into  the  Bastile. 
Those  who  had  advocated  the  cause  of  the  persecuted,  expecting  to  be 
sent  to  the  same  place,  endeavoured  to  escape  by  flight,  and  could  only 
elude  the  ban  that  was  immediately  published,  by  forsaking  France, — 
six  or  seven  excepted,  who  purchased  life  by  recantation.  However, 
the  desired  uniformity  of  administration  was  secured.  The  independ- 
ence of  Parliament,  if  it  existed  before,  was  now  annihilated.  Du 
Bourg  and  his  brethren  were  shut  up  in  the  Bastile;  and  Henry 
retired  from  Paris  to  the  house  of  the  Constable  at  Ecouen. 

Thence  he  sent  letters-patent  to  the  provincial  Judges,  commanding 
that  all  Lutherans  should  be  destroyed,  now  that  the  conclusion  of 
the  war  with  Spain  left  him  at  leisure  to  attend  to  the  extirpation 
of  heresy,  and  offering  to  place  military  force  at  their  disposal,  if  such 


DEATH    OF    HENRY    II.  419 

assistance  were  found  necessary.  He  required  them  to  report  their 
proceedings  frequently ;  and  threatened  to  make  examples  of  any  who 
should  show  pity  to  the  heretics.  The  Judges  were  ready  to  display 
zeal  in  the  performance  of  his  pleasure,  and  some  more  persons  were 
burnt ;  but  the  Reformed  put  their  trust  in  the  promises  of  God,  and 
sought  deliverance  from  their  enemies  in  prayer. 

Respite,  if  not  deliverance,  was  to  be  granted,  but  not  by  man. 
Henry  had  just  married  his  daughter  Elisabeth  to  Philip  II.,  and  his 
sister  was  promised  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  For  celebration  of  those 
glad  events,  the  court  and  the  city  were  preparing  for  great  festivities, 
and  Henry  returned  to  Paris  to  enjoy  them,  having  ordered  a  tourna- 
ment of  three  days  in  the  street  St.  Antoine,  which  was  made  use 
of  on  such  occasions  from  its  vicinity  to  the  palace  then  occupied  by 
the  Kings  of  France.  After  tilting  bravely  in  the  morning  with  many 
gentlemen  amidst  the  applause  of  the  spectators,  after  dinner  he 
invited  Count  Montgomery,  one  of  the  most  adroit,  to  break  a 
lance  with  him.  The  Count  consented  with  great  reluctance ;  the 
Queen  entreated  Henry  to  engage  no  more,  but  rest  for  that  day,  for 
she  had  been  troubled  with  ill  dreams.  A  boding  of  danger  to  the  King 
rested  in  the  minds  of  some  others.  The  Duke  of  Savoy  joined  in 
the  dissuasion  ;  but  he  persisted  in  his  purpose,  and  called  for  a 
lance,  saying,  "  I  will  only  run  this  once,"  and  entered  the  lists  with 
Montgomery.  Their  shock  was  observed  to  be  unusually  violent ; 
the  King  fell  from  his  horse,  was  taken  up  speechless  and  carried  into 
the  palace.  The  lance  had  entered  his  eye  and  pierced  the  brain ; 
and,  after  lying  speechless  ten  or  eleven  days,  he  expired.  Then, 
when  he  had  lost  both  sight  and  life,  it  was  remembered  that  he  had 
sworn  to  see  the  offending  members  of  the  Mercuriale  burnt  before  his 
face ;  and  it  was  scarcely  less  remarkable  that  he  fell  under  the  fatal 
stroke  just  opposite  the  Bastile  where  those  gentlemen  were  imprisoned, 
and  that  the  hall  of  nuptial  festivity  was  changed  into  a  chamber 
of  mourning.  As  if  to  place  a  last  note  of  condemnation  on  the 
departed  Monarch,  the  persons  who  laid  his  body  in  state  threw  over 
it  a  piece  of  tapestry  embroidered  with  a  representation  of  St.  Paul's 
conversion  ;  and  the  visiters  were  observed  to  fix  their  attention  on 
this  sentence,  wrought  in  large  letters,  "  Saule,  Saule,  quare  me  per- 
sequeris  ?"  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutes!  thou  me  ?"  They  removed 
that  piece,  and  put  another  in  its  stead  ;  but  the  sentence  had  taken 
wing,  and  resounded  throughout  France.  A  persecutor  had  fallen,  by 
the  judgment  of  God,  as  many  thought ;  and  the  Reformed  hoped  for 
protection  under  another  Sovereign. 

Those  hopes,  however,  were  not  realized.  Catherine,  the  Queen- 
Mother,  had  been  regarded  as  less  hostile,  if  not  favourable,  to  their 
cause  ;  and  Francis  II.,  a  boy  of  fifteen  years,  was  thought  likely  to 
be  governed  by  her  counsels.  But  the  Guises,  bitter  bigots,  managed 
to  get  possession  of  his  person  ;  Catherine  had  little  power,  and  the 
reins  of  government  were  grasped  by  the  very  men  who  had  insti- 
gated the  deceased  Monarch  to  his  worst  deeds  of  cruelty.  Now  they 
engaged  the  young  King  to  pursue  the  same  course,  and  obtained 
letters-patent  appointing  Judges  to  try  the  cause  of  Du  Bourg  and  his 

3  H  2 


420  CHAPTER     VI. 

fellow-Councillors,  and  hasten  their  execution.  The  brothers  of  Dii 
Bourg,  who  had  come  to  Paris  to  watch  the  course  of  the  prosecu- 
tion, and  engage  others  to  interest  themselves  in  his  behalf,  were 
commanded  to  quit  the  capital  ;  the  Commissioners  were  men  of  bad 
character,  and  his  inveterate  enemies,  and  against  them  he  appealed. 
The  appeal  was  accepted  ;  but  merely  in  order  to  invest  his  con- 
demnation with  a  show  of  justice.  An  Advocate,  appointed  to  plead 
in  his  defence,  served  to  solicit  him  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  and  renounce  his  faith.  They  even  reported  that  he  had 
done  so  ;  but  a  letter  from  his  own  hand,  addressed  to  his  brethren, 
and  a  confession  of  faith  presented  to  the  King  and  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, undeceived  the  public.  During  the  delay  occasioned  by  judi- 
cial formalities,  the  Protestants  spared  no  effort  to  obtain  his  release. 
Some  wrote  letters  to  the  Queen-Mother,  to  the  King  of  Navarre, — 
now  come  to  Paris,  as  Prince  of  the  blood,  to  take  part  in  the  affairs 
of  government, — to  the  Prince  of  Conde",  and  to  others  who  either 
agreed  with  them  in  Christian  faith  or  were  favourably  disposed.  The 
Queen  and  others  were  willing  to  encourage  hope  in  so  numerous  a 
body  as  the  Huguenots  had  now  become.  Conde"  earnestly  employed 
his  influences  ;  but  the  faction  of  the  Guises,  at  length  become  domi- 
nant, resolved  on  the  execution  of  Du  Bourg.  A  report  that  his  friends 
had  combined  to  extricate  him  from  the  Bastile  served  as  a  pretext  for 
shutting  him  in  an  iron  cage,  with  scarcely  room  to  stretch  his  limbs. 
There  they  fed  him  with  bread  and  water,  and  prohibited  all  commu- 
nication. In  that  durance  he  consoled  himself  with  prayer,  sing- 
ing the  praises  of  God,  and  playing  on  his  lute.  Meanwhile  sentence 
was  still  delayed  by  means  of  an  appeal  to  the  Pope,  from  whom,  by 
dint  of  perseverance  and  bribes,  his  brothers  had  obtained  a  Bull 
of  evocation,  transferring  the  case  to  Rome.  Their  hope  was  to  get 
him  out  of  custody  by  that  means,  and  help  him  to  escape  into 
Germany  instead  of  going  to  Italy  ;  but  he  would  not  consent  to  pur- 
chase liberty,  or  even  life,  by  acknowledging  the  authority  of  the 
Pontiff.  Henry,  Count  Palatine,  also,  sent  Ambassadors  to  the  King 
to  ask  for  Du  Bourg  to  serve  him  in  the  University  of  Heidelberg  ; 
but  the  Cardinal  of  Guise,  aware  of  their  approach,  hastened  the 
death  of  the  victim,  lest  the  King  should  be  persuaded  to  accede  to 
that  request,  and  had  him  taken  from  the  Bastile  to  the  Conciergerie, 
or  city-prison,  and  degraded  from  Deacon's  orders,  to  be  delivered  to 
the  secular  arm.  They  reserved  him  until  Christmas  (A.D.  1559),  at 
which  season  it  was  usual  to  bring  the  most  notorious  criminals  to 
execution,  but  especially  the  Calvinists ;  and  then  he  was  brought  out 
to  die.  On  the  Saturday  before  that  festival,  the  dark  dungeon  of  the 
Bastile  gave  up  its  captive.  A  formidable  guard  of  four  hundred  foot- 
soldiers,  and  upwards  of  two  hundred  horse,  drew  up  in  the  street 
where  Henry  II.  had  met  his  death  ;  the  outer  gate  was  unfolded, 
and  between  ranks  of  guards  within  the  court  came  forth  the  honest 
Christian  Councillor,  who  had  so  often  refused  every  effort  of  friend- 
ship, and  resisted  every  inducement  that  the  guile  of  enemies  could 
conceive  of,  to  purchase  life  at  the  cost  of  conscience.  A  cart  stood 
ready  to  take  him  away  ;  but  before  going  into  it  he  turned  to  his 


MARTYRDOMS.  421 

Judges,  who  had  just  read  the  final  sentence,  and  said  :  "Now  do  you 
extinguish  those  fires,  and,  after  having  left  your  wicked  life,  turn  to 
God,  that  he  may  pardon  you  your  sins.  (  Let  the  wicked  forsake 
his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  ;  and  let  him  return 
unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God, 
for  he  will  abundantly  pardon.'  As  for  you,  Councillors,  may  you 
live  and  be  happy ;  but  always  think  on  God,  and  the  things  which 
are  of  God.  For  my  part,  I  am  freely  going  to  suffer  death."  No 
one  knew  in  what  direction  the  strong  escort  would  move  ;  for  at  every 
spot  where  it  was  usual  to  burn  heretics  faggots  had  been  piled,  and 
stakes  planted,  so  as  to  divide  the  multitude,  and  distract  any  who 
might  endeavour  to  rescue  him  by  force.  They  conducted  him  to  St. 
Jean  en  Greve,  and  encircled  the  spot  on  which  he  stood  waiting  in 
silence  to  undergo  the  sentence,  for  he  had  promised  not  to  address 
the  people.  He  only  interrupted  his  prayer  to  say  one  sentence, — 
that  he  was  about  to  die  for  the  cause  of  the  Gospel,  not  for  any 
offence  against  society.  Then  he  threw  off  his  outer  garments,  offered 
up  this  last  petition  :  "  Lord,  leave  me  not,  lest  I  should  leave  thee," 
and  presented  his  neck  to  the  hangman.  He  was  strangled,  and  his 
body  reduced  to  ashes. 

While  his  case  was  pending,  protracted  only  by  formalities  conse- 
quent on  his  position* as  a  Councillor  of  Parliament,  the  work  of 
murdering  the  confessors  of  Christ  went  on  pitilessly.  As  if  the  edict 
of  Ecouen,  last  mentioned,  had  not  been  sufficient,  another  (September 
4th),  and  yet  another  (November  14th),  urged  the  servile,  or  the 
blood-thirsty,  Magistrates  to  new  atrocities.  Every  house  wherein  an 
assembly  was  detected  was  to  be  rased  to  the  ground  ;  every  person 
found  there  to  be  burnt  to  death  ;  no  one  convicted  of  any  shade 
of  heresy  was  to  be  spared. 

To  feed  the  flame  of  popular  fury  the  most  outrageous  calumnies 
were  circulated.  False  witnesses  deposed,  that  they  had  made  their 
way  into  nocturnal  meetings,  and  seen  the  heretics  begin  impure  ban- 
quets by  eating  roasted  pigs  in  derision  of  the  Paschal  Lamb,  sacrifice 
children,  and  then,  extinguishing  the  lights,  abandon  themselves  to 
excesses  that  pen  cannot  describe.  The  Chancellor  Olivier,  a  tried 
friend  of  the  sufferers,  clearly  disproved  the  perjury,  and  traced  it  to 
its  source  ;  but  that  did  not  avail.  Poor  young  Francis  wrote  to  the 
Parliament  that  punishments  enough  could  not  be  invented  for  inflic- 
tion on  such  criminals.  Houses  were  broken  open  on  the  slightest 
suspicion,  whole  families  dragged  to  prison,  pursued  by  the  hootings 
of  the  mob,  and  from  prison  to  the  flames,  having  their  tongues  cut 
out,  lest  they  should  criminate  the  murderers,  or  enlighten  the  people. 
Violent  death  became  so  common,  and  so  unsparing  was  the  rage 
of  Judges  and  executioners,  that  little  children  talked  of  it  familiarly, 
and  fortified  each  other  against  fear.  Those  who  fancied  themselves 
to  be  suspected  abandoned  their  houses,  and  fled  at  night  or  in  dis- 
guise ;  the  minions  of  authority  entered  the  empty  habitations,  and 
took  inventories  of  abandoned  property.  The  streets  were  filled  with 
carts  removing  stolen  furniture ;  corners  and  alleys  were  choked  up 
with  moveables  exposed  for  sale ;  troops  of  armed  men  dragged 


422  CHAPTER    VI. 

parents  and  children  away  to  prison  ;  whole  blocks  of  building 
remained  without  inhabitant ;  the  affluent  were  pauperised  in  a  clay, 
and  robbers  grew  rich  upon  the  spoil.  Infants  and  little  children, 
who  might  have  encumbered  flight,  were  left  behind  to  plead  by  their 
helplessness  for  pity.  But  humanity  was  extinct ;  not  even  the 
instinct  of  compassion  had  survived,  and  they  wept  life  away  on  the 
stones  of  the  street.  Nay,  none  could  dare  to  take  up  a  babe  stained 
with  parental  heresy.  Images  were  erected  in  the  streets,  and  who- 
ever passed  by  without  showing  a  gesture  of  reverence,  was  liable  to 
be  assailed  and  murdered  on  the  spot.  Wretches  cried  "  Lutheran," 
to  set  the  rabble  on  persons  with  whom  they  had  quarrelled.  The 
hearths  of  martyrdom  never  cooled.  The  horrid  swing  moved  inces- 
santly, suspending  racked  and  half-living  bodies  over  the  red  flames. 
Every  pulpit  rang  with  incentives  to  the  tumultuary  crusades.  Shouts 
of  threatening,  wailings  of  anguish,  exclamations  of  terror  resounded 
throughout  the  laud  ;  but  at  last,  when  the  majesty  of  a  Parliament 
fell  with  Du  Bourg  the  martyr,  when  the  last  remnant  of  judicial 
dignity  and  public  freedom  was  seen  to  be  trampled  on  by  a  faction, 
— that  faction  being  in  possession  of  the  throne,  the  tribunals,  the 
prisons,  the  dwellings  of  the  people, — God  permitted  long-slumbering 
vengeance  to  awaken,  and  made  the  perpetrators  and  abettors  of  that 
tyranny  suffer  the  retribution  of  a  civil  war. 

The  best  men  in  France  began  to  consider  within  themselves  by 
what  means  they  could  overthrow  such  a  government,  consistently 
with  their  duty  to  their  country,  to  the  throne,  and  to  God.  Often 
in  the  confidence  of  friendship,  and  of  brotherhood  in  suffering,  small 
companies,  unconscious  of  the  thoughts  of  those  at  a  distance,  would 
dare  to  ask  each  other  if  there  were  no  remedy,  no  method  of  defence. 
Some  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  and  theologians  in  France  and 
Germany  were  then  consulted,  and  they  gave  it  as  their  judgment  that 
since  the  Guises  had  usurped  the  government,  it  would  be  lawful  to 
take  up  arms  against  them,  provided  that  the  Princes  of  the  blood,  as 
born  Magistrates,  or  one  of  them,  would  undertake  the  cause  ;  and 
especially  if  that  were  done  at  request  of  the  States  of  France,  or  of  a 
sound  part  of  them.  But  the  usurpers  were  careful  that  those  States 
should  not  assemble.  They  agreed  that  it  would  be  useless,  and  worse 
than  useless,  to  address  the  King,  who,  although  legally  of  age,  was 
in  reality  a  minor,  and  in  their  power,  as  well  as  the  Queen-Mother. 
The  only  effectual  measure  would  be  to  seize  on  their  persons,  and 
then  to  convoke  the  States-General,  and  call  the  Guises  to  account  for 
illegal  administration.  And  they  also  agreed  that  the  management 
of  such  an  enterprise  could  only  be  intrusted  to  men  of  sound  reli- 
gious principle,  and  uninfluenced  by  either  hatred  or  ambition.  Such 
an  one  was  Louis  of  Bourbon,  Prince  of  Conde,  to  whom  the  project 
was  communicated,  with  an  entreaty  that  he  would  endeavour  to  pre- 
vent the  ruin  of  the  King  and  of  all  the  state.  After  mature  con- 
sideration, aided  by  the  opinions  of  the  most  learned  men  as  to  the 
rights  of  Princes  of  the  blood,  he  employed  trustworthy  persons  to 
examine  the  charges  brought  against  the  Guises,  that  he  might  resolve 
on  the  course  which,  in  conscience,  he  ought  to  pursue. 


THE    "  TtlMUI/T    OF    AMBO1SE."  423 

This  being  done,  it  became  evident  to  Conde  that  it  would  be  his 
duty  to  the  King,  considering  his  youth,  and  inability  to  think  or  act 
with  independence,  to  seize  on  the  persons  of  Francis  Duke  of  Guise, 
and  of  Charles,  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  his  brother,  and  bring  them  to 
account  for  their  misconduct.  But,  considering  that  they  had  all  the 
power  of  the  kingdom  in  their  hands,  to  arrest  them  seemed  to  be 
impracticable.  While  Conde  was  thus  pondering  the  matter,  a  gen- 
tleman named  Godefroy  du  Barry,  Baron  of  Renaudie,  came  to  him  as 
an  accredited  representative  of  his  correspondents.  He  had  suffered, 
unjustly,  fine  and  imprisonment ;  after  his  liberation  had  spent  some 
time  in  Switzerland,  and  then  returned  to  his  estate  in  France.  Him 
Conde  ventured  to  employ  as  secret  agent  to  confer  with  his  friends 
in  various  parts  of  France,  and  concert  a  scheme  of  simultaneous 
action.  In  short,  it  was  determined  to  seize  on  the  person  of  the 
King  during  a  progress  through  the  country  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health.  A  large  number  of  nobility  and  commoners  congregated  with 
amazing  secrecy,  and  they  were  gradually  approaching  Blois,  an  open 
town  where  the  court  then  was,  when  a  man,  to  whom  Renaudie  had 
divulged  the  secret,  made  it  known  to  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine.  The 
court  could  scarcely  believe  so  daring  a  project  to  be  possible ; 
but  they  removed  to  Amboise,  a  small  place  on  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  Loire,  a  few  miles  distant,  possessing  a  strong  castle  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill,  and  persuaded  the  Queen-Mother  to  write  to  the 
Admiral,  Coligny,  and  to  D'Andelot,  persons  likely  to  abet  the  con- 
spiracy, and  require  their  immediate  attendance  on  the  King.  They 
came  readily  ;  and  when  told  of  the  rumour  of  a  rebellion,  Coligny 
plainly  said  that  the  violence  of  the  administration  had  provoked  those 
discontents,  which  could  only  be  allayed  by  the  immediate  publication 
of  an  edict  granting  liberty  of  conscience,  and  promising  to  refer  the 
disputed  question  of  religion  to  a  general  and  free  Council.  The 
Chancellor  Olivier  supported  the  proposal  ;  and  consequently  an  edict 
was  hastily  drawn  up,  registered  in  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  and  made 
public,  granting  pardon  of  all  crimes  touching  religion,  excepting, 
however,  all  the  Preachers,  and  several  others  ;  and  commanding  Judges 
not  to  proceed  against  those  who  "  lived  thenceforth  as  good  Catholics, 
faithful  and  obedient  children  of  the  Church  :"  that  is  to  say,  to 
release  those  who  were  in  custody,  but  to  proceed  again  with  active 
persecution  as  soon  as  the  alarm  should  have  passed  away.  They  did 
enough  to  show  the  Reformed  that  they  were  neither  impervious  to 
fear  nor  capable  of  mercy :  while  a  secret  Act  (arref)  of  the  Parlia- 
ment determining  that  the  edict,  when  it  came  to  be  carried  into  exe- 
cution for  the  future,  should  be  reconsidered,  is  evidence  that  they 
were  incapable  of  good  faith.  Then  came  the  attempt  and  failure 
of  the  "  conspiracy  of  Amboise."  *  On  the  morning  of  March  1 7th, 
1560,  a  man  who  had  pledged  his  faith  to  the  conspirators  came  to  the 
Queen,  and  told  her  that  parties  lay  concealed  in  the  surrounding  woods 
and  neighbouring  villages,  ready  to  take  the  castle  by  surprise  at  an 

*  So  called  by  the  Guises,  and  by  Romanists  generally.  The  Reformed  say  "  the 
tumult  of  Amboise,"  and  so  does  Thuanus.  His  twenty-fifth  book  opens  with  ••  Aiubo- 
eiano  tumultu  sedato,"  &c. 


424  CHAPTER    VI. 

appointed  hour,  and  make  prisoners  of  the  royal  persons  and  the  court. 
The  Duke  of  Guise  instantly  took  measures  of  defence.  The  Prince 
of  Conde"  himself,  who  had  recently  arrived,  and  would  have  welcomed 
the  assailants,  was  appointed  to  take  part  in  the  defence,  but  asso- 
ciated with  another  officer  strongly  attached  to  the  faction  of  the 
Guises  ;  ambuscades  were  placed  near  the  ways  which  the  informer 
had  described,  and  such  parties  of  horse  or  foot  as  could  be  spared 
went  out  to  intercept  the  leaders  whom  he  had  named.  They  took 
several  prisoners,  brought  them  into  the  castle,  and  hanged  them  on 
the  battlements.  An  attack  made  on  the  castle,  the  next  day,  failed ; 
the  Guises  were  furious,  and  caused  the  amnesty  just  published  to  be 
revoked.  Their  soldiers  massacred  or  delivered  to  the  execution  all 
whom  they  could  overtake.  Gibbets  crowded  the  market-place 
of  Amboise,  the  streets  ran  with  blood,  scores  of  dead  bodies  floated 
down  the  Loire:  Nearly  twelve  hundred  men  were  beheaded,  hanged, 
or  drowned.  The  Baron  of  Castelnau  and  fifteen  other  gentlemen 
were  reserved  for  torture,  notwithstanding  that  the  Duke  of  Nemours, 
to  whom  he  surrendered,  had  promised  him,  "  on  the  faith  of  a 
Prince,"  and  under  his  own  signature,  that  he  and  his  companions 
should  suffer  no  harm.  Under  the  terrible  question  they  could  not  be 
made  to  divulge  a  single  name,  nor  vary  from  the  single  declaration 
that  the  conspiracy  was  directed  against  the  Guises  alone.  In  pos- 
session of  Castelnau  and  on  the  body  of  Renaudie  they  found  papers 
containing  the  plan  of  the  "  associates,"  and  protestations  that  the 
person  and  authority  of  the  King  were  to  be  respected,  and  "  nothing 
in  any  way  attempted  against  the  King's  Majesty,  nor  the  Princes  of 
the  blood  ;  but  only,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  restore  the  government 
to  its  first  state,  and  cause  the  ancient  customs  of  France  to  be 
observed." 

Castelnau  defended  himself  admirably.  Nemours  pleaded  his  own 
pledge  on  his  behalf.  Coligny  and  D'Andelot  did  their  utmost  to  save 
him.  The  Queen-Mother  went  to  the  apartments  of  the  Duke  of  Guise 
and  his  Cardinal  brother,  to  entreat  them  to  spare  his  life  ;  but  all  in 
vain.  "  By  the  sang  de  Dieu,"  said  the  Cardinal,  "  he  shall  die  :  the 
man  breathes  not  in  France  who  shall  save  him."  Castelnau  and  his 
fifteen  friends  were  placed  on  a  scaffold  opposite  the  castle.  The 
young  King,  his  Queen  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  Catherine,  with  her  Princes 
and  Princesses,  the  Duchess  of  Guise,  and  ladies  of  the  court,  occupied 
the  castle  windows  and  balconies  to  see  the  execution.  The  condemned 
gentlemen  knelt  down  and  prayed,  appealing  to  God  to  attest  the 
justice  of  their  cause.  Head  after  head  rolled  on  the  scaffold.  Ville- 
morgue,  one  of  the  fifteen,  when  it  came  to  his  turn,  dipped  his  hands 
in  the  blood  of  his  brethren,  and  raising  them  to  heaven,  cried  aloud, 
"  Lord,  behold  the  blood  of  thy  children  most  unjustly  slain  !  Thou 
wilt  take  vengeance  !"  The  Duchess,  on  hearing  this,  shrieked  with 
horror,  sprang  from  her  seat  and  ran  to  her  apartment,  whither  the 
Queen  followed  her  after  the  spectacle  was  over,  found  her  in  an  agony 
of  tears  ;  and  on  asking  why  she  lamented  in  so  strange  a  fashion, 
received  for  answer,  "  Alas,  Madam,  have  I  not  cause  ?  I  have  seen 
the  shedding  of  innocent  blood,  —blood  of  the  best  and  most  faithful 


REMORSE.  425 

subjects  the  King  ever  had.  I  fear  that  some  heavy  curse  will  fall  on 
our  house,  and  that  God  will  destroy  us,  in  vengeance  for  this  barba- 
rity." The  Chancellor  Olivier,  who  had  signed  their  condemnation, 
suddenly  awoke  to  a  sense  of  his  own  guilt,  rushed  to  his  chamber, 
flung  himself  on  his  bed,  and  gave  way  to  a  frenzy  of  despair, 
reproaching  God  that  ever  he  was  born.  Lorraine,  hearing  of  his 
anguish,  went  to  console  him ;  but  he  would  not  be  comforted.  Turn- 
ing on  his  bed,  he  hid  his  face,  that  he  might  not  see  the  man  ;  and  as 
he  left  the  room,  the  wretched  Chancellor  exclaimed,  "  Ha,  cursed 
Cardinal,  you  have  damned  us  all!"  In  two  days  he  died.  The 
Cardinal  also  endeavoured  to  assuage  the  distress  of  Conde,  whom  he 
found  weeping,  and  whose  countenance  during  the  execution  had 
betrayed  intense  grief.  But  Conde"  would  not  thus  be  comforted.  He 
denounced  the  proceedings  of  the  King's  Ministers  as  infamous,  and 
stung  the  Priest  with  words  that  he  never  could  forget. 

After  this  brief,  and  necessarily  incomplete,  statement  of  imprison- 
ments, burnings,  confiscations,  and  massacres,  and  after  being  informed 
that  even  to  collect  the  names  of  the  martyrs  who  passed  through  the 
usual  formalities  of  trial  and  execution,  suffered  under  new  inven- 
tions of  cruelty,  and  bore  witness  to  a  work  of  divine  grace  in  their 
souls  with  a  constancy  not  inferior  to  any  that  is  recorded  in  the  mar- 
tyrologies  of  Christendom,  what  will  the  reader  think  of  the  following 
judgment  of  the  Jesuit  Sforza  Pallavicini,  whom  Pope  Alexander  VII. 
rewarded  with  a  Cardinal's  hat  for  his  literary  service  to  the  Church  ? 
"Heresy,  at  that  time  (A.D.  1559),  left  not  a  stone  unturned  to  dif- 
fuse itself  throughout  the  Catholic  provinces  ;  but,  by  the  religious 
care  of  Princes,  was  repressed  at  once.  On  its  sectaries  various  kinds 
of  death  (varia — supplicia)  were  therefore  inflicted  as  well  in  France 
as  in  Spain  ;  but  in  France  more  remissly,  for  there  the  reins  of 
government  were  held  in  the  feeble  hands  of  a  child  and  of  a  woman. 
In  Spain  more  vigorously,  all  foul  blood  being  drawn  out  of  the 
wound  ;  and  therefore  there  was  no  indulgence  shown  to  nobility 
of  race,  weakness  of  sex,  nor  dignity  of  rank.  For  that  disease 
(scabies)  had  infected  some  of  the  Spaniards,  in  consequence  of  cor- 
respondence with  the  Germans  under  Charles,  and  with  the  English 
under  Philip.  Heresy,  by  the  sweet  poison  of  licence,  became  excetd- 
ing  dangerous,  and  sometimes,  by  contact,  even  to  the  physicians 
themselves.  And  therefore  severity  was  pious,  not  only  towards 
Heaven,  but  even  towards  the  state  ;  since,  for  the  drops  of  blood  then 
shed  in  Spain,  thence  ever  afterwards  kept  safe,  France,  through  the 
fault  of  a  more  tender  surgeon,  poured  rivers  of  blood  from  all  her 
veins."  *  At  what  period  of  Gallic  history  the  Surgeons  of  the 
Church  were  tender,  we  have  not  yet  ascertained.  The  truth  is,  that 
in  France  there  has  been,  from  the  times  of  the  Albigenses,  a  tradi- 
tion of  Gospel  truth,  a  traditionary  resistance  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  almost  incessant  persecution  of  the  children  of  God. 

With  the  affair  of  Amboise  those  rivers  of  blood  began  to  flow. 
The  history  of  the  civil  wars  concerns  us  only  as  they  were  occasioned 
by  religious  persecution.  We  must  observe  their  general  progress  at  a 


VOL.    III. 


ersecuuon.    we  must  observe  tneir  genera 

*  Hist.  Concil.  Trident.,  lib.  xiv.,  cap.  xi.,  sec.  2. 

3  i 


426  CHAPTER    VT. 

distance,    but    approach    more    nearly    to    describe     some    principal 
events/ 

The  country  was  divided  into  parties,  and  the  court  into  factions. 
The  Duke  of  Guise  and  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  with  their  adherents, 
ruled  France,  and  fought  against  every  sort  of  reformation.  Catherine, 
unable  to  extricate  herself  out  of  the  toils  of  such  a  domination,  first 
endeavoured  to  weaken  them  by  supporting  the  Prince  of  Conde,  the 
Admiral,  and  the  King  of  Navarre,  whom  the  Reformed  considered  as 
on  their  side  ;  but  she  betrayed  them  all  in  the  end,  and  was  herself 
more  completely  entangled  in  consequence  of  her  own  dissimulation. 
Every  one  saw  that  something  should  be  done  to  save  the  kingdom  ; 
but  there  was  no  national  assembly.  The  States-General  had  not 
met  for  more  than  eighty  years  :  the  Guises  feared  to  summon  them  ; 
and  the  advocates  of  religious  liberty,  not  daring  to  hope  for  sufficient 
influence  in  such  a  body,  did  not  venture  to  urge  its  immediate 
convocation.  With  the  concurrence,  however,  of  both  parties,  letters 
patent  were  issued  in  the  King's  name,  to  convene  the  Princes  of  the 
blood,  the  Ministers  of  the  crown,  and  several  of  the  chief  nobility 
and  Knights,  at  Fontainebleau.  Thither  the  young  King  arrived  ; 
not  attended,  as  formerly,  with  his  court  alone,  but  surrounded  by  a 
strong  military  force.  The  Duke  of  Guise  had  another  force  in 
reserve  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  Constable  and  his  sons  rode  to 
the  castle  attended  by  eight  hundred  volunteers,  and  after  them 
followed  another  company  of  nine  hundred.  Coligny  was  there ;  but 
Conde,  by  previous  agreement,  remained  away,  as  did  Anthony  of 
Navarre,  who  was  perhaps  afraid  to  come.  The  King  presided,  open- 
ing the  assembly  by  a  speech,  and  desiring  every  person  present  to 
speak  freely.  Catherine  delivered  a  lengthy  harangue,  the  leading 
personages  gave  statements  of  the  condition  of  the  country,  the 
revenue,  and  the  army,  and  the  meeting  adjourned  (August  21st, 
1560).  At  their  second  sitting  Coligny,  kneeling,  presented  two 
papers  to  the  King,  and  said  that,  having  been  sent  into  Normandy  by 
His  Majesty's  orders  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  troubles  which 
agitated  that  province,  he  had  found  that  the  first  and  main  reason 
was  persecution  on  account  of  religion.  The  papers,  one  addressed 
to  the  King,  and  the  other  to  the  Queen,  were  of  similar  tenor,  and 
contained  a  petition  "  on  behalf  of  the  faithful  of  France,  who  desired 
to  live  according  to  the  Gospel  Reformation."  The  prayer  of  this 
petition  was  for  an  equitable  administration  of  justice,  and  defence 
against  calumny,  violence,  and  outrage,  with  "  temples  "  of  their  own, 
wherein  they  might  assemble,  during  day-light,  and  peaceably,  to  hear 
the  word  of  God,  pray  for  the  prosperity  of  the  state,  and  receive  the 
holy  sacraments  as  ordained  by  Jesus  Christ.  They  offered  free  sub- 
mission to  the  laws  ;  and  professed  themselves  content  that  any  should 
be  punished  as  seditious  and  rebellious  who  assembled  in  any  other 
than  the  appointed  places,  or  in  any  way  proceeded  contrary  to  the 
public  peace.  They  even  proposed  to  pay  larger  tributes  than  the 
rest  of  His  Majesty's  subjects,  in  gratitude  for  the  desired  liberty, 
even  so  restricted,  and  in  testimony  of  their  loyalty.  After  an  earnest 
debate,  continued  through  three  sittings,  in  which  the  Duke  and 


SCHEME    FOR    COMPULSORY    SUBSCRIPTION.  427 

Cardinal  displayed  great  violence,  and  the  Admiral  rejoined  with  equal 
warmth,  the  assembly  resolved  that  the  States-General  should  be 
immediately  assembled ;  and  that,  as  the  Pope  delayed  to  summon  a 
General  Council, — for  the  Tridentine  fathers  had  been  dispersed  for 
more  than  eight  years, — an  assembly  of  Bishops  should  be  convened 
for  the  16th  of  January,  1561,  either  to  communicate  with  a  General 
Council,  should  there  be  one,  or  to  deliberate  on  the  assemblage  of  a 
National  Council,  to  treat  of  ecclesiastical  reform. 

Between  this  meeting  and  that  of  the  States-General  at  Orleans 
four  months  would  intervene,  and  be  the  period  of  preparation  for  a 
great  struggle.  The  Court,  the  Clergy,  and  the  Popish  majority  of 
France,  calculated  on  defeating,  perhaps  destroying,  the  Huguenots,* 
who  hastened  to  provide  themselves  with  some  defence  by  collecting 
money  from  the  rapidly-multiplying  churches,  and  raising  troops* 
Missives  to  the  Clergy  required  them  to  be  more  diligent  in  the 
repression  of  Calvinism,  as  true  Christianity  was  called.  The  Cardi- 
nal, for  example,  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  Montpellier,  praying  him  to 
bear  in  mind  that  the  time  was  come  for  the  Church  to  defend  her- 
self, and  not  spare  any  of  the  means  or  powers  she  possessed  for 
resisting  the  injuries  and  insolence  of  those  seditious  wretches ;  and 
charged  him,  from  the  King,  to  keep  his  eyes  open,  that  there  might 
be  no  unlawful  assemblies  or  prohibited  preachings  in  his  diocese. 
To  help  the  Bishop  in  keeping  his  diocese,  the  Count  de  Villars  had 
force  at  hand,  with  commandment  from  His  Majesty  "  to  cut  to 
pieces  all  persons  who  might  forget  themselves  on  that  point." 
Many  persons  were  cruelly  put  to  death.  The  mobs  were  ferocious  ; 
but  the  churches  assumed  an  attitude  of  unyielding  constancy.  Sol- 
diers were  employed  to  drive  women  and  children  to  mass,  and 
Magistrates  enforced  the  administration  of  baptism  by  the  hands 
of  Priests  ;  but  such  measures  only  aggravated  the  general  disaffection 
to  the  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Guise  as  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  kingdom.  His  brother,  the  Cardinal,  conceived  a  plan  for 
making  an  end  of  the  Huguenots  at  a  single  stroke.  The  Faculty 
of  Theology  at  Paris  had  drawn  up  a  Confession  of  Faith  (A.D.  1543) 
for  signature  by  their  members,  who  were  to  conform  to  it  in  their 
sermons ;  and  Francis  I.  had  issued  letters  patent  declaring  seditious 
all  of  the  laity  who  dogmatized  contrary  thereto,  either  in  public  or 
in  private.  This  Confession  had  fallen  into  desuetude ;  but  the 
Cardinal  proposed  to  act  on  it  again.  From  every  province  he  had 
lists  of  the  Huguenots,  commonly  known  as  such,  or  discovered  by 
his  spies  ;  and  the  application  of  this  test  was  intended  to  bring  them 
to  the  stake.  During  the  sitting  of  the  States-General  this  formula 
was  to  be  produced,  and  first  receive  the  signature  of  the  King.  The 
great  officers  of  state,  the  nobility,  and  the  knights,  were  then  to 
append  theirs,  and  swear  not  only  to  observe  it  for  themselves,  but  to 

*  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  word  came  into  use.  Like  most  popular  appella- 
tions of  contempt,  it  is  of  uncertain  origin.  The  most  plausible  conjecture  is,  that  it  was 
derived  from  one  King  Hugo,  whose  ghost  was  said  to  roam  the  streets  at  night.  And 
as  the  Calvinists  went  to  their  meetings  at  night,  they  might  be  called  "  Huguenots  " 
(hobyublins)  in  derision. 

3   i  2 


428  CHAPTER    VI. 

spare  neither  father,  mother,  wife,  brother,  sister,  relative,  nor 
friend,  who  should  refuse  conformity.  They  calculated  that  Coligny, 
D'Andelot,  and  many  others,  would  refuse  to  submit ;  and  the  King 
was  requested  to  degrade  and  deliver  to  death  all  recusants,  arid  have 
them  burnt  alive  next  day,  without  any  form  of  judgment.  The 
Chancellor  was  commanded  to  have  the  test  applied  to  the  officers 
of  law,  the  Bishops  were  to  impose  it  on  the  Clergy,  the  Queen  was 
to  require  the  like  submission  of  all  the  ladies  of  the  household,  and 
every  person  in  the  kingdom  was  to  be  called  on  to  signify  conformity. 
Delighted  with  the  scheme,  Lorraine  called  it  his  "  mouse-trap  ; "  and 
as  the  cat  gambols  over  her  helpless  prey,  so  did  he  disport  himself 
in  the  imagination  of  a  general  slaughter,  such  as  France  had  never 
seen.  "  And  as  the  prisons  of  Orleans  did  not  seem  to  be  sufficiently 
large  or  sure,  nor  yet  those  of  Loches,  Bourges,  and  other  towns,  to 
contain  so  large  a  number  of  marked  persons  of  all  classes,  workmen 
were  employed  everywhere  to  put  the  prisons  in  order,  and  to  make 
new  ones.  Among  others,  the  great  tower  of  St.  Aignan  was  fur- 
nished with  iron  gratings,  and  fortified,  to  receive  the  principal  per- 
sons of  Orleans,  as  was  another  in  the  neighbourhood,  intended  for 
the  Admiral  and  his  brothers,  whence  it  was  afterwards  called  '  the 
Admiral's  tower.'  " 

But  the  Cardinal's  trap,  however  capacious,  and  cleverly  set,  would 
not  take  all  the  mice.  Beyond  the  French  boundary,  on  the 
Navarrese  territory,  there  would  yet  remain  alive  powerful  supporters 
of  the  Reformation.  The  King  of  Navarre  himself,  and  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  his  brother,  who  had  withdrawn  to  Beam  instead  of  ven- 
turing to  the  meeting  at  Fontainebleau,  were  also  to  be  caught.  As 
for  Conde",  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  make  out  a  charge  of  con- 
spiracy against  him.  La  Sague,  his  secretary,  who  had  represented 
him  at  Fontainebleau,  having  confided  some  part  of  the  secret  to  a 
false  friend,  was  arrested  on  his  return  thence  at  Estampes,  and 
carried,  with  his  papers,  to  court.  Overcome  by  fear  of  torture, 
he  had  confessed  to  a  wide-spread  conspiracy,  and,  by  bathing  the 
cover  of  a  letter  in  water,  gave  ocular  evidence  of  a  scheme  prepared 
by  Conde  and  his  friends  for  seizing  on  some  important  towns,  occu- 
pying Picardy,  Brittany,  and  Provence,  and  getting  possession  of  Paris 
itself.  Intelligence  that  the  south  was  in  open  insurrection  soon 
confirmed  the  disclosure  of  La  Sague  ;  troops  were  sent  into  the 
disaffected  provinces  ;  the  King  was  persuaded  to  write  to  Anthony 
of  Navarre,  whose  share  in  the  insurrection  was  undoubted,  yet  not 
openly  avowed,  to  bring  Conde  to  court,  that  he  might  clear  himself 
from  charges  laid  against  him,  as  they  said,  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  Francis  wrote  to  his  uncle,  counterfeiting  the  language 
of  confidence  and  affection,  and  entreating  him  to  bring  his  brother 
forthwith  to  Fontainebleau,  assuring  the  weak-minded  King  that  he 
had  no  other  desire  than  to  find  Conde  innocent,  and  see  him  honour- 
ably acquitted ;  and,  moreover,  that  he  would  not  intrust  the  execu- 
tion of  so  delicate,  yet  important,  a  service,  to  any  one  but  himself. 
Every  conceivable  method  of  persuasion  was  employed  by  the  bearer 
of  the  letter,  under  the  instructions,  also,  of  Catherine,  that  he  should 


CONDE     IN    PRISON.  429 

overcome  the  reluctance  of  the  Princes,  or  awaken  their  fears  in  the 
event  of  a  refusal.  Their  appearance  at  court,  it  was  said,  would 
restore  confidence.  Refusal  to  appear  would  bring  down  on  Navarre 
a  hostile  and  irresistible  invasion.  Anthony  was  charged  with  abet- 
ting a  conspiracy,  and  sheltering  the  chief  conspirator.  His  conduct 
would  either  show  innocence  or  guilt,  and  determine  the  fate  of  him- 
self and  of  his  little  kingdom.  The  royal  word  was  given  that  no 
evil  should  befall  them  in  France. 

Navarre  and  Conde  fell  into  the  snare,  and  entered  France.  Warlike 
preparations  of  both  parties,  the  Guise  government  and  the  oppressed 
provinces,  everywhere  met  their  view.  Coldly-rendered  honours,  and 
friendly  intreaties  to  return,  equally  served  to  indicate  the  peril  that 
awaited  them.  A  body  of  French  cavalry,  under  the  name  of  a  guard 
of  honour,  received  them  into  custody.  Many  of  their  friends,  even 
including  some  ladies,  were  arrested.  Seven  or  eight  hundred 
Huguenot  gentlemen,  armed  and  mounted,  had  met  the  King,  and  asked 
him  to  place  himself  at  their  head,  and  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
persecuted  churches,  offering  large  and  ready  reinforcements ;  but  he 
hesitated,  and  then  rejected  the  offer.  They  besought  him  to  leave 
Conde  with  them  as  their  chief,  and,  if  he  would  go,  proceed  alone  ; 
but  he  refused.  They  withdrew  disheartened.  Francis  advanced, 
with  his  courtiers,  to  meet  them  at  Orleans  ;  but  as  they  approached 
that  city,  they  found  no  welcome,  and  even  the  population  had 
deserted  the  ways.  Soldiers  alone  occupied  the  gates,  manned  the 
walls,  and  lined  the  streets.  Between  lines  of  military,  who  insulted 
them  as  they  passed,  they  went  to  a  house  where  Francis  awaited 
their  arrival.  The  salute  due  to  royalty  was  withheld.  They  were 
bidden  to  dismount  outside  the  gate ;  and,  like  men  already  in  the 
fangs  of  a  destroyer,  half-sinking  under  a  weight  of  dread,  they 
found  their  way  into  his  presence.  Conde  soon  heard  a  torrent 
of  reproaches,  and  then,  arrested  by  the  Captain  of  the  guards,  was 
thrown  into  prison.  Navarre  was  detained  under  observation ;  and 
many  attempts  were  afterwards  made  to  get  rid  of  him  by  assassina- 
tion, but  they  successively  came  to  nought. 

The  chief  of  the  Huguenots,  and  of  all  who  desired  civil  liberty  for 
France,  being  in  prison,  a  commission  was  appointed  to  conduct  his 
trial  and  hand  him  over  to  the  executioner.  The  Sovereign  Prince 
of  the  half-reformed  state  that,  lying  between  France  and  Spain,  now 
lay  at  the  mercy  of  enemies  in  both  countries,  was  scarcely  less  dis- 
tant from  the  scaffold.  Both  gave  themselves  up  for  lost.  The 
26th  day  of  November  was  appointed  for  the  execution  of 
Conde.  Efforts,  indeed,  were  made  to  save  him,  and  the  Chancellor 
delayed  to  sign  the  sentence ;  but  nothing  was  foreseen  that  could 
deliver  him  from  death.  The  10th  of  December  following,  appointed 
for  the  assemblage  of  the  States-General,  was  expected  to  be  the  date 
of  another  sentence ;  and,  after  sentence,  death  would  not  linger  many 
hours.  The  test  above  mentioned  would  then  be  presented  for 
universal  signature;  and,  under  one  grand  renunciation,  and  one 
grand  martyrdom,  the  long-persecuted  cause  of  Christianity3  it  was 
calculated,  would  expire. 


430  CHAPTEB    VI, 

A  counter-stroke  of  Providence  quashed  this  calculation.  Eight 
days  before  the  intended  execution  of  the  Prince,  the  King,  not  yet 
seventeen  years  of  age,  was  seized  with  a  sudden  heaviness  in  the 
head  as  he  was  attending  vespers.  He  fainted,  and  was  carried  to 
his  chamber.  A  disease  from  which  he  had  for  some  time  suffered, 
rapidly  grew  worse,  and  the  Physicians  declared  that  they  knew  of  no 
remedy.  The  Guises,  foreseeing  the  downfal  of  their  power  on  his 
decease, — since  the  regency  of  the  kingdom  during  a  minority  would 
fall  to  a  Prince  of  the  blood,  and  the  King  of  Navarre,  whom  God 
had  shielded  from  swords  ready  drawn  by  themselves  for  his  assassi- 
nation, would  hold  the  reins  of  government, — quickened  preparations 
for  a  civil  war,  and  an  invasion  of  Navarre.  Commissions  were  issued 
for  levying  new  troops,  all  the  recruits  to  be  certified,  by  the  parish 
Priests,  as  "  true  Catholics,"  lest  the  army,  or  any  part  of  it,  should 
refuse  to  act  against  the  Huguenots.  These,  also,  accelerated  the 
enlistment  of  considerable  forces  in  self-defence  ;  and  the  party  domi- 
nant began  to  tremble  lest  the  death  of  the  King  should  render  all 
their  armament  of  no  effect,  and  the  Duke  and  Cardinal  change  places 
with  the  condemned  Princes.  Again  they  endeavoured  to  murder 
Navarre.  The  dying  King  himself  consented  to  provoke  him  to  a 
quarrel  in  his  chamber.  Navarre  was  summoned  thither,  and,  in 
spite  of  many  remonstrances  from  persons  who  had  overheard  the 
plot,  he  went.  The  door  was  shut.  The  King  tried  to  ensnare  hina 
by  bitter  words  of  provocation.  The  dagger  was  prepared,  as  if  to 
avenge  a  word  that  might  sound  insolent  to  majesty.  But  God 
preserved  him  from  passion,  and  the  plot  failed. 

While  the  Duke  attempted  those  means,  the  Cardinal  bestirred 
himself  in  another  way,  exhorting  people  to  make  pilgrimages  to  holy 
places,  and  vows  to  saints,  and  ordered  processions  of  Priests  and 
Monks.  The  preachers,  especially  in  Paris,  bade  the  multitude  pray 
that  the  King's  life  might  be  spared,  until  he  had  finished  the  work 
begun,  and  exterminated  the  vile  heretics,  enemies  of  the  Roman 
Church,  and  cause  of  all  the  calamities  of  France,  and  all  the  evils 
of  the  world,  and  not  to  disappoint  them  of  their  hope,  as  they  had 
once  been  disappointed  by  the  sudden  death  of  good  King  Henry. 
Litanies  resounded  through  the  streets,  relics  were  exhibited,  and 
Francis  himself,  whose  languid  hand  had  just  been  withheld  from  the 
murder  of  his  "  good  uncle,"  made  a  vow  to  God,  to  all  the  saints 
of  paradise,  both  male  and  female,  and  especially  to  "  Our  Lady 
of  Clery,"  that  if  they  would  be  pleased  to  restore  him  to  health,  he 
would  never  cease  until  he  had  cleansed  France  from  wicked  heretics ; 
and  prayed  that  if  ever  he  pitied  wife,  mother,  brother,  sister,  relative, 
or  friend,  if  even  the  least  tainted  with  suspicion,  God  would  take  his 
life  away.  In  spite  of  all,  the  disease  grew  worse  and  worse.  The 
Reformed,  also,  had  recourse  to  prayer.  They  proclaimed  a  fast,  and 
gave  themselves  to  incessant  supplication.  Their  petitions  were  that 
God  would  please  to  withdraw  his  chastisement  and  fierce  displeasure  ; 
assuage  the  violence  of  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  around  the  person 
of  the  King  ;  deign  to  show  himself  defender  of  his  Church,  saving 
her  from  the  hands  of  her  enemies  ;  dissipate  by  his  wondrous  mercy 


ACCESSION    OF    CHARLES    IX.  431 

— since  there  was  no  earthly  helper — the  designs  of  the  conspirators, 
as  he  had  made  foolish  the  counsel  of  Ahithophel ;  and  give  to  the 
King  sound  health  and  good  counsels,  that  their  souls  might  be 
preserved  in  patience.  Thus  did  prayers  ascend  to  the  mercy-seat 
of  heaven,  and  thus  did  the  orgies  of  a  mad  idolatry  surround  its 
altars. 

Meanwhile  the  King  rapidly  approached  his  end ;  and  the  Queen- 
Mother,  looking  to  her  own  security,  now  began  to  court  the  favour 
of  Navarre,  whom  she  had  aided  to  beguile  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  but  whom  she  expected  to  see  raised  to  power.  The  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons  were  accused  by  the  Priests  of  being  in  league 
with  the  Huguenots  to  kill  their  patient.  They  proposed  desperate 
measures,  yet  feared  to  use  them  ;  and  on  the  5th  of  December,  five 
days  before  the  intended  assemblage  of  the  States,  Francis  II. 
breathed  his  last.  The  Guises  fled  from  court,  and  shut  themselves 
up,  trembling  with  terror.  Catherine  advised  them  to  make  up  a 
sort  of  reconciliation  with  the  King  of  Navarre,  who,  always  timor- 
ous, feared  to  assume  his  full  prerogative,  and,  instead  of  being 
Regent,  accepted  the  office  of  Lieutenant-General  of  the  king- 
dom, leaving  the  regency  to  be  settled.  None  but  his  widow, 
Mary  Stuart,  was  known  to  mourn  for  the  departed  Sovereign. 
Catherine  and  the  Guises  were  so  busy  in  looking  after  their  own 
affairs,  that  they  left  any  who  chose  to  direct  the  obsequies  and 
funeral.  Of  all  the  Lords  assembled  at  Orleans,  only  two  made  their 
appearance  at  the  grave  ;  and  of  all  the  Prelates,  only  one  blind 
Bishop  had  a  sufficient  sense  of  decency  to  join  them.  Conde,  after 
a  few  days,  came  out  of  prison,  not  to  suffer  as  a  traitor,  but  to  take 
a  chief  part  in  the  struggle  for  religious  liberty. 

Charles  IX.,  a  child  of  ten  years  and  a  half,  ascended  the  throne 
of  France  on  the  decease  of  his  brother.  His  uncle,  Anthony 
of  Navarre,  professedly  a  Huguenot,  but  destitute  of  personal  religion, 
had  already  disappointed  the  hopes  of  the  Reformed.  He  consented 
to  be  second  to  the  Queen-Mother,  and  her  assumption  of  the  regency 
was  soon  ratified  by  a  majority  of  the  States-General.  The  future 
course  of  Navarre  will  be  so  insignificant,  that  we  shall  say  little 
of  him.  Before  twelve  months  had  expired  from  this  time,  he  and 
his  Queen  *  had  sent  an  "  orator  "  to  Rome,  to  place  their  kingdom 
under  the  protection  of  the  Pope.  In  the  States-General,  assembled 
at  Orleans  (from  December  1 3th  to  January  31st),  much  dissatisfac- 
tion was  manifested  towards  the  Clergy  by  the  nobles  and  commoners  ; 
and  in  the  course  of  warm  debates  it  became  evident  that  the  national 
voice  demanded  "  liberty  of  conscience,"  or,  as  we  should  now  more 
correctly  speak,  "liberty  of  worship."  Encouraged  by  changes  at 
court,  and  emboldened  by  the  freedom  of  the  lay  estates,  the  princi- 
pal Ministers  of  the  Reformed  churches  met  at  Orleans  at  the  same 
time,  were  introduced  by  Navarre  to  the  Council  of  Government,  and 

*  But  his  Queen  did  not  renounce  her  faith.  She  was  a  devont  and  consistent  Pro- 
testant to  the  last  hour  of  her  life.  There  can  he  little  doubt  hut  her  death  was  hy 
poison.  And  as  for  her  share  in  placing  Navarre  under  Papal  protection,  it  was  but 
nominal. 


432  CHAPTER    VI. 

presented  a  petition  to  the  King  for  participation  in  civil  privileges, 
and  for  temples  *  in  which  to  exercise  religious  worship.  The  Chan- 
cellor de  I'Hopital  and  the  Admiral  Coligny  supported  the  demand ; 
and  a  secret  order  from  the  Government  to  the  Parliament  of  Paris 
(January  7th,  1561),  directed  the  release  of  all  persons  imprisoned  on 
account  of  religion.  A  public  order  was  also  sent  to  the  royal  Judges 
(April  19th),  in  the  King's  name,  to  check  zealot  Lent-preachers,  and 
protect  the  Reformed  from  the  outrages  usually  committed  at  that 
season ;  commanding,  1 .  That  people  should  not  be  allowed  to  call  each 
other  by  the  injurious  names  of  Huguenot  or  Papist.  2.  That  no  one 
should  violate  the  security  that  every  man  ought  to  enjoy  in  his  own 
house,  or  in  that  of  his  friend.  3.  That  no  one,  under  pretext  of  exe- 
cuting preceding  decrees  prohibitive  of  unlawful  assemblies,  should  take 
upon  himself  to  enter  houses  in  search  of  small  companies  of  people ; 
but  that  this  should  be  left  to  the  judicial  authorities.  And,  4. 
That  all  persons  then  in  prisons  on  account  of  religion  should  be  set 
at  liberty;  and  that  those  who  had  left  their  homes  on  the  same 
account  should  be  free  to  return,  and  have  possession  of  their  pro- 
perty, under  condition  of  living  "  as  Catholics,"  and  without  causing 
scandal. 

But  before  the  publication  of  these  instructions  to  the  Judges,  the 
Parliament  of  Paris  had  issued  an  order  (March  31st),  prohibiting  all 
persons,  of  whatever  state  and  condition,  to  make  preachings  or  ser- 
mons, or  to  hold  meetings,  or  be  present  at  meetings,  but  go  to  their 
parish  churches,  and  other  accustomed  places,  and  hear  sermons  there, 
under  pain  of  being  declared  guilty  of  lese-majesty,  with  confiscation 
of  the  houses  wherein  such  meetings  had  been  holden.  This  order  was 
not  obeyed ;  but  the  simultaneous  publication  of  rival  edicts  not  only 
indicated  great  confusion  of  powers  in  the  Legislature  and  Executive, 
but  foreboded  those  fearful  scenes  that  the  historians  of  this  reign 
have  described.  At  Paris  and  in  the  provinces  the  Reformed  congre- 
gated for  worship  ;  and  this  sudden  demonstration  of  liberty  exaspe- 
rated their  enemies  beyond  measure. 

Foreign  intervention,  tumultuary  force,  and  judiciary  prosecutions 
were  means  whereby  the  Papists  hoped  to  resist  the  apprehended 
influx  of  heresy. 

The  first  expedient  was  too  perilous  to  be  tried  by  any  but  the 
Clergy ;  and  even  of  them,  only  the  least  eminent  and  responsible 
would  venture  to  commit  themselves.  Some  Doctors  of  the  Sorbonne, 
and  other  zealous  clerks,  resolved  to  hazard  an  application  to  the  King 

*  In  the  common  language  of  France,  as  in  that  of  western  Christendom  during  the 
earlier  centuries,  temple  is  used  to  signify  a  place  of  divine  worship,  when  the  speaker, 
expressing  himself  in  the  elevated  style  of  poetry  or  oratory,  wishes  to  convey  the  sin- 
gle idea  of  worship  of  God.  But  in  the  religious  nomenclature,  when  ecclesiastical  or 
political  distinctions  are  marked  hy  conventional  appellatives,  temple  means  a  building 
occupied  by  congregations  of  "  pretended  Reformed,"  and  is  limited  to  them  alone,  or  to 
Heathens,  by  the  careful  speaker,  who  bestows  the  appropriate  and  honourable  name 
tglise,  or  "church,"  on  those  edifices  which  he  acknowledges  to  be  employed  for 
Christian  worship.  Thus  writes  Alberti,  (Grand  Dictionnaire,)  '•  On  ne  donne  guere  le 
nom  de  temple  aux  eglises  des  Chretiens,  si  ce  n'est  en  poesie  et  dans  le  style  souteuu ; 
il  ne  fant  cependant  excepter  les  lieux  ou  lea  pretendus  reformer  s'assemblent  pour 
1'exercice  de  leur  religion.'' 


ENVOY    EXTRAORDINARY    TO     PHILIP    II.  433 

of  Spain  to  interfere  for  the  deliverance  of  France  from  the  heresy 
that  he  had  so  completely  suppressed  within  his  own  dominions.* 
One  Artus  Desire,  a  vivacious  Priest,  already  distinguished  within  his 
own  circle  as  a  rhymester,  was  selected  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  to 
Philip  II.,  furnished  with  a  memorial  engrossed  on  vellum,  and  having 
embarked  on  the  Loire,  at  Orleans,  in  a  boat  for  Tours,  trusted  to  follow 
the  course  of  the  river  and  the  fortune  of  the  ocean,  so  as  to  find  a 
Spanish  port,  and  reach  the  presence  of  the  most  zealous  and  devoted 
Sovereign  of  whom  Popedom  could  ever  boast.  But  a  painter  in  the 
service  of  the  Queen- Mother  betrayed  the  secret  of  the  poet,  who  was 
arrested,  brought  on  shore  with  his  despatch,  and,  instead  of  appear- 
ing before  Philip,  found  himself  in  the  presence  of  Charles.  The 
authors  of  the  document  addressed  the  Spaniard  as  "  Dear  Sire,  Most 
Catholic  King,  thrice  Christian  Prince,  elect  by  the  grace  of  God." 
They  were  entirely  assured  of  his  most  Christian  pleasure  to  vanquish 
and  chastise,  correct  and  punish,  all  persons  fugitive  and  banished 
from  the  congregation  of  true  Catholics.  At  the  request  of  these  true 
Catholics,  and  on  behalf  of  His  Majesty's  most  humble  and  obedient 
clergy,  citizens,  merchants,  and  common  people  of  the  city  and  Uni- 
versity of  Paris,  as  yet  preserved  by  the  special  grace  of  God  from  the 
venomous  and  mortiferous  Lutheran  poison,  they  approached  His 
Most  Noble  and  Most  Sacred  Majesty,  to  supplicate,  request,  and 
most  humbly  pray,  that,  of  his  good  grace  and  accustomed  clemency, 
he  would  aid  and  defend  their  holy  and  fruitful  Christianity,  to  the 
honour,  glory,  and  praise  of  God  and  all  His  blessed  saints  and  saint- 
esses  in  Paradise.  The  aid  and  succour  they  required  was  against  the 
Magistrates  and  Governors  of  France,  who  were  giving  such  favour, 
power,  and  authority  to  the  enemies  of  their  Catholic  faith  :  so  that 
all  the  faithful  expected  a  swift  approach  of  trouble,  sedition,  and 
sanguinary  death  among  Christians,  unless  preserved,  by  the  mercy 
of  God  and  the  King  of  Spain,  from  a  calamity  surpassing  all  cala- 
mities that  had  ever  befallen  the  world  since  the  day  of  its  creation. 
The  despatch  then  took  the  shape  of  a  sermon,  adorned  with  citations 
from  the  Gospel,  from  "  Monsieur  St.  Paul,"  and  from  the  Prophets, 
and  St.  Augustine  ;  and  closed  with  renewed  appeal  for  his  safeguard 
and  protection.  The  culprit  Desire  was  threatened  with  death. -f-  He 
wrote  petitions  to  the  King  and  Queen  Catherine,  asking  to  be 
favoured,  by  way  of  mercy,  with  condemnation  to  the  gallows,  rather 
than  the  block.  The  Parliament  of  Paris  made  him  beg  their  pardon 

*  The  Duke  of  Alva,  then  at  the  head  of  the  government,  threatened  the  persons 
whom  Catherine  sent  to  Madrid  to  explain  that  she  had  yielded  the  Colloquy  of  Poissy 
to  necessity,  not  to  the  Calviuists,  that  Philip  would  send  Spanish  soldiers  into  France 
to  put  down  heresy,  unless  she  fulfilled  her  duty  hy  doing  so  herself.  Many  French 
nobles  were  in  secret  correspondence  with  the  Council  of  Castile. — Thuani  Hist., 
lib.  xxviii. 

t  This  Desire  was  a  favourite  of  the  Parisian  Clergy.  Under  their  authority  ha 
printed  a  book,  containing  such  rhymes  as  the  following  : — 

"  Tailler  tu  te  feras  image  de  quelque  chose  que  ce  soit, 

Si  honneur  lui  fais  et  hommage  ton  Dieu  gran  plaisir  en  repoit." 

"  Thou  mayest  make  unto  thyself  an  image  out  of  any  thing ;  and  if  thon  givest  it 
honour  and  worship,  God  will  take  great  pleasure  in  it."  Thus,  as  they  read  the 
commandmeut,  it  was  done  into  verse  by  Desire. 

VOL.    III.  3    K 


434  CHAPTER    VI. 

on  his  knees,  bare-headed,  without  shoes,  and  with  a  taper  in  his  hand, 
and  committed  him  to  the  gentler  detention  of  a  Carthusian  convent, 
whence  he  soon  came  forth  again.  Treason,  when  committed  on 
behalf  of  holy  Church,  was  accounted  so  venial  an  offence,  that  he 
suffered  no  severity  of  treatment  there,  nor  any  torture  in  order  to 
ascertain  who  had  been  his  accomplices  or  employers.  The  Sorbonne 
and  priesthood,  by  silence,  acknowledged  themselves  guilty  ;  and  the 
supreme  civil  court,  by  connivance  with  the  traitor,  avowed  participa- 
tion in  his  crime. 

Tumultuary  violence  was  employed  throughout  the  provinces, 
although  prevented  in  the  metropolis  by  the  favour  shown  to  those 
of  the  "  new  religion "  by  Princes  of  the  blood  and  other  high 
personages.  We  can  only  note  a  few  examples  out  of  the  multitude 
that  Beza  has  recorded.  On  the  morning  of  Whit- Sunday,  a  poor 
weaver  of  Chateau-Neuf,  a  town  about  seven  leagues  distant  from 
Orleans,  attended  at  Jargneau  to  unite  with  his  brethren  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Lord's  supper,  returned  to  his  dwelling,  and  was  rest- 
ing after  having  walked  about  four  leagues,  when  a  party  of  ruffians, 
employed  by  Vertet,  Procureur  of  the  King,  broke  into  the  house, 
tore  out  his  eyes,  dragged  him  into  the  street  and  through  all  the 
ponds  and  ditches  of  the  place,  and  then  flung  him  into  the  Loire. 
The  poor  man  endeavoured  to  save  himself  from  drowning  ;  but  as 
he  struggled  to  gain  the  bank,  they  showered  stones  on  him  until  he 
sank,  and  his  body  was  carried  away  by  the  stream.  The  deed  being 
reported  to  the  court,  the  Bailly  of  Orleans  was  ordered  to  bring  the 
criminals  to  justice ;  and  the  Procureur,  with  two  of  the  murderers, 
being  found  guilty,  were  condemned  to  be  hung  at  Orleans.  The 
sentence  was  executed ;  and  the  wife  of  Vertet  was  allowed  to  take 
her  husband's  body  for  interment.  The  funeral  procession  glit- 
tered with  tapers  from  all  the  churches,  the  bells  were  tolled  in  every 
belfry,  and  an  immense  multitude  followed  to  the  grave,  saying 
that  they  rendered  honour  to  the  body  of  a  martyr  to  the  Catholic 
faith.  The  Reformed,  meanwhile,  hid  themselves  at  home.  Patients 
in  the  hospitals,  reported  as  members  of  the  Reformed  Church,  were 
cruelly  tormented,  or  left  to  perish  for  want  of  attention  ;  and  this  in 
obedience  to  the  public  exhortations  of  the  preachers.  The  Magis- 
trates of  Paris,  proceeding  to  the  Hotel  Dieu  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to 
such  proceedings,  were  assailed  by  a  mob  whom  the  zealots  called 
out  by  sounding  the  tocsin. 

At  Beaune,  the  word  of  God  had  been  attended  with  so  great  power 
that  many  flagrant  sinners  became  members  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
and  adorned  their  profession  by  purity  of  life.  The  Priests,  enraged 
because  of  the  abolition  of  a  brothel  and  several  other  houses  of  ill- 
fame,  attacked,  by  their  usual  representative,  a  mob,  a  congregation 
assembled  at  prayer  in  an  enclosed  place  outside  the  town,  stoned  the 
Magistrates  who  interfered  to  protect  the  congregations,  rescued  three 
men  from  custody  ;  and  the  next  day,  when  the  Reformed  found  it 
necessary  to  arm  themselves  for  defence  during  a  second  tumult, 
several  of  them  were  wounded,  and  three  killed  in  the  affray.  The 
body  of  one  of  them,  Pierre  Petot,  was  buried  by  night  by  the  care 


COLLOQUY    OF    POISSY.  435 

of  some  humane  women  ;  but  next  day  a  party  of  other  women 
exhumed  the  corpse,  and  dragged  it  through  the  streets.  Many  lives 
were  lost  by  mobs  whom  the  Priests  instigated  ;  and  many  murderers 
were  suffered  to  evade  the  penalty  of  justice.  Lesser  acts  of  persecu- 
tion were  innumerable.  And  while  the  royal  instructions  remained  in 
force,  and  a  tolerant  edict,  that  shall  presently  be  noticed,  shielded 
peaceable  worshippers  from  the  open  vengeance  of  the  priesthood,  it 
was  not  unusual  to  persecute  them  by  means  of  false  accusations  and 
suborned  witnesses  to  fictitious  crimes.  The  Ministers  of  the  altar 
were  even  known  to  deface  images  and  commit  sacrilege  within  their  own 
churches,  that  suspicion  might  be  turned  upon  the  unoffending  Hugue- 
nots, and  the  sacrifice  of  the  victims  be  effected  under  judicial  forms. 

From  the  hand  of  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  as  Archbishop  of 
Rheims,  the  new  King  received  his  crown  in  the  cathedral  of  that 
city,  rendering  his  vows  to  the  holy  Mother  Church,  in  return  for  her 
consecration,  after  the  accustomed  forms.  The  ceremony  being  finished, 
the  Cardinal,  in  a  sort  of  Council,  harangued  his  royal  ward  on  the 
state  of  religion  in  the  kingdom.  He  lamented,  speaking  on  behalf 
of  all  the  Clergy,  the  decay  of  the  holy  Catholic  and  Roman  faith,  in 
consequence  of  the  assemblies  of  those  new  sectaries,  now  become 
more  frequent  than  ever  ;  and  censured  the  remissness  of  the  Judges, 
who  excused  themselves  by  the  King's  letters  from  the  performance 
of  their  duty.  He  exhorted  him  not  to  suffer  innovations,  but  to 
assemble  the  Princes,  Lords,  and  others  of  his  Privy  Council,  in  the 
court  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  and  there  make  a  good  and  invio- 
lable law  for  the  preservation  of  the  faith,  by  suppressing,  at  once, 
that  perilous  liberty  of  conscience.  On  the  other  hand,  the  newly- 
crowned  King  received  petitions  from  all  quarters,  complaining 
of  persecution,  and  renewing  the  request  for  temples.  Those  petitions 
loaded  the  table.  Montluc,  Bishop  of  Valence,  strongly  inclined  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  proposed  that  a  Council  should  be  con- 
vened, in  which  the  Reformed  Ministers  might  take  part,  hoping  that 
some  way  of  agreement  and  pacification  might  be  found,  for  there  was 
no  hope  of  such  an  issue  from  any  Council  assembled  by  the  Pope. 
The  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  also,  approved  of  the  suggestion,  confident 
that  the  force  of  his  eloquence,  learning,  and  dignity  combined,  would 
confound  the  unlettered  sectaries,  and  bring  him  the  glory  of  an  easy 
conquest.  But  he  would  not  allow  them  any  incidental  advantage 
that  might  accrue  from  a  solemn  Council,  nor  yet  acknowledge  that  any 
assembly  wherein  heretics  appeared,  except  for  punishment,  or  humi- 
liation, might  be  accounted  such.  He  therefore  proposed  that  it 
should  merely  be  considered  as  a  Colloquy  ;  and,  under  that  less  com- 
promising designation,  it  was  ultimately  agreed  that  a  conference  with 
some  divines  of  the  New  Religion  should  take  place.  Not,  either,  to 
offend  the  Pope  by  assembling  a  National  Council,  the  meeting  was  to 
bear  the  above  designation,  and  consist  of  Clergy,  duly  convened  at 
Poissy,  a  town  five  leagues  from  Paris,  while  the  King  should  merely 
introduce  some  of  the  Huguenots,  with  whom  the  Clergy,  but  espe- 
cially the  Cardinal,  would  condescend  to  pass  through  forms  of  dispu- 
tation. Thus  came  about  "  the  Colloquy  of  Poissy." 

3   K  2 


436  CHAPTER    VI. 

The  principal  Reformed  Ministers  received  safe-conducts  for  jour- 
neying to  and  from  Poissy.  The  Pope  received  a  letter  from  Catherine, 
written  in  a  style  of  moderation  towards  Calvinists  more  than  verging 
upon  heresy,  at  least  in  his  eyes,  and  announcing  this  expedient  for 
appeasing  dissension.  Disconcerted  on  that  intelligence,  he  despatched 
the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  ostensibly  to  preside,  but  with  secret  instruc- 
tions to  suffer  nothing  to  be  done  in  the  proposed  assembly. 
Catherine,  however,  would  not  await  his  arrival.  Theodore  Beza, 
Peter  Martyr,  Augustine  Marlorat,  John  Raymond,  Martin  and  Francis 
Morel,  with  about  as  many  more,  came  as  representatives  of  evangeli- 
cal Christianity.  The  champions  of  Romanism  were  the  five  Cardinals 
of  Lorraine,  Tournon,  Bourbon,  Armagnac,  and  Guise,  and  several 
theologians  of  the  Sorbonne.  France  was  represented  by  the  royal 
personages,  including  the  King  and  Queen  of  Navarre,  and  their 
court,  as  members  of  the  same  family.  Already  had  Beza  preached 
in  the  hall  of  the  Prince  of  Conde,  to  the  admiration  and  profit 
of  his  hearers.  He  had  been  introduced  to  the  presence  of  royalty, 
conferred,  both  in  their  presence  and  alone,  with  the  Cardinal  of 
Lorraine,  felt  the  sunshine  of  a  palace,  heard  words  of  adulation, 
and  received  intimations  of  rewards  that  would  not  be  withheld  from  a 
compliant  disputant.  The  Queen,  however,  had  assured  him,  with  a 
significant  coolness,  that  she  would  reserve  to  herself  the  office 
of  moderating,  or,  at  least,  of  influencing,  the  assembly  according  to 
her  own  ideas  of  equity.  It  was  to  be  a  religious  controversy, 
conducted  and  settled  just  to  answer  an  expediency  of  state. 

In  the  large  refectory  of  a  nunnery,  about  mid-day  (September 
9th),  the  royalty,  clergy,  and  nobility  of  France,  in  their  proper  per- 
sons, or  by  representatives,  assembled.  From  the  King  down  to  the 
sentinels,  nothing  was  omitted  of  costume  or  place  that  could  display 
the  respective  dignities  to  advantage,  and  give  an  air  of  magnificence 
and  authority  to  the  assemblage.  The  King  spoke  first,  declaring 
that  he  had  convened  them  for  the  pacification  of  the  kingdom,  the 
honour  of  God,  and  the  peace  of  consciences.  He  enjoined  perse- 
verance in  the  good  work  of  reconciling  his  disunited  subjects,  and 
promised  to  protect  them  in  so  good  a  work.  The  Chancellor,  at  His 
Majesty's  command,  made  a  more  lengthened  introduction  ;  and  the 
Cardinal  of  Tournon,  on  part  of  the  Church,  as  Dean  of  the  College 
of  French  Cardinals,  and  other  Prelates,  acknowledged  the  goodness  of 
God,  of  the  King,  Queen,  Princes  of  the  blood,  and  of  that  brilliant 
assembly,  all  of  whom  had  concurred  in  the  salutary  enterprise.  These 
compliments  between  the  powers  of  Church  and  State  being  finished, 
the  Captain  of  the  Guards  was  sent  for  the  Ministers,  and,  accom- 
panied by  the  Duke  of  Guise,  introduced  the  twelve  chief  representa- 
tives of  the  Reformation,  with  twenty-two  deputies  from  the  provincial 
churches.  With  Presbyterian  equality,  each  wearing  his  black  Genevan 
gown  and  bands,  and  bare-headed,  the  Ministers  appeared  before  the 
company,  standing  outside  a  barrier  on  which  they  rested.  Theodore 
Beza,  chosen  by  the  others  for  their  spokesman,  addressed  the  King. 
"  Sire  :  since  the  issue  of  all  enterprises,  both  great  and  small, 
depends  on  the  assistance  and  favour  of  our  God,  and  principally 


. 

•  V 


COLLOaUY    OF    POISSY.  437 

\vlien  there  is  a  question  concerning  that  which  pertains  to  his  service, 
but  which  surpasses  the  capacity  of  our  understanding,  we  hope  that 
your  Majesty  will  not  think  it  wrong,  or  strange,  if  we  begin  by  the 
invocation  of  his  name."  Thus  speaking,  and  without  waiting  for 
permission,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  together  with  his  brethren.  The 
assembly  was  profoundly  silent,  and  heard,  to  their  amazement,  a 
fellow  whom  the  most  of  them  had  pronounced  unfit  to  live,  pleading 
at  the  mercy-seat  of  God  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  whom 
that  day  they  had  sung  no  mass,  because  a  Colloquy,  unlike  a  Council, 
was  not  worthy  to  be  ushered  in  with  any  sacred  ceremonial ;  nor 
ought,  thought  they,  to  have  sanction  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  heard 
this  Doctor  of  the  Reformed  theology  make  confession  of  sins,"  depre- 
cate the  divine  displeasure,  and  ask  for  grace  to  confess  His  truth 
before  "the  King  whom  He  had  established  over  them,  and  before  the 
most  illustrious  and  noble  company  in  the  world."  Having  recited 
the  Lord's  Prayer  last,  he  arose,  with  his  brethren,  and,  from  without 
the  barrier,  addressed  the  King  again.  The  elegance  of  a  courtier, 
and  the  dignity  of  a  Minister  of  Christ  when  making  confession  before 
Kings  and  Governors,  are  blended  in  the  speech  as  it  remains  from  his 
own  pen,  and  it  is  an  admirably  full  and  chaste  compendium  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  and  discipline.  Then,  bending  his  knee,  he  offered  to 
Charles  IX.  of  France,  as  Luther  had  offered  to  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.,  a  written  confession  of  the  churches  at  that  moment 
represented  by  the  Ministers  and  Deputies.  The  King  took  it  from 
the  Captain  of  the  Guards,  and  handed  it  to  the  Prelates.  And  Beza 
was  heard  with  singular  attention  until,  towards  the  end  of  his  dis- 
course, speaking  of  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
eucharist,  he  said,  "that  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ,  although  truly 
offered  up  and  partaken  of  by  us  in  that  sacrament,  is  still  as  far  from 
the  bread  as  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth."  Although  he  had  said 
many  things  equally  repugnant  to  the  Roman  doctrine,  without  being 
interrupted,  this  gave  so  great  offence  that  the  Prelates  lost  all  pati- 
ence. " Blasphemavit  /"  shouted  some, — "Blasphemy!"  Others  rose 
up  to  go  away  ;  but  as  His  Majesty  and  the  court  kept  their  places, 
silence  was  restored,  and  he  proceeded.  Tournon  followed  with  a  few 
empty  protestations  of  fidelity  to  the  faith  of  Clovis  and  his  ancestors, 
and  asked  a  day  for  making  ready  a  reply.  This  granted,  the  assem- 
bly dispersed.  Lorraine,  however,  arranged  with  his  divines  that  he 
should  deliver,  not  an  answer,  but  a  counter-confession  of  faith, 
evading  controversy  altogether.  This  he  did  at  the  next  sitting  (Sep- 
tember iGth)  ;  and,  having  a  Doctor  behind  him  to  assist  his  memory, 
pronounced  a  very  long  harangue,  crowded  with  patristic  authorities 
and  scholastic  sentences.  This  ended,  Tournon  rose  to  walk  away, 
and  all  the  Ecclesiastics  were  following,  when  Beza  asked  permission 
to  reply.  The  Bishops  crowded  round  the  royal  youth,  and  sent  the 
Captain  of  the  Guards  to  tell  him  that  another  day  would  be  appointed 
for  him  to  answer.  Meanwhile  the  Legate  came  from  Rome,  greeted 
on  his  way  through  France  with  demonstrations  of  popular  aversion; 
but  he  fulfilled  his  mission  by  surrendering  the  ensigns  of  Legate,  and, 
in  the  quality  of  a  friend  intermingling  with  both  parties,  managed  to 


438  CHAPTER    VI. 

have  private  conferences  appointed  instead  of  stately  colloquies.  He  also 
joined  with  Lorraine  in  endeavouring  to  bring  some  Lutheran  divines 
from  Germany  to  dispute  with  those  Calvinists,  and  drive  the  battle 
into  the  enemy's  encampment,  by  bringing  them  to  quarrel  with  each 
other.  That  plan  failed  ;  but  the  affair  was  smothered  in  private 
conferences. 

The  Queen-Mother  tampered  with  both  parties.  Weary  of  the 
domineering  faction  of  the  Guises,  she  gave  them  promises  without 
any  intention  of  fulfilment.  Hoping  for  a  counterpoise  in  Cond^  and 
the  Reformed,  she  fed  their  hopes  with  contrary  promises,  and  showed 
great  favour  to  them  and  to  their  friends  at  court.*  All  this  went 
on  unde'r  show  of  attempting  a  reconciliation,  and  led  to  some  tempo- 
rary benefit.  But  association  with  adverse  factions  at  court  gave  the 
religious  controversy  a  political  character,  and  irreparably  vitiated  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation  in  France.  Liberalism  suddenly  became 
fashionable.  The  Bishop  of  Valence,  imitating  the  worst  customs 
of  Geneva,  rather  than  the  better,  might  be  seen  preaching  in  his 
hat  to  congregations  of  mushroom  Huguenots  ;  and  the  Cardinal 
of  Chatillon  held  a  "  supper  "  in  his  palace  with  his  domestics,  while 
still  carrying  the  honours  of  his  Romish  dignity.  Such  vain  helps 
were  dishonourable  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

Yet  the  persecuted  had  reason  to  rejoice  in  a  brief  respite.  The 
Guises  were  discouraged,  and  quitted  the  field,  to  hide  their  mortifi- 
cation in  the  country.  At  St.  Germain  (January  7th,  1562),  an 
assembly  of  notables  discussed  a  project  of  amity  prepared  by  Cathe- 
rine and  De  1'Hopital,  the  Chancellor,  and,  after  ten  days'  debate, 
passed  "  the  Edict  of  January,"  as  that  first  enactment  for  religious 
liberty  in  France  continues  to  be  called.  A  severe  edict  of  the  July 
preceding,  which  had  been  found  impracticable,  was  cancelled.  Eccle- 
siastical buildings  of  whatever  kind,  which  the  Reformed  might  have 
anywhere  occupied  for  their  worship,  were  to  be  given  up,  and  all 
reliquaries  and  ornaments  restored.  The  Reformed  were  not  to  build 
churches  or  hold  meetings  within  the  towns,  nor  break  crosses  or 
images.  But  the  edict  removed  all  prohibition  of  religious  assemblies 
outside  the  towns  and  by  day-light,  forbade  Magistrates  to  hinder  such 
meetings,  and  instructed  them  to  protect  the  worshippers,  and  punish 
as  seditious  all  persons,  of  whatever  religion,  who  should  make  their 
assemblage  the  occasion  of  tumult.  No  arms,  except  such  as  gentlemen 
usually  carried,  were  permitted  in  the  congregations.  The  Ministers 
were  to  inform  themselves  of  the  character  and  condition  of  all  per- 
sons admitted  to  their  communion,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  surrender 
them  to  justice,  if  prosecuted  for  any  crime.  The  Ring's  officers 
were  to  be  allowed  access  to  the  congregations,  and  no  criminals  were 

*  To  the  unutterable  mortification  of  the  Papists,  who  were  not  slow  to  show  it.  One 
Sunday  (December  26th),  while  a  Minister  named  Malot  was  preaching,  the  ringers 
of  the  neighbouring  church  of  St.  Medard  rang  so  furiously  that  his  voice  wss  drowned. 
A  gentleman  of  the  congregation  went  alone  into  the  church,  by  a  postern,  and  civilly 
asked  the  ringers  to  cease  for  a  little.  No  sooner  had  he  entered  than  some  Priests 
who  were  there  shut  the  door,  and  one  of  them  killed  the  gentleman.  Officers  of  justice 
then  came  to  take  the  murderer,  but  Priests  and  people  armed  kept  possession  of  the 
church,  until  the  legal  power  prevailed,  and  some  of  the  rioters  were  taken  into  custody. 


EDICT    OF    JANUARY.  439 

to  be  harboured  under  pretence  of  worship.  Synods  or  Consistories 
might  be  held,  after  royal  permission,  and  in  the  presence  of  royal  com- 
missioners. Their  acts,  also,  were  to  have  royal  sanction.  They  were 
not  to  make  laws,  create  Magistrates,  levy  military  forces,  or 
impose  assessments  or  taxation  on  their  members,  but  receive  their 
voluntary  contributions.  The  Ministers  would  receive  licence  to  officiate 
after  swearing  to  observe  the  edict,  and  abide  by  their  own  confession 
of  faith.  They  were  also  required  to  refrain  from  offensive  language 
against  the  mass  and  other  ceremonies  in  their  sermons,  and  forbidden 
to  preach  from  village  to  village  without  licence.  After  some  corre- 
spondence with  the  Chancellor,  the  Ministers  and  Deputies  of  the 
churches,  who  were  at  St.  Germain,  wrote  a  circular  to  the  churches, 
exhorting  them  to  submit  to  the  restrictions  of  the  edict. 

This  first  gleam  of  religious  liberty  aroused  the  priesthood  and  the 
Guises  to  desperate  opposition.  Under  their  influence,  all  the  Par- 
liaments except  one,  that  of  Dijon,  either  refused  or  delayed  to  register 
the  edict.  The  King  of  Navarre  was  gently  detached  from  the  cause 
of  the  Reformation,  and  offered  Sardinia  in  gift  from  Spain,  if  he 
would  merely  abstain  from  supporting  the  Calvinists,  and  let  his  son 
go  for  once  to  mass.  They  had  already  alienated  him  from  his  Queen, 
and  ensnared  him  in  the  fascinations  of  a  licentious  court.  "  His 
head  was  full  of  Sardinia  and  women,"  and  the  expostulations  of 
Beza  were  spent  on  him  in  vain.  The  Parliament  of  Paris  openly 
resisted  the  edict  of  January ;  and  the  Reformed,  while  acting  on  it 
under  the  cautious  counsels  of  their  Ministers,  were  trusting  to  a  law 
which  the  Parliaments,  as  according  to  custom,  had  not  yet  made 
certain  by  their  acceptance.  Pending  the  publication,  the  Queen 
explained  away  some  of  the  clauses,  and  then  commanded  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris  to  publish  it :  it  being  already  evident  that,  even  when 
published,  it  would  be  of  little  force.  The  joy  of  the  Reformed  had 
received  a  sudden  check,  and  now  the  signal  was  given  for  a  religious 
war. 

Vassy,  a  small  town  or  village  in  the  ancient  province  of  Champagne, 
lay  within  the  principality  of  Joinville,  the  chief  residence  of  the  Duke 
of  Guise.  A  Reformed  Church  had  been  recently  constituted  there 
(October  12th,  1561),  to  the  annoyance  of  the  ducal  family,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  old  Duchess-dowager.  To  intimidate  the  new  society  a 
party  of  soldiers  was  billeted  on  the  inhabitants,  but  soon  withdrawn; 
for  the  men  of  Vassy  were  not  to  be  subdued  by  fear.  The  Bishop 
of  Chalons,  accompanied  by  a  Monk  of  some  note  as  a  theologian, 
then  went  to  try  his  power  of  argument,  appeared  in  the  congregation 
during  worship,  heard  the  Minister  address  a  thousand  or  twelve 
hundred  persons,  and  entered  on  a  disputation  with  him.  The  Bishop 
and  his  Monk  were  beaten,  left  more  converts  to  the  Gospel  in  Vassy 
than  they  had  found,  went  over  to  Joinville,  and  complained  to  the 
old  Duchess  that  they  had  been  treated  with  disrespect  (December 
12th).  The  Duke  was  then  solicited  to  obtain  a  commission  from 
the  King  to  punish  the  people  of  Vassy  as  rebels;  but  evidence 
laid  before  the  Privy  Council  disproved  the  charge,  and  the  commis- 
sion could  not  be  granted.  The  impending  stroke  having  been  thus 


440  CHAPTER    VI. 

averted,  "  the  holy  supper"  was  administered  with  great  solemnity  in 
presence  of  about  three  thousand  persons  collected  from  neighbouring 
towns  (December  25th)  ;  a  stated  Minister,  Leonard  Morel,  was  then 
appointed,  instead  of  an  occasional  supply  from  other  churches,  and 
the  number  of  members  rapidly  increased.  All  those  circumstances 
raised  the  anger  of  the  Duchess  to  overflowing.  She  forbade  her 
subjects  of  Joinville  to  attend  at  the  sermons  of  Morel ;  and  threatened 
Vassy  with  the  indignation  of  her  daughter  Mary  Stuart,  Queen 
of  Scotland,  widow  of  the  late  King,  and  Dowager-Lady  of  Vassy. 
But  she  also  threatened  them  that  her  son  the  Duke,  at  that  time  in 
Germany,  would  inflict  vengeance  on  them  on  his  return.  And  she 
had  incessantly  reproached  him  for  his  "  excessive  patience  "  in  allow- 
ing such  a  scandal  to  continue,  to  the  dishonour  of  God,  and  his  own 
discredit.  The  time  came  to  execute  those  threateniugs. 

The  Duke  had  returned,  and  being  resolved  to  comply  with  his 
mother's  importunity,  as  far  as  possible,  without  openly  violating  the 
edicts,  prepared  to  visit  the  place.  Having  slept  in  the  neighbour- 
hood on  the  preceding  night,  together  with  his  wife,  his  brother  the 
Cardinal,  and  a  splendid  suite,  he  rode  into  Vassy  on  the  morning 
of  Sunday,  March  1st,  1562,  and  was  received  by  a  guard  of  about  two 
hundred  armed  men,  who  had  been  stationed  there  during  the  last 
eight  days.  In  passing  through  the  village  of  Brouzeval,  he  had 
caught  the  sound  of  their  bell,  and  thereby  knew  that  the  Reformed 
were  assembling  for  worship.  Near  the  market-house  of  Vassy  he 
dismounted,  walked  into  the  church,  and  held  some  private  conversa- 
tion with  the  Prior  of  the  place,  and  the  Provost,  or  Mayor,  The 
obnoxious  congregation,  not  unaware  of  his  arrival,  to  the  number  of  ten 
or  twelve  hundred,  were  assembled  in  the  barn  which  they  had  fitted 
up  as  a  temporary  church,  without  arms, — men,  women,  and  children, 
listening  to  the  word  of  God  ;  but  knowing  that  such  meetings  were 
warranted  by  the  edict  of  January,  they  thought  themselves  secure. 
Some  say  that  the  sound  of  the  bell  caused  his  attendants  to  raise  a 
cry  like  that  of  soldiers  rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  plunder,  and  move 
in  a  body  towards  the  place  of  meeting.  Others  pretend  that  the 
singing  of  the  congregation  disturbed  Guise  in  his  devotions  in  the 
neighbouring  church  ;  that  he  sent  a  message  desiring  them  to  stop 
until  he  had  finished  mass  ;  but  that  they  rudely  refused,  and  so 
stirred  up  the  rage  of  his  servants.  Be  it  as  it  may,  one  La  Brosse 
going  first,  and  then  a  few  others  after  him,  entered  the  barn,  and 
were  shown  to  seats.  Others  collected  on  the  outside,  some  on  horse- 
back and  some  on  foot,  but  all  furnished  with  weapons  of  death.  La 
Brosse,  when  scarcely  seated,  contradicted  the  preacher.  His  com- 
panions vented  profane  and  blasphemous  exclamations,  he  shouting 
that  they  all  deserved  to  be  killed.  This  outrage  provoked  the  dis- 
turbed worshippers  ;  and,  on  hearing  the  uproar,  those  on  the  outside 
battered  down  the  doors  that  had  been  shut,  and  one  of  them  began 
the  deeds  of  blood  by  running  a  sword  through  a  poor  man  who 
happened  to  be  standing  in  his  way,  and  who,  when  asked  in  whom  he 
believed,  answered,  "  In  Jesus  Christ."  Two  young  men,  who  endea- 
voured to  escape,  were  then  transfixed.  The  younger  Duchess,  pro- 


MASSACRE    OF    VASSY.  441 

ceeding  in  a  litter  towards  Paris,  was  just  leaving  Vassy  when  the 
noise  began,  and  sent  back  a  messenger  to  entreat  her  husband  not  to 
shed  blood  ;  but  he  was  already  at  the  door,  and  whether  shouting  to 
his  people  to  refrain,  as  if  dreading  the  consummation  of  his  own  plan, 
or  setting  them  on  to  the  slaughter,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  The 
confusion  was  extreme.  From  a  stone  or  some  other  missile  he 
received  a  slight  wound  on  his  face,  and  instantly  drew  his  sword  and 
rushed  in  on  the  devoted  flock.  The  more  active  were  breaking 
through  the  roof,  and  clambering  over  adjacent  house-tops.  Others 
desperately  flung  themselves  out  at  the  windows.  Priests  in  the  street 
pointed  at  them,  and  soldiers  shot  them  down.  The  carnage  was 
terrible.  "0  Lord  God,  help  us!"  cried  hundreds  who  could  not 
escape  ;  and  the  butchers,  in  derision,  invoked  the  devil  to  destroy 
them.  The  Minister,  struck  by  a  shot,  knelt  down  in  the  pulpit  to 
pray,  and  in  that  position  was  again  wounded  by  a  sword.  Thinking 
the  wounds  to  be  mortal,  he  cried  aloud, 

"  Mon  ame  en  tes  mains  je  viens  rendre, 
Car  tu  m'as  racliete, 
O  J)ieu  de  verite." 

"  Into  thy  hand  I  commit  my  spirit :  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  0  Lord 
God  of  truth  ;"  (Psalm  xxxi.  5  ;)  for  even  in  death  those  beloved 
chants  were  on  the  lips  of  the  French  Christians.  The  Duke  heard 
his  clear  voice  above  the  din,  sent  men  to  bring  him  out  of  the  pulpit 
while  yet  alive,  and  commanded  a  gallows  to  be  erected  at  once,  that 
he  might  be  hanged.  Meanwhile  the  Duke's  lacqueys  tortured  him, 
until,  unable  to  stand,  he  was  laid  on  a  ladder,  and  carried  to  Escla- 
ron,  a  place  two  leagues  distant,  to  be  reserved  to  another  kind  of 
death.  But,  through  the  interposition  of  Him  into  whose  hand  he 
had  committed  his  life,  he  survived  the  chief  murderer.  Either  sated 
with  blood  or  fearful  of  reprisals,  the  Duke  of  Guise  stayed  the  mas- 
sacre, and  withdrew  into  the  burial-ground,  while  his  men  emptied  the 
barn  of  its  furniture,  carrying  with  him  a  large  Bible  from  the  pulpit, 
and  gave  it  to  the  Cardinal,  who  stood  there  among  the  graves. 
"  Read,  my  brother,"  said  he,  "  the  title  of  these  Huguenots'  letters." 
The  Cardinal,  looking  at  it,  told  him  it  was  the  holy  Scripture. 
"How!"  said  he,  with  an  oath,  "the  holy  Scripture?  It  is  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  years  since  the  holy  Scripture  was  made,  and  not 

yet  one  year  since  these  books  were  printed.     By ,  'tis  good  for 

nothing."  "  See,"  says  Beza,  "  the  theology  of  the  man  whom  Carles, 
Bishop  of  Riez,  makes  to  speak  so  theologically  at  the  hour  of  his 
death."  In  and  around  the  barn  lay  sixty  dead  bodies.  More  than 
two  hundred  wounded  were  carried  away,  many  of  whom  also  died. 
Forty-two  women  were  made  widows.  Several  houses  were  pulled 
down  ;  and  during  their  demolition  the  Duke  and  his  company  coolly 
rode  away  to  dinner  at  Ertancourt,  on  his  way  to  Rheims,  intending 
to  proceed  thence  to  Paris.  To  make  it  appear  that  the  massacre  had 
been  provoked  by  the  Huguenots,  he  caused  some  of  his  accomplices 
to  collect  suitable  evidence,  and,  no  doubt,  their  tale  has  been  repeated 
in  the  shape  of  history ;  for  there  are  few  events  more  variously  related 
than  this  massacre  of  Vassy.  The  old  Duchess-dowager  thought  to 

VOL.    III.  3    L 


442  CHAPTER    VI. 

crown  the  whole  by  disarming  the  inhabitants  ;  but  it  \vas  now 
impossible  to  replace  into  its  scabbard  the  sword  that  her  son  had 
so  cruelly  unsheathed. 

The  Queen-Regent  was  with  Charles  at  Monceaux,  a  royal  estate  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Paris,  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  spring.  Conde" 
was  in  Paris,  and  to  him  flocked  nobles  of  the  Reformation  from  all 
parts  of  France,  bringing  heart-rending  tales  of  persecution,  and 
imploring  help.  Ministers  of  the  Reformed  churches  met  to  confer 
on  the  exigencies  that  arose  hourly.  Montmorency,  Governor  of  the 
Isle  of  France,  gave  them  an  intimation  that  it  would  be  prudent  to 
refrain  from  religious  meetings  for  a  few  days,  as  all  France,  and  not 
least  Paris,  was  rent  into  parties,  exasperated  against  each  other ;  and 
for  them  to  congregate  might  give  occasion  to  renewed  calamities. 
On  their  part,  they  could  not  consent  to  a  silence  which  their  enemies 
might  interpret  as  indicative  of  either  guilt  or  fear  ;  for  they  were 
innocent  of  offence,  and  had  confidence  in  God.  Conde  hastened 
to  Monceaux,  obtained  an  audience  of  Catherine,  laid  before  her  and 
the  Council  the  horrors  of  Vassy  and  the  designs  of  Guise,  who  was  then 
on  his  way  towards  Paris,  where  the  populace  were  wont  to  receive 
him  with  acclamations  such  as  welcome  Kings,  and  hoped  to  strengthen 
his  position  in  the  capital,  overawe  the  Reformed  there,  and  obtain  a 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  January.  He  therefore  prayed  that  Guise 
might  not  be  permitted  to  enter  Paris.  Catherine,  justly  alarmed, 
and  well  aware  that  the  Guises  were  preparing  to  carry  by  force  what 
they  had  so  long  been  endeavouring  to  attain  by  policy,  commanded 
the  Duke  to  come  to  Monceaux,  bringing  with  him  but  few  attendants. 
He  haughtily  returned  for  answer  that  it  was  not  then  convenient  for 
him  to  appear,  as  he  was  entertaining  company.  Beza,  on  behalf  of 
the  church,  and  a  gentleman  named  Moncourt,  deputed  by  the  nobles, 
went  to  demand  justice  of  the  King,  and  obtained  an  audience  in 
presence  of  His  Majesty,  the  Queen-Regent,  the  King  of  Navarre, 
and  others.  They  related  the  massacre  of  Vassy,  perpetrated  in 
violation  of  law  by  the  Duke  of  Guise.  They  recounted  similar 
atrocities  committed  by  the  populace  in  all  directions.  At  Cahors, 
Sens,  Auxerre,  Tours,  D'Aurillac,  Nemours,  and  many  other  places, 
Priests  had  led  mobs  to  repeat  the  horrors  of  the  1st  of  March.  At 
Tours  three  hundred  persons  were  shut  up  in  a  church  for  three  days, 
and  then  taken  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  butchered  one  by  one, 
excepting  the  little  children,  who  were  sold  for  a  crown  each.  An 
infant,  born  on  the  spot,  had  been  thrown  into  the  river  with  its 
mother  ;  and  the  Council  shuddered  as  they  heard  that  the  babe, 
floating  down  the  stream,  lifted  its  arm,  as  even  the  murderers  fancied, 
to  appeal  to  heaven  for  vengeance.  Catherine  was  told  that  the 
Romish  preachers  were  calling  on  the  people  to  follow  these  examples  ; 
that  within  a  few  days  three  thousand  persons  had  been  murdered ; 
and  that  the  Duke  of  Guise,  having  begun  at  Vassy  without  check,  was 
hourly  expected  to  march  on  Paris  and  plunge  the  kingdom  into  civil 
war.  Navarre,  corrupted  by  licentiousness,  and  this  by  the  contri- 
vance of  Catherine  herself,  who  desired  to  weaken  his  power  by 
smothering  his  conscience,  endeavoured  to  exculpate  Guise,  and  throw 


FLIGHT    FROM    FONTAINEBLEAU.  443 

all  the  blame  on  the  Huguenots,  who,  he  said,  had  given  the  provoca- 
tion by  throwing  stones  ;  and  "  Guise  was  not  a  man  to  be  insulted 
•with  impunity."  Beza  reminded  him  of  his  forgotten  promises  and 
broken  vows;  and  contended  that  even  if  the  Duke  of  Guise  had  been 
thus  insulted,  the  dignity  of  his  station,  if  that  were  all,  required  that 
he  should  have  sought  legal  satisfaction,  and  not  set  the  fatal  example 
of  trampling  on  the  laws.  "  It  is  true,  Sire,"  said  he,  addressing  the 
King,  "  that  it  becomes  the  church  of  God,  for  which  I  am  now  speak- 
ing, to  suffer  blows,  and  not  to  give  them ;  but  may  it  please  you  to 
remember  that  this  anvil  has  worn  out  many  hammers." 

Without  deigning  to  appear  at  Monceaux,  but  marching  at  the  head 
of  a  formidable  troop,  Guise  entered  Paris.  The  Constable  of  France, 
the  Duke  of  Aumale,  the  Marshal  of  St.  Andre,  the  Lord  of  Randan, 
and  others  of  his  party  came,  like  a  royal  court,  in  his  train.  Twelve 
hundred  men  in  arms  followed.  The  Provost  of  the  Merchants,  who 
undertook  to  represent  the  city,  leading  a  multitude  of  common  peo- 
ple, went  to  meet  him ;  and  he  rode  to  his  palace  amidst  shouts 
of  Vive  Gtiise,  in  imitation  of  "  God  save  the  King."  At  the  same 
time  that  he  thus  entered  Paris  by  the  gate  St.  Denis,  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  returning  from  worship  in  a  place  without  the  walls,  also 
entered  by  the  St.  Jacques,  accompanied  by  seven  or  eight  hundred 
gentlemen  on  horseback.  The  two  trains  met.  Every  one  expected 
a  conflict.  But  the  chiefs  saluted  each  other,  and  passed  on. 

At  this  juncture  the  Queen  would  gladly  have  thrown  herself  and 
her  son  into  the  hands  of  Conde.  She  even  wrote  to  him  secretly  ; 
and  by  confidential  messengers  invited  him  to  deliver  "  mother  and 
son"  and  France  from  the  tyrannous  faction.  Could  he  have  com- 
manded support  enough  to  wage  immediate  war  with  those  who  had 
both  the  executive  and  the  army  at  their  disposal,  he  would  have  gone 
to  Fontainebleau,  whither  they  had  removed  during  these  events,  and, 
by  securing  the  persons  of  both  King  and  Regent,  commanded  obedi- 
ence. But  the  richer  members  of  the  churches,  especially  in  Paris, 
withheld  necessary  contributions  ;  Conde  hesitated  ;  Coliguy  shut  him- 
self up  in  despair  ;  and  Guise,  casting  off  the  respect  due  to  royalty, 
went  in  arms  to  Fontainebleau,  and  compelled  the  Queen  with  her  son 
and  the  court  to  go  with  him  to  Paris.  With  tears  and  indignation 
she  submitted  to  the  compulsion  ;  and  soon,  finding  the  faction  of  her 
captor  to  be  the  stronger,  resumed  her  usual  heartless  policy,  made 
their  cause  her  own,  and  was  never  again  known  as  friendly  to  the 
Reformed. 

While  Romanism  made  its  head-quarters  in  Paris,  Cond^  and 
Coligny,  with  two  thousand  horse  and  foot,  took  Orleans,  were  well 
received  by  the  inhabitants,  and  made  that  city  the  centre  of  their 
operations.  A  government  was  organized.  Couriers  to  two  thousand 
one  hundred  and  fifty  churches  carried  a  proclamation  demanding 
succours  of  men  and  money.  On  receiving  a  manifesto  from  Conde, 
thirty-five  large  cities,  among  which  were  Blois,  Tours,  Dieppe,  Havre- 
de-Grace,  Moutauban,  Nismes,  Orange,  Lyons,  and  Grenoble,  and,  ill 
short,  almost  all  the  south  of  France,  joined  his  cause.  In  some 
instances  the  public  treasure  was  appropriated  to  this  service,  but  in 

:j  L  2 


444  CHAPTER    VI. 

the  King's  name.  The  gold  and  silver  of  the  churches  passed  from 
the  shape  of  crucifixes,  saints,  and  ornaments,  into  that  of  coin, 
stamped  with  the  head  of  Charles  IX.,  to  defend  whose  real  interests 
the  Reformed  and  their  friends  arrayed  their  forces.  Bells  and  other 
articles  of  baser  metal  underwent  fusion,  and  re-appeared  in  the  form 
of  warlike  munition  or  ready  cash.  Even  the  Romanist  laity  were  not 
sorry  for  a  transmutation  that  so  suddenly  raised  the  wealth  of  the 
realm;  and  soldiers  of  adventure  on  both  sides  delighted  in  the  "  fine 
civil  war  "  that  afforded  frequent  booty  of  newly-minted  coin.  During 
this  recruiting,  the  Priests,  on  the  other  side,  renewed  their  sanguinary 
sermons,  and  by  ringing  of  bells  gave  signal  for  massacres.  Even 
the  Cardinal  of  Guise,  as  Archbishop  of  Sens,  thought  himself  justified 
in  allowing  the  tocsin  to  be  sounded,  and  an  indiscriminate  onslaught 
followed.  It  would  be  endless  to  attempt  a  collection  of  revolting 
narratives.  Men,  women,  children,  entire  populations,  were  mowed 
down,  hour  after  hour,  until  none  were  left.  Men  forgot  their  man- 
hood. A  Spanish  detachment,  under  command  of  D.  Luis  de  Carvajal, 
boasted  that  they  had  killed  forty  women  together  at  Pamiers.  Their 
fashion  was  to  stab  infants  first  in  the  mothers'  arms,  and  then  cut 
down  the  mothers  themselves.  One  of  the  most  savage  Romanist 
officers,  Montluc,  was  honoured  with  a  letter  from  the  Pope,  signifying, 
under  the  ring  of  the  holy  Fisherman,  love,  esteem,  and  praise  for  his 
excellent,  magnanimous,  most  Christian,  and  most  Catholic  bravery ! 

Conde",  as  leader  of  the  Reformed,  when  driven  to  defence,  sent 
letters  to  the  Protestant  Princes  of  Germany,  not  asking  intervention, 
but  briefly  explaining  the  reasons  of  the  position  he  had  taken,  for 
the  satisfaction  of  his  brethren  in  the  faith.  Not  so  "  the  triumvi- 
rate,"'— Guise,  Montmorency,  aud  St.  Andre1.  They  prepared  the 
protocol  of  a  league  with  Philip  of  Spain  for  the  extirpation  of  the 
Huguenots.  According  to  this  paper,  Philip  was  to  be  leader  of  the 
enterprise,  and  the  Duke  of  Guise  chief  of  the  Roman  confession  in 
France.  The  Emperor  and  Romanist  Princes  of  Germany  were  to 
stop  the  passages  into  France,  that  the  Protestant  Princes  might  not 
send  succour  to  the  Reformed.  The  King  of  Spain  was  to  send  a  part 
of  his  army  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  who  would  raise  as  large  a  force 
as  possible  from  his  estates.  The  Pope  and  Italian  Princes  would  do 
the  same.  They  would  agree  that  while  France  was  thus  encircled,  a 
commission  should  be  given  to  the  Duke  of  Guise  to  extirpate  all  who 
professed  "the  new  religion;"  and  efface  the  name,  family,  and  race 
of  Bourbon,  lest  there  should  arise  from  it  some  future  avenger 
or  restorer  of  that  religion.  This  having  been  done  in  France,  it 
was  proposed  to  undertake  a  European  war  for  the  destruction 
of  Protestantism  everywhere. 

Reasons  of  state  prevented  the  consummation  of  their  scheme; 
and,  indeed,  foreign  auxiliaries  could  scarcely  be  found,  except  on 
terms  to  which  the  court  could  not  openly  submit.  After  collecting 
funds  with  extreme  difficulty,  the  triumvirs  marshalled  their  troops  for 
war.  The  Reformed  also  encamped  under  the  walls  of  Orleans.  Con- 
ferences between  the  Queen  and  Conde  were  resorted  to,  in  hope 
of  averting  the  catastrophe  ;  but  the  condition  proposed  by  the  former — 


DEATH    OF    THE    DUKE    OF    GUISE.  445 

to  disarm  the  Huguenots — could  not  in  prudence  be  accepted,  and 
hostilities  began  in  earnest. 

At  first  there  was  no  decisive  battle.  After  some  trifling  skirmishes 
the  armies  separated,  and  each  divided,  in  order  to  recover  towns 
occupied  by  the  opposite  party.  At  first  victory  inclined  to  the 
Reformed,  whose  discipline  was  admirable  :  but  good  morals  and  war- 
fare cannot  long  exist  together ;  the  royalists,  as  all  acknowledge, 
were  far  more  addicted  to  pillage  and  the  other  abominations  of  a 
heated  soldiery  ;  but  everywhere  the  usual  horrors  raged  in  towns 
besieged  and  sacked,  and  the  stronger  side  gradually  prevailed.  To 
describe  military  operations  is  not  an  object  of  this  work ;  but  it  must 
be  noted  that  at  the  siege  of  Rouen  the  King  of  Navarre  received  his 
death-wound.  He  had  sacrificed  his  religious  profession  to  the  hope 
of  adding  Sardinia  to  his  kingdom,  shunned  the  reproach  of  Christ, 
and  abandoned  himself  to  the  guilty  pleasures  of  the  French  court ; 
but  he  died  while  fighting  against  the  church  within  which  he  had 
formerly  sought  the  privileges  of  spiritual  communion,  beset  with 
terrors  of  remorse.  To  aid  the  army  in  warring  against  the  new  reli- 
gion, the  Parliament  of  Paris  published  a  proclamation  (June  13th), 
which  proscribed  the  entire  Protestant  population.  All  "  Catholics  " 
were  required  to  arm  in  every  parish,  and,  at  sound  of  bell, 
attack  their  neighbours,  and  kill  without  mercy.  The  horrible  edict 
was  obeyed.  One  half  of  France  was  armed  against  the  other ;  and 
on  every  Sunday  and  feast-day  the  Romish  preachers  read  the  procla- 
mation from  their  pulpits,  and  offered  paradise  as  the  price  of  blood. 
The  historians  are  generally  reluctant  to  unveil  the  atrocities  of  those 
days,  and  here  to  do  so  to  any  adequate  extent  would  require  many  a 
heart-sickening  page.  A  Protestant  historian,  whose  interesting 
volumes  now  lie  before  the  author,  thinks  it  right  to  assure  his  readers 
that  in  exhibiting  a  few  examples  he  is  not  actuated  by  "  a  spirit 
of  hostility  to  the  Catholic  Church."  Surely  this  is  excessive  tender- 
ness ;  for  to  the  catholic  Church  no  Christian  can  possibly  be  hostile  ; 
but  let  us  guard  our  nomenclature,  and  not  scruple  to  avow  that  to 
the  system  and  spirit  of  the  Romish  Church,  a  communion  which 
ignorance  or  guile  only  can  call  "  catholic,"  any  one  who  pities  its 
members,  and  loves  the  souls  which  Babylon  traffics  in  and  slays, 
may  acknowledge  an  utter  and  unconquerable  hostility. 

The  Reformed  were  beaten  in  a  great  battle  at  Dreux  ;  but  the 
Marshal  of  St.  Andre  fell  that  day.  The  Duke  of  Guise,  too,  just 
when  the  capture  of  Orleans  seemed  certain,  and  the  conquest  of  the 
Huguenots  all  but  complete,  was  assassinated  under  the  walls  of  that 
city  by  one  Poltrot.  Coligny  was  suspected  of  having  employed  the 
man  ;  but  a  minute  investigation  proved  that  he  had  not  the  most 
remote  participation  in  the  crime.  Daunted  by  the  loss  of  their 
chief  and  of  the  Marshal,  two  of  the  triumvirate  by  whose  hands  the 
misgovernment  of  France  had  been  conducted,  the  Romish  party 
submitted,  at  least  for  the  time,  to  an  agreement  of  peace.  Thus  ended 
the  first  war. 

Rather  more  than  a  year  after  the  massacre  of  Vassy,  the  Prince 
of  Conde  signed  a  treaty  of  pacification  (March  19th,  1563),  which 


446  CHAPTER    VI. 

was  afterwards  published  as  the  "  Edict  of  Amboise,"  a  compromise 
unsatisfactory  to  all  concerned.  According  to  this  edict,  "  1.  In  all 
towns  where  those  of  the  pretended  Reformed  religion  had  the  free 
exercise  of  the  said  religion  on  the  7th  of  the  said  month  of  March, 
they  should  continue  to  have  it,  always  excepting  the  churches  and 
houses  of  Ecclesiastics.  2.  In  each  bailiwick  and  lordship  subject 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  courts  of  Parliament,  excepting  the  city  and 
suburbs  of  Paris,  they  might  also  have  a  convenient  place  for  the 
exercise  of  their  worship  in  the  suburbs  or  neighbourhood  of  the 
towns.  3.  Lords  and  gentlemen,  being  high  justiciaries,  should  have 
the  same  free  exercise  on  all  their  lands  for  themselves  and  their 
dependents  only ;  but  those  of  inferior  rank  should  only  enjoy  this  right 
in  their  own  houses.  4.  All  prisoners  of  war  should  be  given  up 
without  ransom  on  either  side.  5.  Foreign  mercenaries,  whether 
Calvinist  or  Catholic,  should  be  dismissed  and  sent  back  to  their 
respective  countries.  6.  The  King  granted  a  full  amnesty  to  the 
Prince  of  Conde,  the  Admiral,  and  all  who  had  followed  and  served 
them  in  the  late  troubles,  His  Majesty  declaring  that  all  had  been 
done  for  his  service,  and  that  they  were  not  to  be  called  to  account 
for  anything  that  was  past.  7.  They  of  the  pretended  Reformed 
religion  were  not  to  contract  alliances  with  foreigners,  nor  call  them 
into  France  on  any  account,  nor  make  any  levy  of  men  or  money, 
without  express  commission  from  His  Majesty."  Humiliating  as  were 
these  articles  to  the  "  pretended  Reformed,"  the  Parliaments  of  Paris, 
Provence,  and  Toulouse  refused  to  register  them.  Paris  only  sub- 
mitted to  registration  in  silence,  and  by  command  of  the  King, 
executed  by  the  Duke  of  Montpensier,  as  a  Prince  of  the  blood. 
Provence  and  Toulouse  mutilated  the  edict  in  registration,  and  Dijon 
remonstrated  to  the  Queen  even  against  this  scanty  meed  of  tole- 
ration. 

A  succession  of  events  demonstrated  the  impossibility  of  peace  with 
Rome.  An  armed  league  for  the  support  of  the  Roman  Church,  and 
the  expulsion  of  its  enemies  from  France,  was  already  in  existence, 
under  the  connivance,  if  not  sanction,  of  the  Sovereign.  The  Parlia- 
ment of  Toulouse,  the  Cardinal  of  Armagnac,  many  Ecclesiastics, 
nobles,  and  burgesses,  were  preparing  to  raise  troops.  After  the 
death  of  Anthony  of  Navarre,  his  widow  established  the  Reformation 
in  her  kingdom,  and  thus  raised  a  tempest  of  wrath  on  every  side. 
The  Pope  cited  her  to  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition, 
and,  this  failing,  issued  a  Bull  of  excommunication  (September  29th, 
1564).  France,  fearful  of  the  Pope  and  Spain,  expressed  sufficient 
indignation  ;  and  however  willing  the  Court  and  Clergy  might  be  to 
extirpate  Calvinism,  they  unanimously  rejected  the  attempts  of  Rome 
to  compel  five  French  Bishops  to  appear  before  the  Roman  Inquisition 
under  accusation  of  heresy,  and  to  force  upon  the  Gallican  Church  the 
decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent, — decrees  utterly  incompatible  with 
civil  liberty  and  national  independence.  But  the  rage  against  the  Queen 
of  Navarre  was  not  abated  on  this  account.  Her  Spanish  enemies, 
awed  by  the  attitude  of  France,  in  resistance  to  any  open  attempts 
of  foreign  powers  to  coerce  a  Sovereign,  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to 


CHARLES,    CATHERINE,    AND    THE    DUKE    OF    ALVA.  447 

seize  the  person  of  Her  Majesty  and  her  two  children,*  carry  them 
away  from  Pau,  where  they  then  resided,  and  throw  them  into  the 
prison  of  the  Inquisition  at  Madrid.  The  plot  was  providentially 
discovered  in  time  to  save  the  royal  family.  The  relatives  of  the  late 
Duke  of  Guise  appealed  to  Charles  IX.  for  justice  on  account  of  his 
murder,  which  they  still  pretended  to  helieve  had  been  committed  by 
Coligny,  notwithstanding  his  undoubted  innocence.  The  object  was  to 
deprive  the  Reformation  in  France  of  his  influence  and  aid.  The 
same  Ambassadors  who  came  from  Rome  to  ask  for  the  reception 
of  the  Tridentine  decrees,  entreated  Charles  to  break  the  edict 
of  pacification,  and  offered  Papal  troops  to  help  him  to  root  out 
Calvinism. 

Catherine  and  her  son  made  a  progress  to  the  south,  ostensibly  for 
pleasure,  but  really  with  far  different  purposes.  They  met  the  Duke 
of  Alva  at  Bayonne,  had  him  much  in  their  company,  and  imbibed 
his  horrid  policy  of  pitiless  and  indiscriminate  destruction.  From 
that  time  the  proceedings  of  the  French  court  became  more  and 
more  like  those  of  the  Spanish.  They  also  visited  the  Queen  of 
Navarre  ;  but  no  effort  of  theirs  could  persuade  her  to  re-establish 
Popery  or  to  renounce  her  faith.  Jeanne  of  Navarre  consented,  indeed, 
to  accompany  Catherine  on  her  return  to  Paris,  not  unwilling  to 
withdraw  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Spain ;  but  besides  many  occa- 
sions of  dissatisfaction,  she  suffered  persecution  in  the  person  of  her 
Chaplain,  who  was  placed  under  arrest  for  having  preached  in  her 
private  apartments.  The  edict  of  Amboise  had  become  a  dead  letter. 
Inquisitors  raged  in  the  Netherlands,  war  followed,  and  the  Duke 
of  Alva  began  to  exemplify  the  principles  which  he  had  inculcated  on 
Catherine  at  Bayonne  during  many  nocturnal  interviews  in  the  apart- 
ments of  her  daughter,  the  Queen  of  Spain,  carried  on  after  their 
households  were  asleep.  By  intercepted  letters  it  was  discovered  that 
an  extirpation  of  the  French  Huguenots  was  intended  simultaneously 
with  the  slaughter  of  the  Gueux  in  the  Netherlands.  The  arrival  of  a 
body  of  six  thousand  Swiss  mercenaries  to  guard  the  passage  of  Alva 
into  Belgium,  over  some  part  of  the  French  frontier,  confirmed 
suspicion,  and  the  Reformed  were  again  compelled  to  take  measures 
of  self-protection.  They  had  found  neither  justice  nor  mercy  at  the 
tribunals,  nor  protection  from  any  earthly  authority.  In  spite  of  the 
edict  and  its  amnesty,  three  thousand  persons,  they  calculated,  had 
been  murdered  by  mobs  and  Magistrates  on  account  of  their  religion 
since  the  day  when  it  was  ratified. 

Their  first  measure  was  to  solicit  the  amicable  interference  of  the 
German  Protestant  Princes,  some  of  whom  sent  Ambassadors  to 
remonstrate  with  Charles — now  a  child  no  longer — on  the  infractions 
of  his  compact  with  their  brethren.  But  this  only  provoked  him  to 
anger.  Conde  and  the  Admiral  were  treated  with  open  indignity. 

At  Valleri  and  at  Chatillon  the  chiefs  of  the  Reformation  held 
secret  conferences.  They  pondered  the  insolent  boastings  and 
menaces  of  their  enemies.  They  received  intelligence  of  councils 
holden  to  concert  measures  for  the  imprisonment  and  execution  of  the 

*  One  of  these  lived  to  occupy  an  eminent  position  as  Heury  IV.,  King  of  France. 


448  CHAPTER    VI. 

Prince  and  the  Admiral.  Two  thousand  Swiss  were  marching  to 
reinforce  the  garrison  of  Paris,  four  thousand  to  Orleans,  and  others 
to  Poitiers.  Not  only  courage,  but  common  prudence,  required  them 
to  strike  the  first  blow,  and  they  agreed  to  call  their  fellow-sufferers 
to  arms,  hoping  to  gain  possession  of  a  few  towns  in  which  to  garri- 
son forces  for  war,  to  recruit  an  army,  and  overthrow  the  Guise 
government.  But,  first  of  all,  they  wished  to  surround  and  seize  the 
King.  With  profound  secrecy  they  organized  an  insurrection  all  over 
France,  suddenly  made  their  appearance  under  arms,  approached 
Monceaux,  the  royal  residence,  and  necessitated  the  King  and  his 
mother  to  commit  themselves  to  the  charge  of  a  body  of  Swiss,  and 
flee  to  Paris.  They  pursued  them  to  the  gates,  reduced  the  city  to  a 
state  of  siege,  engaged  a  very  numerous  force  in  battle  for  an  entire 
day,  and  only  retreated  at  night-fall  before  numbers  many  times 
greater  than  their  own,  leaving  the  Constable,  Montmorency,  mortally 
wounded  on  the  field  (November  I Oth,  1567).  While  the  issue 
of  this  conflict  was  doubtful,  they  received  an  overture  for  negotiation, 
and  eventually  agreed — being  pressed  by  the  impatience  of  their 
volunteer  troops,  who  were  glad  to  return  home  on  any  tolerable 
terms — to  the  following  conditions  of  peace  :  The  edict  of  pacifica- 
tion of  March  7th,  1 563,  was  to  be  kept  and  observed  in  every  point, 
without  reserve  or  modification.  All  subsequent  interpretations,  by 
which  its  articles  had  been  explained  away,  the  King  now  annulled, 
and  granted  a  full  amnesty  to  Conde,  the  Admiral,  and  their  followers. 
The  Prince  was  once  more  acknowledged  as  "  dear  cousin,"  and  the 
others  as  faithful  servants  and  subjects.  The  towns  agreed  to  return 
to  their  obedience.  The  foreign  troops  were  to  be  disbanded  on  both 
sides.  And,  lastly,  the  negotiating  parties  limited  the  operation  of 
their  compact  to  the  time  when  it  should  please  God  to  make  them 
all  of  one  religion.  An  edict  to  this  effect  was  published  without  any 
expression  of  reluctance  by  the  affrighted  Parliament  of  Paris  (March 
27th,  1568),  and  proclaimed  in  the  camp  of  the  Reformed  before 
Chartres.  Thus  terminated  the  second  war  ;  but  to  the  great  dis- 
satisfaction of  the  Admiral,  and  many  others,  who  clearly  foresaw  that 
this  "  uneasy  peace  "  would  not  be  permanent. 

Conscience,  honour,  and  even  common  sense,  forsook  the  counsels 
of  the  King.  Faithful  to  their  treaty,  the  Reformed  disbanded  their 
forces,  and  dismissed  their  mercenaries ;  but  the  royalists  remained  in 
arms,  retaining  the  Swiss  and  the  Italians.  They  placed  garrisons  in 
the  towns,  and  detachments  on  the  roads.  Some  of  the  towns, 
indeed,  and  chiefly  Rochelle,  Montauban,  Sancerre,  Albe,  Milhaud, 
and  Castres,  refused  to  admit  the  troops  ;  but  this  reasonable  refusal 
exasperated  the  quarrel.  The  Government  strengthened  its  alliances 
in  Germany,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Council  of  Trent  seemed 
imminent.  Everywhere  the  Huguenots  were  oppressed,  and  often 
persecuted  unto  death.  The  Cardinal  of  Lorraine  incessantly  urged 
the  Queen  to  adopt  the  policy  of  Alva.  The  Popish  preachers  deli- 
vered sermons  surpassing  in  vehemence  their  former  denunciations. 
They  plainly  said,  that  the  Huguenots  had  not  three  months  to  live, 
and  that  the  King  himself  should  rather  be  tonsured,  and  shut  up  in 


OCCUPATION    OF    ROCHELLE.  449 

a  cloister,  than  suffered  to  protect  them.  To  make  peace  with 
heretics  they  called  a  crime  ;  to  keep  faith  with  them,  a  weakness  ; 
to  murder  them,  an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  God.  Obedient  to  this 
impulse,  the  rabble  at  Amiens  and  Auxerre  murdered  their  townsmen 
by  hundreds.  In  Auvergne  they  burnt  a  man  alive  without  the 
least  judicial  form,  merely  because  he  had  not  hung  out  tapestry  on 
the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi.  A  nobleman  murdered  his  own  brother, 
boasting  that  he  was  his  thirtieth  victim,  and  avowing  that  what  he 
had  done  was  under  express  counsel  and  command.  The  Parliament 
of  Toulouse  arrested  and  executed  the  very  person  who  brought  them 
the  edict  of  pacification  to  be  registered.  The  secret  league,  noticed 
above,  was  renewed  in  unprecedented  force,  especially  between  the 
ecclesiastics,  nobility,  and  more  wealthy  burgesses.  Besides  the 
"  Holy  League,"  spread  over  France,  the  King  had  a  private  Council 
of  his  own,  without  official  appointment  or  authority,  who  intrigued 
for  the  single  purpose  of  crushing  the  Reformation.  The  Chancellor 
De  1'Hopital,  whose  counsels  were  pacific,  as  they  always  had  been, 
was  banished  from  court,  and,  relieved  of  his  presence,  Catherine 
undertook  to  ruin  Conde,  by  demanding  300,000  crowns  on  account 
of  expenses  of  the  war.  A  form  of  oath  was  sent  into  the  provinces, 
by  which  every  Huguenot  was  to  swear  never  to  take  up  arms  or 
distribute  money  without  express  permission  of  the  King.  An  edict 
bade  all  the  Reformed  to  resign  every  office  or  dignity  they  might 
chance  to  hold,  and  prohibited  future  nomination  of  such  persons  to 
any  place  of  trust  or  honour.  Thus  Coligny  ceased  to  be  High- 
Admiral,  and  D'Andelot  to  be  Captain-General  of  infantry  ;  and  all 
Protestant  Governors  were  degraded.  It  was  resolved  to  arrest  all 
the  leading  Huguenots  at  the  same  moment.  To  cover  this  plot,  as 
regarded  Conde,  letters  from  the  King  and  his  mother,  full  of  affec- 
tionate expressions,  invited  him  to  visit  them  at  court ;  but  the 
bearer,  suspecting  treachery,  confidentially  disclosed  the  peril.  At 
the  same  time  judicial  murders  and  private  assassinations  suddenly 
multiplied.  The  Prince  of  Conde  and  his  friend  Coligny,  with  their 
helpless  families,  fled  from  their  homes  in  one  company,  guarded  by 
one  hundred  and  fifty  horse.  The  first  Prince  of  the  blood  saw  his 
wife,  great  with  child,  carried  in  a  litter,  and  their  three  little  children 
in  cradles.  The  others  were  in  a  similar  condition.  They  fled  over 
by-ways  towards  Rochelle,  and  had  to  cross  the  Loire,  while  the 
principal  roads  and  bridges  were  all  occupied  by  troops.  But  the 
waters  were  low,  and  they  passed  by  a  ford  known  only  to  those 
familiar  with  the  river.  Conde  carried  his  youngest  infant,  and  the 
whole  pai'ty  safely  waded  through.  Scarcely  had  they  passed  the 
channel,  when  a  body  of  cavalry  was  descried  in  full  pursuit,  and  death 
appeared  inevitable  ;  but  the  flood  began  to  swell,  and,  ere  the  horses 
could  try  the  ford,  came  boiling  down  ;  and  even  their  enemies  record 
this  instantaneous  interposition  of  God's  most  gracious  providence. 
Volunteers  now  flocked  to  the  fugitive  Prince. 

Leaving  his  family,  however,  at  Brouage,  he  first  went  alone  into 
Rochelle,  disguised  as  a  sailor,  to  ascertain  the  disposition  of  the  city. 
The  magistracy  and  inhabitants  gave  him  an  enthusiastic  welcome, 

VOL.    III.  3    M 


450  CHAPTER    VI. 

and  he  then  made  a  public  entry  with  his  family  and  friends  (Septem- 
ber 18th,  1568).  No  royal  Governor  or  garrison  had  occupied  the 
place.  The  inhabitants  had  recently  refused  to  make  an  oath  of 
unconditional  submission,  and  receive  royal  troops.  Fortified  towards 
the  laud  for  resistance,  open  for  supplies  towards  the  sea,  and  filled 
with  a  flourishing  commercial  population,  lovers  of  liberty  and 
friendly  to  the  Gospel,  it  was  just  the  station  wherein  the  persecuted 
might  rally  forces  for  resistance,  if  not  for  aggression.  Conde 
addressed  the  multitude,  describing  the  perfidious  and  treasonable 
proceedings  of  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  then  chief  of  the  Romanist 
party  ;  represented  the  power  of  that  party  over  the  young  King, 
who,  as  he  thought,  would  more  gladly  pacify  France  by  edicts  for 
religious  liberty,  than,  by  breach  of  faith,  massacres,  and  war,  deso- 
late the  land.  Ministers  and  members  of  their  flocks,  fleeing  for 
life,  crowded  into  Rochelle ;  many  thousands  of  volunteers  came 
armed  from  the  neighbouring  provinces ;  and  the  Queen  of  Navarre, 
fearing  to  remain  in  that  remnant  of  a  kingdom,  came  thither  with 
her  two  children,  and  a  strong  contingent  of  three  thousand  foot  and 
four  hundred  horse.  Such  as  were  not  in  a  condition  to  unite  with 
the  Reformed  endeavoured  to  escape  from  court,  or  from  the  country. 
De  1'Hopital,  suspected  of  intelligence  with  the  Huguenots,  was 
deprived  of  the  seals.  The  Cardinal  of  Chatillon,  disguised  as  a  sailor, 
escaped  to  England. 

At  Paris  all  was  alarm.  Instead  of  having  been  taken  in  the  broad 
net  laid  for  them,  the  leading  Huguenots  had  all  escaped,  and,  \vith 
an  unprecedented  promptitude  and  energy,  were  already  fortified  in 
the  free  city  of  Rochelle,  and  determined  to  raise  the  standard  of 
resistance,  without  condescending  to  a  parley.  Yet,  as  before,  it  was 
hoped  that  their  strength  might  be  broken  by  entangling  them  in 
correspondence  ;  and  an  offer  of  pardon,  with  "  liberty  of  conscience," 
was  made  to  those  who  would  lay  down  their  arms.  But  they  were 
not  again  to  be  deceived.  Other  edicts  were  next  launched  against 
the  Huguenots,  equivalent  with  a  declaration  of  civil  war  ;  the  Parlia- 
ment and  people  of  Paris  partook  in  the  rage  of  hostility  against  their 
fellow-countrymen  ;  a  general  procession,  surpassing  all  such  exhibi- 
tions within  memory,  was  made  on  the  day  following,  the  Cardinal 
of  Lorraine  carrying  the  pyx,  the  most  precious  relics  coming  after,  and 
King,  Queen,  and  courtiers  bringing  up  the  rear,  to  engage  the  dead 
saints  to  fight  against  the  living. 

The  Duke  of  Anjou  then  set  out  in  command  of  the  royal  army  ; 
and  during  six  months  a  warfare  desolated  the  insurgent  provinces, 
more  fierce  than  any  that  had  preceded,  until  the  fatal  battle  of 
Jarnac  plunged  the  Reformed  into  extreme  sorrow  and  perplexity. 
Already  the  day  was  lost,  for  the  bulk  of  the  half-disciplined  army 
had  made  a  premature  retreat ;  but  Conde  disdained  to  quit  the  field. 
The  waves  of  battle  flowed  up  close  around  him,  overwhelming  his 
companions  everywhere  ;  but  he  resolved  to  keep  his  ground  to  the 
last ;  and,  even  after  his  horse  had  fallen  under  him,  continued  fighting 
on  one  knee.  At  last,  surrounded  by  a  heap  of  faithful  friends  who 
had  rallied  round  him  in  the  face  of  death,  he  surrendered  his  sword 


CONDE    DEFEATED    AND    KILLED.  451 

to  a  gentleman  named  D'Argence,  raised  his  visor,  and  gave  his 
name.  D'Argence  received  his  prisoner  with  the  courteous  humanity 
that  throws  a  gleam  of  dignity  even  over  the  horrors  of  war,  and, 
dismounting  from  his  horse,  lifted  up  the  wounded  Prince,  assisted  him 
to  reach  the  shadow  of  a  tree,  and  seated  him  against  it  on  the  grass, 
faint  and  full  of  anguish.  A  circle  of  officers  surrounded  him, 
to  gaze  on  the  man  whose  valour  they  had  witnessed  throughout  the 
hard  campaign,  and  to  render  him  those  expressions  of  respect  which 
might  assure  his  drooping  spirit  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  men  who  would  fain  guard  him,  at  that  moment,  even  from  a 
shadow  of  discourtesy  or  violence.  But  an  officer  was  seen  galloping 
towards  the  spot, — it  was  one  Montesquieu,  Captain  of  Anjou's  Swiss 
guards, — in  an  instant  he  drew  up  upon  the  circle,  and,  before  any 
hand  could  stay  him,  levelled  his  pistol  at  the  captive  chief  of  an  army 
already  beaten.  Conde  understood  the  savage  glance,  and,  covering 
his  face  in  his  cloak,  leaned  forward  to  receive  the  bullet.  D'Anjou, 
delighted  at  the  consummation  of  the  murder,  which  the  army  under- 
stood to  have  been  perpetrated  under  his  command,  had  the  body,  so 
disfigured  that  its  features  could  scarcely  be  recognised,  flung  on  an 
nss,  carried  to  the  castle  of  Jarnac,  and  thrown  on  the  floor  of  the 
chamber  where  the  Prince  had  slept  the  night  before.  He  even 
proposed  to  build  a  chapel  on  the  spot  where  his  officer  had  shot 
him,  that  masses  might  be  said  there  in  time  to  come  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  heresy,  and  his  own  name  be  associated  with  the  detestable 
assassination  ;  but  his  companions  in  arms  dissuaded  him  from  buying 
Roman  honours  at  the  cost  of  world-wide  infamy  (March  13th,  1569). 
It  was  well  that  the  retreat  that  had  left  Conde  unsupported  saved 
the  main  body  of  the  army ;  and  the  loss  of  the  battle,  therefore, 
did  not  terminate  the  campaign.  The  Admiral,  at  that  juncture 
considered  more  cautious  than  brave,  did  not  succeed  him  in  the 
chief  command,  which,  by  common  consent,  was  conferred  on  the 
Prince  of  Navarre,  then  scarcely  sixteen  years  of  age  ;  and  he  and 
the  young  Prince  of  Conde  were  presented  together  to  the  army  as 
future  chiefs  of  reformation  and  liberty.  The  courage  of  the  army 
was  revived,  and  some  successes  gave  them  new  confidence ;  but  they 
were  inexperienced,  and  sustained  an  almost  utter  defeat  in  the  battle 
of  Moncontour  by  the  Duke  of  Anjou  (October  2d,  1569).  Yet  again 
they  rallied.  Sustained,  under  God,  by  the  wisdom  of  Coligny  and 
the  Queen  of  Navarre,  and  the  courageous  activity  of  young  Prince 
Henry,  they  traversed  the  south  of  France,  effected  military  operations 
that  proved  an  amazing  power  of  endurance,  and  assumed  the  bravery 
and  patience  of  veteran  troops.  An  apparently  final  victory,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  deceived  the  courts  of  Paris  and  Rome ;  and  Charles 
IX.,  even  after  the  delirium  of  joy  raised  by  the  victory  of  Moncon- 
tour, was  glad  to  ratify  a  treaty  with  the  Huguenots  at  St.  Germain 
(August  8th,  1570).  The  treaty  is  exceedingly  important  in  relation 
to  subsequent  events,  and  we  must  note  it  well.  "  We  have  per- 
mitted," said  the  King  in  this  edict  of  peace,  "  all  gentlemen  and 
other  persons,  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom,  having  high  justice  or  full 
fief  of  halbert  in  the  realm  and  country  of  our  obedience,  as  in 

3  M  2 


452  CHAPTER    VI. 

Normandy,  whether  in  property  or  usufruct,  in  all  or  in  part,  with 
our  Bailiffs  and  Seneschals,  to  have  the  exercise  of  the  religion  which 
they  call  '  Reformed,'  in  their  principal  places  of  abode,  as  long  aa 
they  reside  there,  and  their  wives  and  families  in  their  absence,  for 
which  they  shall  answer,  and  be  bound  to  name  the  said  houses  to 
our  Bailiffs  and  Seneschals,  before  enjoying  the  benefit  of  this  edict." 
They  should  also  enjoy  the  same  right  in  any  other  houses  on  their 
estates  when  present  there,  but  not  otherwise,  for  themselves,  fami- 
lies, and  dependents.  In  other  houses  they  might  only  exercise 
private  worship  for  their  families  alone,  or  friends  to  the  number 
of  ten.  Baptismal  parties,  also,  might  assemble  to  the  same  number. 
The  Queen  of  Navarre  was  allowed  to  have  divine  worship  performed, 
even  in  her  absence,  in  the  duchy  of  Albret,  counties  of  Armagnac, 
Foix,  and  Bigorre,  in  houses  to  be  named  by  the  King,  and  set  apart 
for  that  purpose.  Towns  were  specified  in  fifteen  "  governments " 
of  France  where  the  Reformed  might  exercise  their  worship,  besides 
"  all  the  towns  where  the  said  exercise  should  be  found  to  have  been 
publicly  made  on  that  1st  day  of  August."  Most  expressly  were 
they  forbidden  to  assemble  for  purposes  of  worship,  conference,  or 
instruction,  in  any  other  places  than  the  above  ;  and  from  Paris  or 
the  royal  court,  and  two  leagues  around  either,  they  were  utterly 
excluded.  Some  other  limitations  being  added,  the  edict  granted 
permission  to  the  Reformed  to  bury  their  dead  in  cemeteries  of  their 
own,  but  under  an  escort,  with  no  more  than  ten  persons  following, 
aud  at  night.  They  were  bound  to  submit  to  the  limitations  of  the 
existing  marriage-laws  respecting  degrees  of  consanguinity  and 
affinity.  Universities,  schools,  hospitals,  and  alms-houses  were  to  be 
open  alike  to  all,  without  regard  to  their  religion  ;  but  they  were  to 
submit  to  the  Romish  regulations  on  days  of  fasting  and  abstinence. 
And  because  the  memory  of  recent  war  could  not  but  be  attended 
with  inquietude,  the  towns  of  Rochelle,  Montauban,  Cognac,  and  La 
Charite  were  given  in  trust  to  the  Princes  of  Navarre  and  Conde  and 
twenty  gentlemen  of  the  said  religion  as  places  of  retreat,  to  be  held 
by  them  for  the  King,  and  surrendered  at  the  close  of  two  years. 
But  in  those  towns,  as  in  every  other,  the  Romish  religion  was  to  be 
freely  exercised ;  and  the  Ecclesiastics  were  to  enjoy  their  revenues  and 
honours  without  hinderance.  The  whole  was  concluded  by  a  form 
of  amnesty  for  all  who  had  been  concerned  in  the  war. 

The  Spanish  Ambassador,  being  present  at  St.  Germain,  loudly 
declaimed  against  the  treaty.  "  Rather,"  said  he,  "  would  the  King, 
my  master,  render  any  amount  of  help,  than  see  the  French  Monarch 
condescend  to  treat  with  sectarians  and  brigands."  Philip  offered  three 
thousand  horse  and  six  thousand  foot  for  the  extermination  of  the 
Huguenots ;  and  the  Pope  had  striven  by  incessant  remonstrances  to 
prevent  any  peace  not  made  by  the  extirpation  of  his  enemies. 
Neither  Philip  II.  nor  Pius  V.  knew  that  Catherine  and  the  Cardinal 
of  Lorraine  cherished  the  idea,  however  undefined  as  yet,  of  destroy- 
ing those  by  guile  whom  they  could  not  overcome  by  force.  Had  they 
known  this,  they  would  have  been  at  ease.  To  this  event  everything 
now  tends. 


SECRET    CONSPIRACY.  453 

There  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  secret  Council,  apart  from  the  osten- 
sible Government  of  France,  and  it  consisted  of  three  persons  :  Saulx, 
(or  Tavannes,)  Gondi,  and  Biragua,  of  whom  brief  notices  are  given 
in  a  foot-note.*  Aside  from  the  proper  business  of  government, 
Catherine — whether  alone,  or  in  conspiracy  with  these  persons  or  any 
others,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  except  that  Lorraine  cannot  be  exempted 
from  suspicion — entertained  a  fixed  purpose  to  effect  what  the  Cardi- 
nal had  once  attempted  by  his  "  trap,"  and  what  he  had  more  lately 
failed  to  attain  by  a  general  assassination  of  the  chiefs  and  more 
conspicuous  members  of  the  Reformed  communion.  Even  persecu- 
tion, therefore,  was  suspended  ;  and  the  external  condition  of  France 
appeared  to  show  that  all  were  weary  of  war,  and  anxious  to  prevent 
its  recurrence.  The  Admiral,  indeed,  with  the  young  Princes  and  the 
Queen  of  Navarre,  instead  of  dispersing  to  their  respective  places 
of  abode,  continued  at  Rochelle,  reasonably  suspecting  that  a  tran- 
quillity so  sudden  and  so  general  would  not  be  permanent,  and  sure 
that  so  perfidious  a  Cabinet  could  not  suddenly  have  become  honest. 
They  therefore  continued  in  communication  with  their  brethren,  com- 
bined their  resources,  and,  as  was  usual  for  persons  in  their  position, 
kept  some  troops  in  pay.  Rochelle  was  thus  the  centre  of  a  great 
moral  confederation,  which  might  at  any  time  resume  the  posture 
of  defence.  The  Cabinet,  therefore,  as  well  as  the  Cabal,  laboured  to 
disarm  suspicion,  and  allure  the  Reformed  from  the  strong  walls 

*  SAULX,  Lord  of  Tavannes,  by  which  name  he  is  generally  known,  was  once  a  page 
of  Francis  I.,  and  rose  into  notice  in  the  army  by  military  merit.  He  was  best  known 
to  Charles  IX.  as  a  companion  in  debauchery  ;  and  in  the  wars  with  the  Huguenots 
signalized  himself  by  cold  brutality  almost  without  an  equal.  After  the  taking  of  Macon, 
he  placed  the  city  under  the  secondary  command  of  one  St.  Poinct,  who  made  large 
numbers  of  the  Reformed  leap  from  the  wall  of  the  city  into  the  river.  Tavannes, 
pleased  with  the  sport,  used  to  ask  after  dinner,  if  "  the  farce  of  St.  Poinct "  was  ready 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  ladies.  "  This  was,  as  it  were,  the  watch-word,  upon  which 
his  people  were  wont  to  bring  out  of  prison  one  or  two  prisoners,  and  sometimes  more, 
whom  they  carried  to  the  bridge  of  the  Saone,  and  he,  being  there  with  the  ladies,  after 
he  had  asked  them  some  pretty  and  pleasant  questions,  caused  them  to  be  thrown  down 
headlong,  and  drowned  in  the  river.  It  was  also  an  itsual  thing  to  give  false  alarms,  and. 
upon  that  pretence  to  drowa  or  shoot  some  prisoner,  or  any  other  whom  he  could  catch, 
of  the  Reformed  religion,  charging  them  with  a  design  to  betray  the  city."  His  wife 
find  he  had  accumulated  an  immense  quantity  of  spoil,  sufficient,  as  was  calculated,  to 
secure  him  a  revenue  of  10,000  livres  annually.  For  his  accommodation,  Charles 
created  (November  28th,  1570)  the  place  of  Marshal  of  France.  "  His  temper,"  says 
Moreri,  "  was  deceitful  and  given  to  trickery." 

ALBERT  DE  GONDJ,  Marshal  of  Retz,  an  Italian,  son  of  the  Maitre  d'Hotel  of  Henry 
II.,  and  Marie  de  Pierevive,  governess  of  the  royal  children,  a  woman  of  infamous 
reputation,  crept  into  favour  by  pandering  to  the  vices  of  the  yoxing  King,  and  the  guilty 
caprices  of  his  mother.  He  is  described  as  "  polite,  sly,  corrupt,  a  liar,  and  great  dis- 
sembler." In  short,  he  had  no  originality  of  character,  nor  the  slightest  touch  of  honour- 
able principle.  He  thought  that  the  best  way  to  deal  with  the  Huguenots  was  through 
their  coolts.  He  was  suspected  of  poisoning  Charles  IX. 

RENATO  BIRAGUA,  a  native  of  Milan,  son  of  an  old  diplomatist,  his  father  having 
been  Ambassador  from  the  Duke  of  Milan  to  the  Emperor.  Francis  I.  had  made  him 
Councillor  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  and  he  had  been  employed  on  missions  for  the 
service  of  the  Church  at  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  for  the  suppression  of  heresy  at  Lyons. 
He,  too,  lived  on  the  court,  knowing  no  other  law  than  the  will  of  the  Prince.  Many 
characteristic  sayings  are  recorded  of  him ;  such  as  that  he  called  himself  "  Chancellor 
of  the  King,  and  not  of  the  kingdom."  And  when,  at  last,  he  was  rewarded  with  a 
Cardinal's  hat,  he  called  himself  "  Cardinal  without  title,  Priest  without  benefice,  and 
Chancellor  without  seals."  That  5s  to  say,  he  meddled  with  every  person's  business 
rather  than  do  hi*  own, — a  fit  agent  to  be  held  iu  reserve  for  secret  service. 


454  CHAPTER    VI. 

of  Rochelle.  Bigotry  was  apparently  laid  aside,  as  unsuited  to  the  change 
of  times,  and  the  policy  of  France  was  altered.  The  King  had  been  on 
the  point  of  a  marriage  treaty  with  Philip  of  Spain  for  his  daughter ; 
but  Catherine  changed  over  to  Germany,  and  negotiated  with  the 
Emperor  Maximilian,  with  whose  daughter,  Elizabeth  of  Austria, 
Charles  was  wedded  (November  26th.  1570) ;  and  the  Parisians  were 
told  that  since  a  religious  peace  had  been  established  in  France,  it  was 
fitting  that  their  new  Queen  should  be  brought  from  a  country  where 
the  principle  of  toleration  had  been  acknowledged.  The  German  Pro- 
testant Princes  distrusted  this  novel  profession  of  liberality  ;  and  their 
Ambassadors  solemnly  exhorted  the  King  and  Queen,  in  their  visit 
of  congratulation,  to  equal  administration  of  justice,  promise-keeping, 
and  indulgence  to  those  of  different  religion,  advising  him  not  to  give 
ear  to  those  who  said  that  faith  should  not  be  kept  with  sectarians ; 
and  citing  the  examples  of  Charles  V.,  Ferdinand,  and  Maximilian  II., 
who  had  been  brought  to  see  the  evils  of  intolerance,  and  whose 
prosperous  reigns  abounded  in  evidence  that  religious  uniformity  is 
not  necessary  to  the  stability  of  an  empire.  They  spoke  of  the  liberty 
enjoyed  by  Mohammedans  in  Poland,  Jews  at  Rome,  and  Christians 
in  the  Turkish  dominions.  Charles  gave  them  an  answer  of  ceremony 
next  day,  passing  over  their  chief  point  in  silence. 

The  lull  of  the  tempest,  however,  soon  ended.  That  Priests  and 
Monks  would  cease  to  persecute  was  too  much  to  be  expected,  or  that 
now,  for  the  first  time,  a  favourable  edict  would  be  everywhere 
observed  by  riotous  populations.  At  Rouen,  the  guards  at  the  city- 
gates  insulted  and  beat  some  persons  who  went  into  the  suburbs  for 
morning  prayers  (March  12th,  1571)  ;  and,  emboldened  by  the  con- 
nivance of  their  superiors,  attacked  a  congregation  returning  from 
worship  in  the  evening,  killed  five,  and  wounded  many  more.  The 
rabble  at  Dieppe  attempted  a  similar  outrage,  but  were  prevented  by 
the  Prefect.  The  King,  "fearing  that  the  conduct  of  the  military 
would  be  interpreted  to  his  own  discredit,  or  would  interfere  with  the 
completion  of  his  designs,"  instituted  an  inquiry,  and  caused  a  few 
obscure  persons  to  be  hanged,  some  others  banished  or  fined,  and 
about  three  hundred,  who  had  run  away,  condemned  to  death  for  con- 
tumacy, which,  says  Thuanus,  "appeased  the  Protestants,  although 
querulous  by  nature."  In  Orange,  the  populace,  instigated  by  two 
Monks,  killed  a  large  number  in  a  tumult  which  lasted  three  days, 
and  among  them  several  women ;  and  many  more  lives  would  have 
been  lost,  had  not  the  Governor  of  the  castle  afforded  refuge  to  the 
survivers.  Here,  also,  having  received  a  complaint  from  Rochelle, 
Charles  caused  justice  to  be  done.  The  messengers,  too,  were 
received  with  great  kindness,  and  returned  to  their  fortress  delighted 
with  the  new  appearance  of  courtesy,  cordiality,  and  justice. 
Commissioners  had  already  been  at  Rochelle,  in  conference  with  the 
Queen  of  Navarre,  the  Princes,  and  Coligny,  labouring  to  remove  every 
cause  of  dissatisfaction  ;  and  again  another  messenger  carried  propo- 
sals of  matrimonial  alliances  that  should  unite  the  adverse  members 
of  the  royal  family,  and  be  a  pledge  to  all  France  that  religious  dis- 
sension would  for  ever  cease.  To  the  Prince  of  Navarre  the  King 


SECRET    CONSPIRACY.  455 

offered  bis  youngest  sister,  Margaret  of  Valois ;  and  to  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  Mary  of  Cleves.  And  the  King  engaged  to  promote  a  mar- 
riage which  the  Admiral  desired  for  himself  with  a  lady  of  the  duchy 
of  Savoy,  although  the  Duke  had  issued  an  edict  to  prohibit  his  sub- 
jects from  marrying  foreigners,  in  order  to  prevent  this  union  with  a 
Huguenot.  And,  to  crown  the  whole,  Charles  signified  his  intention  to 
carry  out  the  new  principle  of  religious  liberty  by  assisting  the  Prince 
of  Orange  in  Flanders  to  drive  out  the  Spaniards,  and  consented  to 
make  war  on  Spain  for  the  recovery  of  some  fiefs  originally  belonging 
to  France.  But  he  assured  the  Admiral  that  in  order  to  fulfil  these 
intentions  he  needed  his  presence,  counsels,  and  assistance. 

Affairs  underwent  an  entire  change.  Rochelle  was  no  longer  a 
strictly-guarded  fortress,  the  refuge  of  fugitives,  and  head-quarters 
of  an  army.  Fear  had  vanished  ;  Coligny  received  his  Savoyan  spouse 
through  the  intercession  of  the  King,  against  whom  he  had  been  so 
recently  in  arms.  The  young  Princes  were  on  the  wing  to  migrate 
towards  court.  After  negotiations  had  continued  for  several  months, 
the  Admiral  quitted  Rochelle  (September  1 1th),  and,  attended  by  a 
train  of  fifty  gentlemen,  met  Charles  at  Blois.  Weeping  with  joy.  and 
kneeling  at  the  feet  of  his  long-alienated  Sovereign,  he  placed  himself, 
with  undissembled  loyalty,  entirely  at  his  disposal.  Charles  raised 
up  the  veteran,  embraced  him,  and  said  pleasantly,  "  We  have  you 
this  time,  and  you  shall  not  give  us  the  slip  again."  The  good  man 
could  not  suspect  treachery,  nor  imagine  the  cruel  thought  that  must 
have  lurked  in  that  playful  sentence.  Honours  and  gifts  were  lavished 
on  him ;  and  when  his  brother,  the  Cardinal  of  Chatillon,  died  in 
England,  he  received  a  year's  revenue  from  the  vacated  benefices. 
The  Cardinal's  death  was  sudden :  he  had  been  poisoned  by  his  own 
servant ;  and  the  man  was  afterwards  discovered  at  Rochelle  as  a  spy, 
and  convicted.  Thus  fell  the  first  victim  ;  but  none  suspected  that  it 
was  so.  As  if  to  carry  dissimulation  to  the  utmost  possible  extent, 
Chatillon  had  been  employed  to  negotiate,  in  conjunction  with  the 
French  Ambassador  in  England,  for  a  marriage  between  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  the  King's  brother ;  and  they  despatched  him 
when  his  unconscious  participation  in  the  illusion  was  at  an  end. 

The  Duke  of  Guise  was  mortified  at  the  favour  lavished  upon 
Coligny,  and,  to  keep  up  the  intrigue,  Charles  allowed  him  to  imagine 
himself  neglected,  and  signified  his  pleasure  that  he  should  withdraw 
from  court.  The  Pope,  too,  was  exceedingly  displeased  at  the  pro- 
posed marriage  with  the  Prince  of  Navarre,  and  refused  to  grant  his 
dispensation ;  but  Lorraine,  simulating  dissatisfaction,  had  also 
absented  himself  from  court,  and  gone  to  Rome,  not  to  confirm  Pius 
in  his  aversion  to  the  proposed  marriage  with  a  heretic,  but  to  obtain 
the  necessary  dispensation  from  the  impediment  of  consanguinity,  and 
thus  facilitate  the  object  of  Catherine  to  draw  the  whole  party  into  a 
snare. 

Overcome  by  the  solicitations  of  both  friends  and  foes,  the  Queen 
of  Navarre  next  came  to  Paris  (February  1st,  15/2),  to  take  part  in 
arrangements  for  the  intended  marriage  of  her  son.  The  Pope,  not 
sufficiently  assured  of  the  reason  of  the  concession  he  had  made,  had 


456  CHAPTER    VT. 

sent  a  Legate  to  endeavour  to  break  off  the  marriage ;  the  Legate 
reached  Paris  about  the  same  time,  and  the  actors  in  the  plot  found 
means  to  parry  his  opposition,  or  to  cool  his  zeal.  The  good  Queen 
was  loaded  with  caresses,  yet  wearied  with  misgivings,  and  miserable 
in  a  court  where  she  could  feel  no  confidence  in  any  one,  and  could 
ill  conceal  the  depression  of  spirit  that  almost  overwhelmed  her ;  but 
she  hoped  that,  after  his  marriage,  Henry  might  take  his  wife  away  to 
Beam.  In  a  few  weeks  (April  1 1th),  the  marriage-articles  were  signed  ; 
and  as  war  with  Spain  appeared  to  be  in  actual  preparation,  the  Admiral, 
who  had  not  yet  revisited  Paris,  was  induced  to  come  thither  from 
Chatillon,  in  order  to  promote  it,  counsels  being  still  divided,  and 
the  King  seeming  to  be  irresolute.  Thither  he  went,  notwithstanding 
the  entreaties  of  his  friends,  who  feared  to  see  him  betrayed  to  death  ; 
and  a  royal  proclamation  forbade  all  persons  to  recall  the  memory 
of  past  events,  pick  new  quarrels,  carry  muskets,  fight  duels,  or  even 
wear  swords,  in  the  royal  court  of  Paris  and  the  suburbs,  under  pain 
of  death ;  and  special  tribunals  were  appointed  for  the  settlement 
of  quarrels,  should  any  unhappily  arise,  either  among  nobles  or  com- 
mon people.  The  Admiral  placed  unbounded  confidence  in  the  authors 
of  these  precautions,  laughed  at  the  fears  of  others,  and  said  that  he 
would  rather  be  dragged  round  Paris  with  a  hook,  than  have  recourse 
to  civil  war  again.  The  question  of  peace  or  war,  necessarily  enter- 
tained by  persons  who  regarded  the  warlike  proposals  as  made  in 
earnest,  produced  great  commotion,  amidst  which  the  Queen  of  Navarre 
fell  sick.  Her  sickness  might  have  been  the  consequence  of  much 
anxiety  ;  but  it  is  a  coincidence  too  important  to  pass  by  unmarked, 
that  she  died  in  Paris  after  an  illness  of  five  or  six  days  (June  9th). 

Again  the  storm  lowered  so  deeply  that  the  Huguenots  would  have 
provided  for  their  safety  if  not  utterly  deluded.  Catherine  almost 
quarreled  with  the  Admiral,  retired  sullenly  to  Monceaux,  and  there, 
with  Tavannes,  Gondi,  and  another,  resolved  to  assassinate  him,  and 
actually  engaged  a  man  to  perform  that  service,  whom  the  Duke 
of  Aumale  undertook  to  assist  with  a  lodging  near  his  intended  victim, 
and  a  fleet  horse  whereon  he  might  escape.  The  Duke  of  Anjou, 
also,  was  in  the  secret ;  but  their  purpose  was  not  yet  carried  into 
execution.* 

*  Some  one,  with  either  knowledge  or  suspicion  of  the  plot,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Admiral, 
containing  a  full  exposition  of  the  truth,  and  supplying  a  key  for  our  understanding  of  this 
unparalleled  passage  in  modern  history.  Thuanus  gives  this  letter.  "  You  remember 
that  it  is  a  fixed  principle  of  the  Papists,  sanctioned  by  the  name  of  religion,  and  con- 
firmed by  the  authority  of  Councils,  that  faith  is  not  to  he  kept  with  sectarians,  in  which 
number  Protestants  are  counted.  You  also  know  that  in  remembrance  of  the  late  wars, 
Protestants  are  the  objects  of  bitter  hatred,  so  much  so,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  it  is  the  determined  purpose  of  the  Queen  that,  by  any  means  whatever,  the  Pro- 
testants shall  be  made  an  end  of.  This  woman  is  a  foreigner,  an  Italian,  descended 
from  a  race  of  Popes,  whom  they  oppose,  and  of  an  Etruscan  and  most  crafty  temper ; 
and  it  is  impossible  that  she  should  not  devise  the  utmost  vengeance  against  her  ene- 
mies. You  now  see  in  what  a  school  the  King  was  educated,  where,  even  under  the 
most  excellent  masters,  he  imbibed  from  his  mother  the  habit  of  perjury,  profanity,  and 
polluting  himself  with  whoredom  and  adultery.  And  tampering  with  faith,  raligion,  and 
counsel,  and  wearing  a  mask  of  hypocrisy,  is  but  sport  to  him.  'J  hat  he  might  be 
accustomed  to  blood-shedding,  he  was  trained  from  childhood  to  the  sight  of  slaughter- 
houses, and.  familiarity  with  death.  You  know  that  he  is  persuaded  that  there  is  no 
Other  religion  than  that  which  is  supported  by  the  state  ;  and  that,  according  to  his 


.(i!nn;iirpf   IIP  Ynlniei 


THE    HUGUENOTS    ENTER    PARIS.  457 

Henry  Prince  of  Beam,  now  King  of  Navarre,  made  his  entry  into 
Paris  (July  20th),  accompanied  by  his  cousin  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
recently  married  to  Mary  of  Cleves,  and  a  large  concourse  of  Hugue- 
not nobility,  in  order  to  celebrate  his  own  nuptials  with  Margaret. 
Truly  they  were  at  peace  with  Charles,  the  Guises  had  professed  a 
reconciliation,  the  Protestants  were  protected  by  an  edict,  France  was 
making  war  with  Spain  and  entering  into  alliance  with  England, 
despite  the  excommunication  of  Elizabeth ;  and,  by  royal  command, 
Paris  was  to  receive  him  respectfully,  at  least.  To  provide  for  himself 
in  some  degree,  merely  to  second  the  effort  of  the  King  for  the  pre- 
servation of  public  tranquillity,  he  brought  a  powerful  train  of  eight 
hundred  gentlemen,  clothed  in  mourning  for  his  mother,  and  a  thou- 
sand well-appointed  cavalry.  Many  of  those  gentlemen,  impoverished 
by  war,  had  mortgaged  their  estates  that  they  might  sustain  the 
honour  of  their  order  by  appearing  well  at  court.  Many  Ministers 
were  there  too,  mingled  in  the  cavalcade,  which  advanced  severe  and 
solemn,  as  if  it  had  been  a  funeral  pageant,  through  the  gate  St. 
Antoine.  While  those  two  thousand  horse  passed  along  the  narrow 
streets,  the  Parisians  gazed  with  jealousy  on  so  stately  an  array.  No 
voice  welcomed  them.  "  Huguenots !  Huguenots  !  cursed  Hugue- 
nots ! "  were  the  words  lowly  murmured  :  for  the  King's  edict 
repressed  outward  manifestations  of  hostility.  Navarre  and  Conde  rode 
onward,  thinking  over  letters  of  warning  that  they  too  had  received ; 
but  thinking  again  of  treaties,  alliances,  and  crowns.  Hate  brooded 
on  them  ;  and  high  thoughts  of  war,  and  higher  meditations  of  prayer 
and  trust,  rose  from  the  hearts  of  Princes,  Knights,  and  Ministers. 

But  at  court  they  were  received  with  overflowing  demonstrations 
of  hospitality.  Canonical  impediments  hindered  the  espousals.  The 
Cardinal  of  Lorraine  at  Rome  had  obtained  a  brief;  but  it  was  written 
with  sibylline  obscurity,  and  did  not  satisfy  his  brother  of  Bourbon, 
who  was  to  perform  the  ceremony.  But  Catherine  had  a  letter  forged, 

master  Machiavelli,  no  other  should  have  place  in  a  kingdom;  for  that  kingdom  cannot 
be  at  peace  as  long  as  there  are  two  religions  within  its  borders.  You  also  know  that 
be  has  been  filled  with  the  idea  that  the  Protestants  are  bent  on  teking  away  his  life 
and  his  empire,  and  that  therefore  he  will  never  suffer  that  they  who  have  once  borne 
arms  against  him,  whether  justly  or  unjustly,  shall  have  the  benefit  of  an  edict ;  nor  will 
he  think  himself  bound  to  observe  a  compact  into  which  he  entered  with  subjects  under 
arms.  You  know  that  these  are  the  arts  of  Princes,  the  elements  of  civil  science,  the 
secrets  of  empire.  Thus  did  Commodus  destroy  Julian,  whom  he  had  caressed  and 
honoured  as  a  father.  Thus  did  Antoninus  Caracalla  command  the  first  youth  of  the 
city  to  be  massacred  after  he  had  assembled  them  under  pretext  of  recruiting  the  army. 
And  thus  Lysander  killed  eight  hundred  Milesians  whom  he  had  invited  under  profession 
of  friendship  and  alliance.  Thus  did  Sergius  Galba  wreak  his  vengeance  on  six  thou- 
sand Iberians  ;  and,  more  lately,  by  command  of  Anthony  Spinula,  the  chief  men  of  the 
island  of  Corsica,  when  assembled  at  a  banquet,  were  put  to  death.  With  the  like  art, 
in  our  own  memory,  has  the  barbarous  King  Christiern  perpetrated  his  butcheries  at 
Stockholm.  Thus  Charles  VII.,  although  reconciled  to  Bourgogne,  could  not  withhold 
his  hands  from  killing  him.  Neither  is  a  recent  conversation  of  the  King  with  his  mother 
at  Blois  any  secret.  When,  insolently  jesting,  an  his  manner  is,  he  asked  her,  in  God's 
name,  if  he  had  not  acted  his  part  finely  towards  the  Queen  of  Navarre  on  her  arrival, 
she  answered,  that  he  had  certainly  begun  well,  but  that  a  fine  beginning  would  be  of  little 
service  unless  he  persevered.  'But  I,'  said  he,  swearing,  'will  bring  them  all  into  your 
net.'  From  these  words,  of  which  you  cannot  but  be  well  informed,  you  should  derive 
counsel  ;  and  if  you  are  wise,  you  will  keep  away  from  that  city  and  court,  as  from  an 
impure  sink  of  all  mischief." 

VOL.    III.  3    N 


458  CHAPTER     VI. 

as  from  the  French  Ambassador  at  Rome,  assuring  the  scrupulous 
Cardinal  that  the  brief  was  to  be  interpreted  liberally  ;  and  the  royal 
couple  were  affianced  in  the  Louvre  (August  17th).  On  the  day  fol- 
lowing they  were  married  in  Notre  Dame.  The  display  was  magnifi- 
cent. Gentlemen  of  both  religions  mingled  at  the  ceremonial  with 
studied  affability ;  Margaret  stayed  to  mass  after  the  benediction  ; 
while  Henry,  as  a  Protestant,  walked  with  friends  of  his  religion  into 
the  Bishop's  palace  until  she  had  finished ;  and  then  began  the  days 
of  banqueting  and  plays,  such  as  were  usual  on  occasions  of  royal 
marriages,  and  were  exceedingly  splendid  then.  Coligny  was  present, 
by  necessity,  at  every  grand  spectacle,  but  intent  upon  affairs  of  state, 
and  snatched  every  moment  to  promote  the  expedition  to  the  Nether- 
lands, on  which  he  counted  for  the  humiliation  of  Spain  and  the 
deliverance  of  his  persecuted  brethren.  Banners  lost  at  Jarnac  and 
Moncontour  hung  in  the  cathedral,  and,  as  he  surveyed  them,  he  told 
his  friends  that  he  longed  to  replace  those  saddening  trophies  by 
others  to  be  won  from  Alva  in  the  Low  Countries.  But  let  us  make 
a  diary  of  this  fatal  week. 

Tuesday,  \9th.  King  and  court  wearied  and  in  bed  after  the  dissi- 
pation of  the  day  and  night  preceding.  The  Admiral  and  his  friends 
gravely  writing  and  conversing  concerning  complaints  from  the  pro- 
vinces. They  hear  that  a  company  of  the  Reformed,  returning  from 
a  baptism  in  Troyes,  have  been  attacked  by  the  mob,  and  the  infant 
killed  in  the  nurse's  arms.  A  grand  dinner  in  the  palace  of  the  Duke 
of  Anjou.  A  ball  at  night  in  the  Louvre. 

Wednesday,  20th.  A  masque  in  the  palace  of  the  Bourbons.  Para- 
dise and  hell  are  fitted  up,  and  it  is  so  contrived  that  in  a  sham  fight 
Navarre  and  some  Huguenot  gentlemen  are  shut  up  in  the  said  hell 
for  an  hour,  to  the  amusement  of  the  court.  They  are  wise  enough 
to  keep  their  temper.  We  read  that  before  this  trial  of  patience, 
Charles  had  taken  Coligny  aside,  and  addressed  him  in  such  words  as 
these  :  "  You  know,  my  father,"  (for  in  this  respectful  style  he  usually 
addressed  the  aged  Admiral,)  "  that  I  have  promised  you  that  none 
of  the  Guises  shall  show  you  any  incivility,  as  long  as  you  are  at 
court.  They  have  promised  me  that  they  will  not,  but  conduct  them- 
selves honourably  and  moderately  towards  you,  as  is  their  duty.  I 
have  entire  confidence  in  your  words,  but  put  little  faith  in  their 
promises  ;  for  I  not  only  know  that  these  Guises  are  disposed  to  seek 
occasions  of  revenge,  but  are  daring  and  lofty,  and  great  favourites 
with  the  common  people  of  Paris.  Exceedingly  sorry  should  I  be 
if  they,  now  that  they  have  come  to  Paris  with  a  very  large  body 
of  armed  men,  for  the  sake,  as  they  say,  of  being  present  at  the  mar- 
riage, should  contrive  to  injure  you.  Any  harm  done  to  you  I  should 
consider  as  done  to  myself;  and,  therefore,  as  it  occurs  to  me  just  now, 
if  you  think  well,  I  will  have  a  regiment  of  guards  brought  into  the 
city,  and  put  under  the  command  of  men  whom  we  can  trust,  that 
if  anything  of  the  sort  should  be  attempted,  it  may  be  put  down  at 
once."  Coligny  assented,  approved  of  officers  whom  Charles  named, 
imagined  himself  perfectly  secure,  and  was  more  persuaded  than  ever 
of  the  King's  kindness.  A  regiment  was  accordingly  introduced,  and 


THE    ADMIRAL.    SHOT.  459 

the  Protestants  suspected  nothing.  Their  patience  at  the  masque 
secured  them  from  assault  that  night. 

Thursday,  2lst.  The  Marshal  de  Montmorency,  foreboding  worse, 
took  leave  of  Coligny  this  morning,  pleading  indisposition.  He  had 
just  returned  from  England,  and  was  thought  to  be  exhausted  after 
the  voyage.  Another  officer  called  on  the  Admiral  to  say  that  he  was 
going,  and  that  if  he  were  to  do  the  same  it  would  be  better  for  him- 
self, and  for  them  all.  Another  came  to  pay  his  respects  before  quit- 
ting Paris,  observing,  in  answer  to  Coligny's  expression  of  surprise  at 
his  timidity,  that  he  would  rather  be  saved  with  fools  than  perish  with 
wise  men.  A  tournament  closed  the  day. 

Friday,  22d.  The  Admiral  was  engaged  this  morning  at  the  Louvre 
in  public  business.  Tavannes  was  there  also,  and  saw  him  leave  the 
palace,  linger  for  some  time  in  conversation  with  the  King  and  others, 
and  then  return  towards  his  hotel.  Some  one  put  a  memorial  into 
his  hand,  just  after  he  had  left  the  company,  and  he  was  walking  very 
slowly  past  the  house  of  an  old  tutor  of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  now 
Canon  of  the  neighbouring  church  of  St.  Germain,  attentively  reading 
the  paper,  when  the  report  of  an  arquebuse  was  heard,  and  three  bullets, 
missing  the  Admiral's  heart,  shattered  two  fingers  of  his  right  hand, 
and  wounded  his  left  arm.  Maurevel,  a  man  who  had  already  com- 
mitted an  assassination,  and  was  sheltered  from  justice  by  the  Guises, 
— the  very  Maurevel  whom  Catherine  had  some  months  before  retained 
for  that  service, — had  shot  him  through  a  grated  window  in  the 
Canon's  house,  and  was  mounting  a  fleet  horse  at  the  back-door  before 
any  one  could  think  of  entering  on  pursuit.  The  Admiral  uttered  no 
exclamation,  nor  manifested  any  discomposure,  but  pointed  to  the 
house,  sent  a  messenger  to  inform  the  King,  and  was  led  to  his  hotel. 
Navarre,  Conde,  the  Count  de  la  Kochefoucault,  and  many  other 
of  his  friends,  crowded  the  apartment ;  while  Pare,  the  King's  surgeon, 
took  off  the  two  broken  fingers  with  a  pair  of  blunt  scissors,  and 
handled  the  severely-wounded  arm  with  a  rudeness  that  must  perhaps 
be  attributed  to  the  clumsy  surgery  of  those  times.  On  hearing  some  one 
express  fear  that  the  wounds  were  poisoned,  Coligny  calmly  observed 
that  nothing  could  come  to  pass  without  divine  permission  ;  and  endured 
the  extreme  pain  inflicted  by  the  royal  surgeon  with  but  a  single 
exclamation  of  displeasure  :  "  And  is  this  the  fine  reconciliation  for 
which  the  King  stood  guarantee?"  "Ah,  my  brother!"  said  he  to 
the  Chaplain  of  the  late  Queen  of  Navarre,  "  I  now  feel  that  God  loves 
me,  since  for  his  most  holy  name's  sake  I  have  received  these  wounds. 
God  grant  that  I  may  never  forget  his  goodness  towards  me." 
Another  Minister  endeavoured  to  console  him  with  promises  from  the 
word  of  God  ;  and  he  poured  forth  earnest  supplications  that  he  might 
never  be  forsaken,  nor  the  divine  pity  towards  him  ever  fail.  When 
the  surgical  operation  was  finished,  he  whispered  a  request  to  his 
Minister,  Merlin,  to  distribute  a  hundred  crowns  among  the  poor. 
Conde  and  Navarre  hastened  to  the  Louvre,  complained  to  the  King 
of  the  indignity  of  the  deed,  and  prayed  that  they  might  be  allowed 
instantly  to  depart,  as  it  was  not  possible  to  remain  with  security  in 
Paris.  Charles  played  a  fit  of  most  furious  anger,  swore  vengeance 

3  N  2 


460  CHAPTER    VI. 

on  all  concerned  in  the  attempt,  and  declared  that  he  regarded  it  as 
an  insult  offered  to  himself.  While  he  seemed  to  be  dancing  with 
fury,  Catherine  came  in,  joined  in  the  exhibition,  and  said,  that  at 
that  rate  the  King  himself  was  no  longer  safe  in  his  own  house.  The 
Princes  suffered  themselves  to  be  entreated  to  remain  in  Paris,  and 
gave  credit  to  his  violent  asseverations  that  vengeance  should  pursue 
the  assassin  and  his  accomplices,  for  an  everlasting  example.  Maurevel 
had  fled,  as  the  King  knew,  but  the  city-gates  were  shut,  and  strict 
search  made  for  the  murderer,  in  whose  stead  a  servant-woman  and 
errand-boy  of  the  Canon  were  taken  into  custody  and  interrogated ; 
and  by  their  evidence  it  appeared  that  a  dependent  of  the  Duke 
of  Guise  had  brought  him  into  the  house  the  night  before,  under  a 
false  name,  that  he  had  slept  in  the  Canon's  chamber,  and  that  a 
horse  had  been  kept  in  waiting  for  him  that  morning. 

The  Duke  of  Guise,  although  understood  to  be  guilty, — and 
Catherine  had  even  endeavoured  to  excuse  him,  as  having  but  avenged 
on  the  Admiral  the  murder  of  his  father  by  Poltrot  under  the  walls 
of  Orleans, — was  not  arrested,  but  sat  quietly  at  home  while  Charles 
went  to  see  the  sufferer,  who  had  sent  to  invite  him  to  his  chamber, 
that  he  might  make  some  communication  of  importance  before  his 
death,  which  seemed  to  be  near  at  hand.  Queen  Catherine,  the  King's 
brothers,  the  Dukes  of  Anjou  and  Alengon,  the  Duke  of  Montpensier, 
the  Cardinal  of  Bourbon,  two  of  the  original  conspirators,  Tavannes 
and  Retz,  with  some  others,  went  in  company.  On  entering  the 
chamber  the  King  commanded  the  Huguenot  gentlemen  to  withdraw, 
which  they  did,  but  reluctantly  and  murmuring,  two  excepted,  who 
kept  the  door,  and  overheard  part  of  the  conversation.  With  many 
dire  execrations  the  King  swore  that  he  would  take  such  vengeance 
as  never  would  pass  away  from  the  memory  of  man.  Coligny,  as 
became  the  condition  of  a  man  on  the  brink  of  eternity,  was  calm ; 
thanked  the  King  for  his  attention  ;  pointed  out  the  danger  to  which 
France  was  exposed  by  the  treachery  of  members  of  his  court, — men, 
whom  the  King  well  knew,  and  they  were  then  present,  who  com- 
municated secrets  of  state  to  their  enemy,  the  Duke  of  Alva.  He 
then  remonstrated  against  the  persecutions  permitted  in  the  provinces, 
instancing  the  recent  murder  of  an  infant  at  Troyes ;  charged  the 
Commissaries,  who  had  been  sent  to  investigate  similar  cases,  with 
collusion  with  the  criminals ;  and  gave  the  King  such  plain,  yet 
solemnly  respectful,  admonition  as  he  had  probably  never  heard 
before.  But  they  had  him  in  their  grasp,  and  could  therefore  indulge 
him  in  an  honesty  that  would  not  again  find  utterance.  Retz  pro- 
posed to  his  attendants  that  he  should  be  removed  to  the  Louvre,  to 
be  safe  there,  in  the  event  of  any  popular  tumult ;  but  they  appre- 
hended none,  the  King's  physician  thought  him  unfit  to  be  removed, 
aud  Teligny*  reminded  him  that,  after  the  honour  of  that  visit,  it 
was  not  likely  that  the  populace  would  presume  to  disturb  his  dying 
master.  The  visiters  quitted  the  apartment.  Much  of  the  following 
night  was  spent  in  anxious  discussion  by  the  leading  Huguenots. 
Most  of  them  urged  an  immediate  retreat  from  Paris,  a  last  effort  to 

*  Son-in-law  of  the  Admiral. 


THE  HUGUENOTS  ENSNARED.  461 

save  the  Admiral  and  themselves.  They  remembered  menaces  spoken 
half  in  jest  and  half  in  earnest,  dark  sayings  heard  among  the  multi- 
tude, and  friendly  advices  to  some  of  them  to  make  excursions  into 
the  country.  But  the  King  of  Navarre,  Conde,  and  Teligny,  entirely 
persuaded  that  Charles  was  sincere  in  his  professions  of  affection  to 
the  Admiral,  favour  to  themselves,  and  displeasure  towards  the 
authors  of  the  present  calamity,  prevented  them  from  following  the 
only  way  that  ought  to  have  been  taken.  Charles  and  his  mother 
spent  much  of  the  night  in  writing  letters  of  exculpation  to  their 
Ambassadors  in  foreign  courts,  and  letters  of  another  kind  to 
Governors  of  provinces. 

Saturday,  23d.  As  the  morning  advanced  the  suspicions  of  the 
Huguenots  gathered  confirmation  from  every  rumour.  Some  went  to 
the  King,  and  demanded  justice  on  the  assassin  ;  and,  at  last,  in  spite 
of  the  dissuasion  of  their  chiefs,  five  hundred  gentlemen  went  in  a 
body  to  the  Louvre,  and  said  that  if  justice  were  not  done  them,  they 
would  find  means  of  avenging  themselves.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Duke  of  Guise  had  an  audience,  complained  of  the  calumnies  that 
were  circulated  to  his  dishonour,  and  of  the  King's  expression  of 
suspicion,  and  asked  permission  to  quit  Paris.  Charles  put  on  an  air 
of  cool  dignity,  and  told  him  that  he  might  go  if  he  pleased.  This 
was  intended  to  serve  him  as  an  occasion  of  appeal  to  the  populace, 
who  were  already  wrought  up  to  great  rage  against  the  Huguenots  : 
so  the  Duke  mounted  his  horse,  and  rode,  with  a  company  of  his 
friends,  towards  the  gate  St.  Antoine,  as  if  to  leave  the  city  ;  but, 
instead  of  proceeding,  turned  back  again.  This  irritated  the  people, 
who  thought  him  to  be  in  disgrace,  and  vengeful  murmurings  filled 
the  remote  streets  and  alleys  of  the  city.  The  conspirators,  agitated 
by  rage  and  guilt,  held  secret  councils  in  the  Louvre,  councils 
described  so  variously,  even  by  some  who  took  part  in  them,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  say  to  what  extent  their  plans  were  carried,  or  what 
were  the  precise  means  employed  or  suggested  for  the  consummation 
of  their  crime  ;  but  every  incident  was  made  subservient  to  the  medi- 
tated massacre.  The  rabble  of  Paris,  burning  with  impatience  to 
avenge  the  imaginary  insult  of  their  patron,  were  hurrying  to  and  fro, 
as  if  looking  for  a  leader  to  head  them  in  an  insurrection.  At  the 
Louvre,  too,  there  were  evidently  active  communications,  messengers 
incessantly  hurrying  to  and  fro,  and  the  troops  appeared  to  be 
receiving  orders  in  preparation  for  some  movement.  Coligny,  appre- 
hensive of  a  popular  tumult,  but  still  confiding  in  the  government, 
applied  to  the  King,  towards  evening,  for  a  few  archers  of  the  guard 
to  watch  at  his  hotel  during  the  night,  and  protect  him  from  any 
violence  that  might  be  attempted ;  and  the  Admiral's  messenger 
further  requested  that  several  gentlemen  of  his  friends  might  be 
allowed  to  take  lodgings  for  the  night  in  the  neighbourhood,  as  an 
additional  precaution.  Charles  was  embarrassed  for  a  moment,  sup- 
posing that  the  plot  had  been  discovered ;  but  Anjou,  \vho  heard  the 
request  made  by  Cornaton,  coolly  suggested  that  he  should  take  one 
Cosseins,  with  fifty  men.  Cornaton,  taken  by  surprise,  could  net 
refuse  the  formidable  guard,  but  dreaded  the  presence  of  Cosseins,  a 


462  CHAPTER    VI. 

declared  enemy  of  the  Admiral,  with  such  a  force  at  his  command. 
Cosseins  marched  to  the  spot  quickly,  and  placed  his  men  in  two 
shops,  immediately  opposite  the  Admiral's  hotel  in  the  Rue  Bethisy  ; 
and,  as  it  had  been  requested  that  some  of  his  friends  should  lodge 
near  at  hand,  another  officer  came  with  an  order  to  turn  out  all  the 
Catholic  lodgers  from  neighbouring  houses,  and  leave  the  rooms 
vacant  for  the  Calvinists.  Coligny  did  not  suspect  the  true  reason 
for  collecting  them  thus  together,  but  regarded  it  as  done  in  com- 
pliance with  his  own  request,  and  for  his  better  protection.  A  friend 
then  came  into  his  chamber, — the  Vidame  de  Chartres, — described 
the  threatening  appearance  of  the  rabble,  repeated  some  of  their 
ominous  expressions,  and  entreated  him  to  allow  himself  to  be  con- 
veyed away  on  a  litter.  He  had  just  seen  Cosseins  mounting  the 
extraordinary  guard  under  the  windows,  and  this  added  to  his  fear. 
But  the  King  of  Navarre  described  the  indignation  of  Charles  against 
the  Duke  of  Guise,  whom  he  suspected  of  ill  designs  ;  said  that,  at  the 
King's  desire,  he  was  selecting  some  of  his  best  friends  to  sleep  that 
night  in  the  Louvre,  for  greater  security  ;  and  the  majority,  fancying 
that  all  those  measures  were  taken  for  their  protection,  feared  to 
frustrate  them  by  any  proceeding  of  their  own  that  might  indicate 
distrust.  The  truth  was,  that  the  murderous  cabal  had  merely  deter- 
mined to  preserve  Navarre  and  Conde  for  political  reasons.  Navarre 
returned  to  his  usual  apartments  in  the  Louvre,  and  met  there  the 
few  friends  whom  he  had  been  desired  to  invite.  Coligny  bade  his 
company  good  night,  and,  with  Teligny  and  one  or  two  others,  was 
soon  tranquilly  asleep. 

Sunday,  24th.  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW'S  DAY.  Everything  had  been 
prepared  the  night  before.  Reports  had  been  circulated  among  the 
Parisians  that  the  King  was  in  a  secret  understanding  with  the 
Huguenots,  and  that  a  force  was  approaching  the  city  to  support 
them  against  the  Catholics,  and  against  the  Duke  of  Guise.  The 
Duke,  like  a  man  threatened  with  assault,  had  sent  for  the  authorities 
of  the  city,  and  with  them  organized  a  system  of  "  defence  "  through 
all  the  sixteen  districts  of  Paris,  in  order  that  the  whole  population 
might  be  called  out  in  case  of  alarm  by  any  hostile  movement  of  the 
Huguenots.  Full  use  was  made  of  the  incautious  menace  of  the  five 
hundred  gentlemen  who  had  demanded  justice  against  him  in  the  day. 
Two  forces  were  prepared, — the  civil  and  the  military.  Late  in  the 
evening  the  Provost  of  the  Merchants  *  assembled  the  Captains  of  the 
sixteen  divisions,  and  their  subalterns,  and  told  them  that,  at  length, 
the  King  had  resolved  to  permit  the  people  to  take  arms  and  exter- 
minate the  rebels  who  had  so  long  kept  France  in  confusion  ;  that 
he  wished  that  no  one  might  escape ;  that  a  massacre  would  begin 
that  night  in  Paris,  and  be  followed  by  other  similar  massacres 
throughout  the  kingdom.  A  little  before  day-break,  he  told  them, 
the  bell  of  the  Palace  of  Justice  would  toll,  and  at  that  signal  every 
good  Catholic  should  place  torches  in  his  windows,  that  there  might 
be  light  for  the  work,  and,  with  a  white  cross  on  his  cap,  and  a  white 

*  This  personage,  in  Paris  and  Lyons,  was  placed  over  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  or  "  Town- 
House,"  with  a  sort  of  police  authority  over  the  freemen  of  the  city. 


MASSACRE    OF    ST.    BARTHOLOMEW.  463 

scarf  round  his  arm,  that  he  might  be  distinguished  from  the  heretics, 
should  come  out  to  do  justice  on  his  enemies.  The  officers  dispersed, 
and,  with  ferocious  haste,  those  good  Catholics  prepared  the  crosses, 
scarfs,  and  torches.  While  the  Provost  was  communicating  the 
King's  pleasure  to  the  city,  the  Duke  of  Guise  was  addressing  the 
Captains  of  the  French  and  Swiss  guards.  "  The  hour  has  arrived," 
said  he,  "  when,  by  command  of  the  King,  capital  vengeance  must  be 
taken  on  him  who  is  hateful  both  to  God  and  men,  and  on  all  that 
rebellious  faction.  The  brute  is  in  the  net,  and  you  must  take  care 
that  he  does  not  escape.  Do  not  miss  this  opportune  occasion 
of  gaining  a  most  glorious  triumph  over  the  enemies  of  the  kingdom ; 
a  triumph  such  as  we  have  not  yet  won,  after  all  the  blood  shed  in  so 
many  provinces  during  the  past  wars.  Victory  is  easy.  You  shall 
have  rich  booty,  the  reward  of  one  good  deed,  without  a  drop  of  your 
own  blood  being  spilt."  The  mercenaries  needed  no  persuasion,  and 
immediately  took  their  posts  around  the  Louvre,  with  orders  not  to 
suffer  any  member  of  the  families  of  Navarre  and  Conde  to  quit  the 
palace.  At  midnight  Guise  went  to  the  Town-House,  where  the  civic 
authorities  were  in  waiting,  and  received  him  with  acclamation.  It 
was  the  King's  pleasure,  he  told  them,  that  Coliguy  and  all  the  other 
rebels  should  be  put  to  death.  They  were,  therefore,  to  allow  no  one  to 
be  spared,  nor  any  of  those  wicked  men  to  evade  their  vengeance. 
Thus  the  King  willed  and  commanded,  who  would  see  the  example 
of  Paris  followed  in  all  other  cities  of  the  kingdom.  He  also  repeated 
the  directions  already  given  for  a  simultaneous  illumination  of  the 
streets,  and  for  the  badge  of  cross  and  scarf. 

Shortly  after  midnight  the  Queen-Mother,  impatient,  and  fearing 
lest  her  son's  courage  should  falter,  went  into  his  chamber,  attended 
by  Anjou  and  Nevers,  with  Tavannes,  Biragua,  and  Retz.  The  King 
was  indeed  hesitating.  Conscience,  feeble  as  it  was,  was  awakening, 
and  the  young  man  looked  wretched.  She  drew  him  into  conversa- 
tion, rallied  him  on  his  weakness,  reasoned  on  the  admirable  oppor- 
tunity now  given  them  by  the  providence  of  God  for  making  an  end 
of  all  their  enemies  ;  quoted  sentences  from  Italian  Divines  in  con- 
firmation of  a  religious  resolution  to  show  no  pity  to  the  enemies 
of  God  ;  and  pointed  out  what  the  fury  of  those  enemies  would  be 
if  his  intention,  no  longer  possible  to  be  concealed  from  their  know- 
ledge, should  not  be  executed.  When  she  perceived  him  to  be  suffi- 
ciently stirred  up,  she  bade  him  give  his  order  for  the  fatal  signal. 
He  commanded  the  tocsin  to  be  rung.  The  Palace  of  Justice  seemed 
then  too  distant ;  and,  that  no  time  might  be  allowed  him  for 
remorse,  she  caused  the  bell  of  St.  Germain,  a  church  close  by  the 
Louvre,  to  be  rung.  Lines  of  soldiers  were  already  distributed  along 
the  streets  by  the  diligence  of  Guise.  The  knell  boomed  over  the 
dark  city,  and,  in  a  few  moments,  a  glare  of  torches  blazed  from  all 
the  windows,  except  those  of  the  Protestants,  who  started  with  terror 
from  their  beds.  Catherine  and  her  sou  looked  out  upon  the  scene 
from  a  window  over  the  gate  of  the  Louvre,  while  Anjou  and  the 
others  stood  behind  them.  A  guilty  fear  seized  on  the  whole  com- 
pany, and,  \vithout  consultation,  they  recoiled  at  the  same  instant, 


464  CHAPTER    VI. 

and   sent  a  messenger  to   call   back  Guise,   and   bid   him  spare  the 
Admiral,     But  Guise  was  gone. 

Guise  made  his  way,  through  the  lines  of  military,  towards  the 
hotel  where  Coligny  lay  asleep,  while  the  Papists  were  rushing  into 
the  streets  with  such  impetuosity  that  he  could  scarcely  advance ;  and 
some  Protestants,  who  lodged  near  the  Louvre,  were  already  running 
thither  for  protection,  and,  on  asking  the  soldiers  what  the  alarum 
and  multitude  of  people  meant,  were  told  that  there  was  to  be  a  sham 
fight  that  morning,  and  the  people  were  making  haste  to  see  it.  The 
sentinels  then  drove  them  from  the  gate,  the  Queen  beckoned  to  the 
sentinels,  and  at  her  signal  they  were  cut  down  by  the  soldiers  and 
the  mob.  By  this  time  Guise  had  reached  Coligny's  lodgings,  where 
Cosseins  was  waiting  with  his  guard,  and,  on  his  arrival,  knocked  at 
the  door  and  demanded  admission,  saying  that  he  had  come  from  the 
King  with  a  message  to  the  Admiral.  On  the  door  being  opened, 
he  stabbed  the  porter,  and  forced  his  way  through  door  after  door 
until  he  reached  the  chamber  of  his  victim.  At  the  first  noise  the 
venerable  Admiral  had  risen  from  his  bed,  supposing  that  the  mob 
were  breaking  into  the  house,  and  was  now  leaning  against  the  wall 
in  prayer.  His  friends  and  domestics,  unable  any  longer  to  barricade 
the  doors,  which  gave  way  under  the  blows  of  the  assailants,  ran  into 
the  room.  Cornaton,  a  faithful  attendant,  told  him  that  resistance 
was  no  longer  possible  ;  that  not  the  King,  but  God,  called  him.  In 
reply,  he  advised  them  to  save  themselves,  if  possible ;  said  that  he 
was  prepared  to  die,  and  commended  his  soul  to  God.  Most  of  them 
fled  just  as  the  guards  were  rushing  up  the  staircase  ;  and  Besme,  a 
valet  of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  entered  the  chamber,  sword  in  hand, 
crying,  "  Are  you  Coligny  ?  "  "I  am,"  answered  the  Admiral,  then 
seated  in  an  arm-chair,  and  looking  calmly  at  the  murderer,  "  I  am, 
indeed ;  but  respect  my  grey  hairs,  young  man  :  whatever  you  do, 
you  cannot  shorten  my  life."  Besme  plunged  the  sword  up  to  the 
hilt  in  his  breast,  others  mangled  his  body  with  their  swords,  until 
they  heard  the  Duke  of  Guise,  shouting  under  the  window,  "  Besme, 
have  you  done  ? "  It  was  done,  he  told  him  ;  and  then  the  Duke 
of  Angouleme,  too,  raised  his  voice,  calling  out  that  Guise  would  not 
believe  it  until  he  saw  the  body.  The  body,  gashed  as  it  was,  was 
thrown  out  at  the  window,  but  so  disfigured  that  it  could  not  be 
recognised ;  and  the  Duke  of  Guise,  to  be  certain,  wiped  the  blood 
from  the  face  with  his  handkerchief,  and,  having  certified  himself  that 
there  was  no  mistake,  cried  out,  "  I  know  him  ; "  and  "  giving  a 
kick  to  the  poor  dead  body  of  him  whom,  living,  every  man  in  France 
had  feared,  '  Lie  there,'  said  he,  '  venomous  beast !  thou  shalt  not  spit 
thy  poison  any  more.'  "  Having  satisfied  his  vengeance  on  the 
Admiral,  he  turned  to  the  soldiers,  and  told  them  that  they  must  now 
go  forward  with  the  work  so  happily  begun.  The  bell  sounded  from  the 
tower  of  the  Palace  of  Justice,  and  the  unbridled  multitude,  bursting 
into  one  terrible  shout,  began  the  general  slaughter.  The  air  rang 
with  a  deafening  din  of  execrations.  The  dwellings  of  the  Huguenots 
were  attacked,  and  nothing  could  be  heard  but  the  crashing  of  doors 
and  windows  before  stones  and  hatchets,  the  clang  of  arms,  the 


MASSACRE    OP    ST.    BARTHOLOMEW.  465 

shrieks  of  men,  women,  and  children,  mingled  with  vociferations 
of  blasphemy  and  fury,  such  as  the  world  had  never  heard  before. 
The  streets  streamed  with  blood.  Heaps  of  naked  and  mutilated 
bodies  clogged  the  ways.  The  dying  and  the  dead  were  stripped, 
and  their  houses  emptied.  Guise  and  his  companions  ran  about 
among  the  mob,  shouting,  "  Kill,  kill !  Blood-letting  is  good  in 
August.  Kill,  kill !  The  King  commands.  For  the  King  !  For  the 
King  !  O  Huguenot !  O  Huguenot !  "  Now  the  gates  of  the  Louvre 
were  shut ;  but  the  soldiers  in  the  court  were  let  into  the  apartments 
of  the  Protestant  guests,  after  Navarre  and  Conde  had  been  sum- 
moned to  the  presence  of  the  King,  and  commanded  to  give  up  their 
fine  religion.  Navarre  had  little  to  surrender,  and  he  submitted. 
Conde  remonstrated  stoutly,  and  declared  that  he  would  rather  die 
than  renounce  the  truth.  But  it  was  not  part  of  the  plan  to  put  a 
Prince  of  the  blood  to  death;  and  he  was  only  loaded  with  indignity, 
called  a  madman,  traitor,  rebel,  and  told  that  he  should  have  no  more 
than  three  days  allowed  him  to  come  to  a  better  mind.  Meanwhile, 
sixty  thousand  armed  Frenchmen  were  butchering  their  brethren,  and 
the  King,  frantic  with  thirst  of  blood,  looked  out  from  the  windows 
of  the  Louvre  on  the  piles  of  dead  bodies  that  had  fallen  on  the 
pavement,  and  the  cartloads  of  them  that  began  to  be  taken  past, 
and  flung  into  the  Seine.  The  ladies  of  the  court  amused  themselves 
with  examining  the  bodies  of  the  Huguenots  with  whom  they  had 
been  feasting  but  a  few  hours  before.  Catherine,  with  the  madness 
of  a  fiend,  ran  from  room  to  room,  chiefly  busied  in  threatening  the 
less  brutal  members  of  her  family,  such  as  the  Duke  of  Alencon, 
sending  to  her  chamber  the  young  Queen-Consort,  Elizabeth,  and 
ridiculing  Margaret  of  Navarre,  as  she  was  fainting  in  hers  at  the 
sight  of  the  wounded  and  pursued  who,  in  vain,  rushed  into  her 
presence  to  beg  for  mercy.  Never  did  morning  rise  on  such  a  scene. 
There  could  be  seen  but  two  divisions  of  the  people  :  the  living,  blind 
with  rage,  and  hunting  after  more  Huguenots  to  be  killed;  and  the 
warm  and  gory  dead,  whose  spirits,  escaped  from  a  living  hell,  cried 
at  the  altar  of  God  for  judgment,  or  their  doomed  survivers,  just 
ready  to  be  slain.  But  the  last  groan  had  not  risen.  The  last  yell 
of  defiance  had  not  died  away,  and  Paris,  drenched  in  blood,  but 
began  a  new  reckoning  with  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth  for  retribu- 
tion. Five  hundred  gentlemen  and  ten  thousand  persons  of  inferior 
rank  fell  in  that  and  the  following  days.  The  royal  family  of  France, 
excepting  only  Navarre  and  Coude,  and  two  or  three  ladies  in  whose 
bosoms  woman's  pity  could  not  be  extinguished,  sank  into  a  horrid 
complacency  ;  and  Catherine  maintained  her  odious  pre-eminence  in 
guilt,  by  receiving  the  Admiral's  head,  washed  from  its  gore,  that  she 
might  better  gaze  upon  the  features,  and  a  sack-full  of  papers  found 
in  the  hotel.  The  body,  after  being  stripped,  mutilated,  dragged 
through  the  mire,  kicked  and  trampled  on  from  street  to  street,  was 
hung  by  the  heels  on  a  gibbet  at  Montfaucon,  and  the  head  was  sent 
to  Rome.  The  massacre  continued  through  seven  days. 

Still  there  was  a  remnant  spared,  even  in  Paris.      Some  fugitives 
found    a  hiding-place  in   the  arsenal.      Sully,  then  a  young  student, 

vol..   in.  3  o 


466  CHAPTER    VI. 

saved  himself  by  putting  on  his  scholar's  gown,  and  taking  a  Missal 
under  his  arm,  and  thus  walked  through  the  streets  when  the 
massacre  was  at  its  height.  Merlin,  the  Admiral's  Chaplain,  in  clam- 
bering over^the  house-tops,  when  the  assassins  had  broken  into  the 
hotel,  fell  into  a  hay-loft,  lay  concealed  there  many  days,  and  must 
have  perished  for  want  of  food,  if  a  hen  had  not  laid  an  egg  there 
daily,  which  kept  him  alive.  And  the  Reformed  who  lodged  in  the 
Fauxbourg  St.  Germain,  separated  from  Paris  by  the  Seine,  all 
escaped.  They  were  about  to  cross  the  river  in  boats,  early  in  the 
morning,  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  when  other  boats, 
filled  with  French  and  Swiss  guards,  made  their  appearance.  The 
guards  opened  fire,  directed  by  the  King  himself,  on  some  who  were 
on  the  bank,  ready  to  embark  ;  but  they  then  perceived  that  it  was  time 
to  flee,  and,  making  their  way  to  Rochelle  or  to  the  frontiers,  out- 
stripped pursuit.  Through  that  dreadful  week  brutality  itself  dege- 
nerated. Men  stabbed  infants  while  the  innocents  were  smiling  in 
their  arms,  and  playing  with  their  beards.  Children  killed  lesser 
children,  servants  slaughtered  their  masters ;  and  when  the  parents 
had  been  murdered,  aunts  and  uncles  tormented  and  destroyed 
the  orphans.  Many  Romanists  were  killed  for  the  sake  of  their 
wealth ;  and,  at  last,  the  torrent  of  death  flowed  so  deep  that  Guise 
himself  became  alarmed,  and  the  King  issued  order  after  order  to  cease 
from  violence ;  but  the  masses  had  cast  off  all  restraint,  and  would 
not  be  hindered  from  carnage  that  repaid  in  plunder.  The  Sorbonne, 
as  well  as  the  Louvre,  was  invaded.  Pierre  de  la  Ramee,  (Ramus,) 
Professor  of  Mathematics,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  in  France,  but 
marked  as  having  once  corresponded  with  Theodore  Beza,  was  pointed 
out  as  a  Calvinist  by  Charpentier,  one  of  the  King's  physicians.  The 
murderers  broke  into  his  house,  dragged  him  from  a  cellar,  where  he 
had  hidden  himself,  killed  him,  and  threw  him  out  at  a  window, 
when  some  students  ripped  him  open,  and  trailed  his  bowels  through 
the  street.  Denis  Lambin,  Professor  of  Greek  and  Latin,  was  so 
shocked  at  the  sight,  that  he  died  of  horror. 

The  Priests  were  careful  to  stimulate  the  mob  to  massacre  from  day 
to  day.  On  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  or,  as  some  say,  the  day  after,  a 
white-thorn  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Innocents  happened  to  put  forth 
some  blossoms.  An  old  Monk  published  the  "  miracle,"  which  they 
say  that  he  contrived,  as  a  sign  that  the  Church  had  once  more  put 
forth  her  blossoms ;  and  a  fresh  impulse  was  thereby  given  to  the 
defenders  of  the  Church  to  prosecute  their  work  of  extirpation. 

On  the  Monday,  either  sickened  and  terror-stricken  with  the  scene, 
or  fearing  the  consequences  to  himself,  the  King  sent  letters  to  the 
Governors  of  the  provinces,  throwing  the  entire  blame  on  the  Guises. 
He  assured  them  that  the  sedition  had  been  raised  without  his  know- 
ledge ;  that  having  discovered  that  the  friends  of  the  Admiral  were 
resolved  to  avenge  his  wound,  the  Guises  had  assembled  a  great  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  and  Parisians,  and,  after  disarming  the  guards  given 
to  Coligny,  had  killed  both  him  and  those  whom  they  found  with 
him ;  and  that  this  example  had  been  followed  with  so  great  violence 
and  fury  in  other  parts  of  the  city,  that  it  became  impossible  to  inter- 


CHARLES    IX.    AVOWS    THE    MASSACRE.  467 

pose  a  remedy.  The  massacre,  he  affirmed,  was  to  be  attributed  to 
the  ancient  enmity  between  the  two  houses  ;  and  as  the  misfortune 
had  come  to  pass  against  his  will,  it  was  but  right  to  make  known 
that  the  edict  last  published  had  not  been  violated  in  any  article,  but 
religiously  observed.  He  further  desired  that  peace  might  be  pre- 
served in  the  provinces,  under  penalty  of  death  to  the  disobedient; 
"  and,  finally,"  he  added,  "  here  am  I  with  the  King  of  Navarre  my 
brother,  and  ray  cousin  the  Prince  of  Conde,  ready  to  share  their 
fortune."  On  that  day  Catherine  wrote  letters  to  the  same  effect, 
addressed  to  the  Governors,  and  also  to  the  Swiss  Republic,  which 
letters  were  circulated  in  Germany  and  England  ;  and  the  King's 
guards  were  sent  to  Chatillon-sur-Loing,  to  bring  the  widows  and 
children  of  Coligny  and  D'Andelot  to  Paris.  Their  eldest  sons  escaped, 
but  the  others  were  brought  back  in  custody. 

Charles  had  intended  that,  after  the  death  of  the  Admiral  and  the 
Huguenots,  Guise  should  have  retired  from  Paris  for  a  time,  to  take 
the  entire  reproach.  The  Duke,  on  the  contrary,  was  unwilling  that 
the  revenge  and  the  disgrace  should  fall  upon  himself  alone  ;  and  the 
Queen-Mother,  with  Anjou,  fearing  that  by  that  scheme  the  country 
would  be  again  plunged  into  civil  war,  and  her  own  comfort  inter- 
rupted, found  means  to  engage  the  King  to  accept  the  responsibility. 
She  had,  from  the  first,  desired  that  all  papers  found  in  the  houses 
of  the  Calviuists  should  be  brought  to  her ;  and  partly  by  selection, 
but  partly  by  forgery,  she  and  Anjou  produced  documents  which 
tended  to  prove  that  the  Marshal  of  Montmorency  had  promised  to 
take  vengeance  of  him  who  had  caused  the  Admiral  to  be  wounded, 
and  to  punish  the  attempt  as  severely  as  if  committed  against  him- 
self. They  represented  that  to  devolve  the  blame  on  Guise  would 
certainly  encourage  Montmorency,  with  whom  the  remnant  of  the 
Huguenots  would  join,  to  renew  the  war  ;  and  that,  to  prevent  so 
great  an  evil,  it  behoved  the  King  to  acknowledge  his  own  act  by  a 
public  declaration,  and,  by  so  doing,  induce  the  Guises  to  disarm,  and 
prevent  the  Montmorencys  from  taking  up  arms,  and  the  Protestants 
from  joining  them. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  therefore,  (August  26th,)  the  King  came  to 
the  court  of  Parliament,  attended  by  his  brothers,  the  Dukes  of  Anjou 
and  Alengon,  the  King  of  Navarre,  and  many  others,  and  there  openly 
declared  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  take  the  violent  measures 
which  he  came  there  to  acknowledge,  in  order  to  save  himself,  his 
mother,  his  brothers,  and  even  the  King  of  Navarre,  although  pro- 
fessing the  same  religion,  from  death,  by  Coligny  and  his  adherents, 
who  had  intended  to  set  young  Conde  on  the  throne,  and  then  kill 
him  also,  the  only  remaining  member  of  the  royal  family,  and  usurp 
his  place.  Extreme  dangers,  he  said,  required  extreme  remedies,  and  he 
therefore  wished  all  the  world  to  know  that  the  murders  of  the  last 
few  days  had  been  authorized  by  his  command.  Under  equal  date  he 
sent  out  an  edict  prefaced  with  a  similar  declaration,  and  commanding 
the  provincial  Governors  to  protect  the  Protestants  in  their  dwellings, 
inasmuch  as  the  royal  massacre  had  not  been  executed  on  account 
of  heresy,  but  treason,  and  the  concessions  made  to  them  were  not  to 

3  o  2 


468  CHAPTER    YI. 

be  withdrawn.  Bat  he  added  a  clause  which  might  serve  to  justify 
further  persecution,  commanding  that  since  their  sermons  and  assem- 
blies had  been  occasions  of  public  disturbance,  they  should  not  be 
repeated  anywhere,  either  in  public  or  in  private,  until  his  permission 
had  been  obtained.  Whoever  transgressed  this  prohibition  was  to  be 
punished  with  death,  and  his  property  confiscated.  Secret  messen- 
gers were  sent  to  enforce  the  most  rigid  interpretation  of  this  contra- 
dictory decree.  Two  days  afterwards,  while  the  murders  were  still 
continued,  notwithstanding  a  proclamation  at  the  street-corners  com- 
manding bloodshed  to  be  stayed,  a  jubilee  was  celebrated,  the  King 
and  court,  followed  by  a  long  train  of  devotees,  walked  in  procession, 
chanting  psalms,  and  returned  thanks  to  God  for  the  happy  accom- 
plishment of  their  undertaking  for  the  glory  of  his  cause.  Yet  many 
persons,  through  fear,  only  pretended  to  approve  what  in  heart  they 
condemned ;  as,  for  example,  Christopher  de  Thou,  father  of  the  his- 
torian, who  said  in  Parliament  that  a  King  who  knew  not  how  to 
dissimulate  knew  not  how  to  reign  ;  but  he  ventured  to  lament  to 
Charles  in  secret  that,  if  he  thought  the  Huguenots  were  guilty 
of  treason,  he  had  not  proceeded  against  them  legally.* 

On  St.  Bartholomew's  eve  messengers  had  been  sent  to  the 
Governors  of  the  principal  towns  to  engage  them  to  head  similar  exe- 
cutions, f  First  at  Meaux,  on  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  more  than  two 
hundred  men  were  thrown  into  prison  ;  many  escaped  ;  but  twenty- 
five  women  were  dragged  into  the  market-place  by  ruffians,  violated, 
and  then  killed.  Cosset,  a  profligate  Magistrate,  had  the  prisoners 
brought  out  one  by  one,  killed,  and  thrown  into  the  castle-ditch,  until 
the  butchers  were  weary  of  the  tardy  execution,  and  drowned  the 
remainder  in  the  Marne ;  and  Cosset  then  bade  the  inhabitants  follow 
out  that  "  good  beginning."  The  presence  of  Fran9ois  de  Montmo- 
rency  at  Chantilly,  as  Governor  of  the  Isle  of  France,  repressed  violence 
at  Senlis.  At  Orleans,  where  the  King's  public  letter,  disapproving 
the  attempted  murder  of  the  Admiral,  was  followed  by  a  secret  emis- 
bary,  with  instructions  to  execute  a  massacre,  one  Bouilli,  a  royal 
Councillor,  invited  a  Protestant  gentleman,  La  Cour,  to  sup  with 
him.  After  supper  a  party  of  assassins  brought  in  the  dreadful  news 
from  Paris,  and  asked  a  gratuity  for  their  trouble,  which  was  given 
them,  as  the  signal  that  they  might  proceed  to  murder  La  Cour.  Then 
began  a  massacre  that  lasted  for  three  days  ;  and  the  zealots  boasted 
that  they  had  slain  one  thousand  eight  hundred  men,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  women  and  children.  Many  of  the  neighbouring  towns 
imitated  the  example  of  Orleans.  At  Angers,  as  the  Reformed  Pastor 

*  And  he  cited  these  verses  of  Papinian  : — 

"  Excidat  ilia  dies  aevo,  nee  postera  credant 
Saecula ;  nos  certe  taceamus,  et  obruta  multa 
Nocte  tegi  proprise  patiamur  crimiua  gentis." 


MASSACRES    IN    THE    PROVINCES.  469 

was  walking  in  his  garden,  his  wife,  suspecting  no  danger,  admitted  a 
stranger  who  desired  to  speak  with  him.  That  was  an  assassin.  The 
Pastor  fell,  and  after  him  his  flock  were  led  to  the  slaughter.  At 
Troyes  guards  were  placed  at  the  gates,  and  all  suspected  of  heresy 
imprisoned.  After  five  days,  Simphalle,  the  Governor,  received  the 
King's  ambiguous  edict,  when  he  killed  all  the  prisoners,  buried  them  in 
one  ditch,  and  then  published  the  edict.  Bourges,  Rouen,  Nevers,  Tou- 
louse, and  Bourdeaux,  were  scenes  of  slaughter ;  persons  being  first  made 
prisoners  either  on  alleged  suspicion  of  some  crime,  or  under  pretence 
of  being  protected  from  popular  violence,  and  then  brought  out  to 
death.  A  messenger  from  Catherine  brought  a  royal  order  to  Mande- 
lot,  the  Governor  of  Lyons,  to  imitate  the  example  of  Paris.  Mandelot, 
although  an  adherent  of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  shrank  at  first  from  the 
execution  of  the  mandate,  and  begged  of  the  good  Catholics — who 
instantly  surrounded  him  with  a  clamorous  request  for  authority  to 
begin  the  massacre — to  wait  for  a  few  days  until  he  should  have 
received  further  instructions.  However,  by  the  public  crier,  he  sum- 
moned all  the  Protestants  to  appear  at  the  town-house,  to  hear  the 
King's  pleasure  ;  and  thither  they  flocked,  vainly  hoping  for  protec- 
tion. They  were  then  thrown  into  the  prisons  of  the  city ;  but  as 
those  buildings  were  not  capacious  enough  to  receive  them,  other 
prisons  were  also  crowded  ;  and  about  three  hundred  of  the  principal 
inhabitants  were  placed  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Archbishop.  While 
Mandelot  hesitated,  one  Pierre  d'Autisse  came  to  buy  horses  for  the 
army,  and,  although  possessing  no  authority,  assured  Mandelot  that 
he  was  expected  both  by  the  King  and  Queen  to  carry  their  pleasure 
into  execution,  and  put  to  death  all  the  Huguenots  that  were  already 
in  custody,  or  that  could  be  found.  Surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  impa- 
tient murderers,  the  Governor  resisted  the  last  check  of  conscience, 
aud,  turning  to  the  messenger,  gave  him  permission  in  such  words  as 
these  :  "To  thee,  Peter,  I  say,  as  Christ  said  to  Peter,  ' That  whatso- 
ever thou  bindest  shall  be  bound,  and  whatsoever  thou  loosest  shall 
be  loosed.'  "  No  sooner  were  these  words  pronounced  than  the  ser- 
vants of  the  Church  proceeded  to  fulfil  their  mission.  First  of  all 
they  went  to  the  public  hangman,  and  required  him  to  execute  the 
prisoners  ;  but  the  hangman  told  them  that,  although  willing  to  exe- 
cute any  lawful  sentence,  he  could  not  lend  himself  to  a  promiscuous 
murder.  They  then  went  to  the  guards  in  the  castle;  but  the  guards, 
indignant  at  such  a  request,  told  them  they  were  honourable  soldiers, 
not  executioners,  and  would  not  take  part  in  any  violence  towards 
persons  who  had  not  done  them  any  injury.  They  then  succeeded  in 
collecting  three  hundred  archers  belonging  to  the  city,  who  consented 
to  undertake  the  massacre,  and  began  at  the  prison  of  the  Franciscans, 
which  was  freely  opened  to  them  by  the  Monks,  and  they  killed  all 
the  Protestants  there  in  custody.  Thence  to  the  Celestines,  where 
they  made  a  great  slaughter.  Then,  led  by  Mandelot,  they  went  to 
the  Archbishop's  prison,  emptied  the  purses  of  the  three  hundred 
Protestant  gentry,  and  while  their  victims  embraced  each  other,  and 
implored  help  of  God  and  pity  of  men, — children  clinging  round  the 
necks  of  their  parents,  parents  clasping  infants  in  their  arms,  brothers 


470  CHAPTER     VI. 

and  friends  exhorting  each  other  to  constancy, — the  brutes  rushed  on 
them  with  clubs,  knives,  and  hatchets,  and  hewed  them  down  like 
cattle.  Their  cries  were  heard  far  through  the  city ;  and  Mandelot, 
who  had  retreated  while  the  murderers  did  their  work,  came  back  after 
it  was  finished,  pretending  to  have  been  ignorant  of  their  intention, 
and,  asking  what  they  had  done,  with  ridiculous  dissimulation,  offered 
a  reward  for  the  detection  of  the  murderers.  That  evening  the  same 
persons  renewed  their  task,  went  to  the  public  prison  on  the  Rhone, 
beat  the  prisoners,  and  then,  putting  ropes  round  their  necks,  dragged 
them  out,  and  drowned  them  in  the  river.  All  that  night  the  dregs 
of  the  people  gave  themselves  up  to  murder  and  robbery.  Furniture 
was  taken  from  the  houses,  and  goods  from  the  shops.  Dragged  from 
their  hiding-places,  all  suspected  of  heresy  were  killed,  some  des- 
patched with  knives  or  clubs,  and  others  thrown  into  the  river.  The 
courts  of  the  Archbishop's  palace  were  covered  with  dead  bodies ;  and 
Mandelot,  pale  with  horror,  commanded  them  to  be  thrown  into  boats, 
and  taken  for  interment  to  a  cemetery  across  the  river  ;  but  the  Monks 
declared  that  burial  could  by  no  means  be  allowed  to  the  carcases 
of  such  wretches.  Some  one  cried  that  they  should  be  flung  into  the 
river,  and  the  mob  dragged  them  away  to  the  bank.  The  druggists, 
however,  asked  and  had  the  fattest  bodies,  which  they  made  use 
of  for  the  preparation  of  ointment,  "  that  some  good  might  be  got 
out  of  people  who  had  done  so  much  mischief."  The  bodies  floated 
down  the  Rhone  in  one  mass.  The  inhabitants  of  the  towns  on  the 
banks,  appalled  by  the  ghastly  spectacle,  flew  to  arms  ;  and,  although 
they  had  been  taught  to  hate  the  Huguenots,  poured  imprecations  on 
the  barbarians  of  Lyons.  Red  with  blood,  the  water  of  the  Rhone 
could  not  be  drunk.  At  Aries,  even  the  wells  were  corrupted,  while 
the  fish  in  the  river  died,  the  inhabitants  sickened,  and  sent  to 
distant  streams  for  water.  Claude  Gaudimel,  "  an  excellent  musician 
of  our  age,"  as  the  indignant  Thuanus  styles  him,  who  had  set  the 
psalms  of  Beza  and  Marot  to  music,  was  among  the  martyrs.  The 
number  of  the  dead  was  estimated  at  eight  hundred.  At  Toulouse  a 
similar  horror  took  place,  and  on  the  same  Lord's  day.  But  we  must 
shorten  the  recital,  and  can  only  note  further,  that  the  number  of 
victims  was  incalculable.  Romanist  historians  are  our  informants,  and 
not  disposed  to  exaggerate ;  but  they  vary  widely  in  their  estimate, 
some  counting  so  high  as  one  hundred  thousand,  and  others  so  low  as 
twenty-five  thousand.  Provence  and  Dauphine  were  honourably 
excepted  from  this  reproach. 

Medals,  struck  at  Paris,  in  gold  and  silver,  to  commemorate  the 
event,  are  still  in  our  cabinets.  But  remorse  gnawed  the  heart  of 
Charles  IX.  Nocturnal  spectres  seemed  to  chase  away  his  slumbers, 
dreams  awakened  him,  and  day  and  night  his  mind  was  haunted  with 
apprehensions  of  rebellion.  The  news  of  the  matins  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew were  welcomed  at  Rome  with  extravagant  demonstrations  of  joy. 
The  Cardinal  of  Lorraine  rewarded  the  messenger  with  one  thousand 
crowns.  Pope,  Cardinals,  Bishops,  and  the  whole  mass  of  Roman 
Clergy,  walked  in  a  triumphal  procession.  Mass  was  performed  by 
Lorraine,  who  also  preached  a  sermon  of  congratulation  to  the  Church. 


DEATH    OF    CHARLES    IX.  4/1 

Paintings  of  the  most  interesting  passages  in  the  massacre  were  placed 
in  the  Vatican,  the  death  of  the  Admiral  being  the  subject  of  one 
of  them  ;  and  for  perpetual  memory  of  the  thing,  a  medal  was  struck, 
and  is  yet  extant,  with  "  Gregorius  XIII.  Pont.  Max.  An.  I."  on  the 
obverse,  and  on  the  reverse,  "Ugonottomm  strages" — ("  The  slaughter 
of  the  Huguenots").  Excepting  at  Madrid,  where  a  courier,  after 
travelling  for  three  days  and  nights,  announced  the  "  good  news," 
and  filled  the  heads  of  both  Church  and  State  with  transports  of  joy, 
the  intelligence  was  heard  with  disgust  and  indignation  in  all  the 
other  courts  of  Europe. 

At  this  point  we  stay.  The  massacres  of  St.  Bartholomew  quenched 
the  brightest  lights  of  Reformation  in  France,  and  deprived  the  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  and  the  lovers  of  religious  liberty  of  their  chief 
secular  dependence.  But  many  of  them  still  remained.  So  strong  a 
feeling  of  discontent  arose  in  those  sections  of  the  population  that  lay 
beyond  the  direct  influence  of  the  Romish  Clergy,  of  Government, 
and  of  civil  faction,  that  every  element  of  resistance  to  abused 
authority  combined  for  common  preservation.  Some  fugitives  from 
the  untouched  quarter  of  Paris,  and  others  from  various  parts  of 
France,  fortified  themselves  in  Rochelle,  and,  although  there  were  but 
two  thousand  armed  men,  they  stood  a  siege  of  several  months  by  the 
whole  force  of  the  French  army,  headed  by  the  chief  officers  of  the 
kingdom  ;  but  the  besieging  hosts,  without  unity  of  purpose  or  con- 
sciousness of  right,  melted  away  under  their  sallies,  or  were  dispersed 
by  their  own  dissensions.  The  smaller  town  of  Sancerre  held  out 
against  a  detachment  from  the  main  army  with  unparalleled  endurance 
amidst  the  horrors  of  a  famine  ;  but  both  Rochelle  and  Sancerre 
capitulated  honourably,  and  received  the  benefit  of  a  pacification. 
From  that  time  forth,  under  the  name  of  religion,  civil  war  was  waged 
or  interrupted  as  one  party  or  the  other  gained  a  temporary  advan- 
tage ;  but  the  same  ferocious  bigotry  displayed  itself  at  every  possible 
opportunity,  and  with  perfidy  as  flagrant  as  that  practised  on  the 
Huguenots  in  1572.  The  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  in  1685, 

O 

is  an  example  that  remains  engraven  on  the  universal  memory  of 
Christendom  ;  and  if  our  space  permitted  the  continuation  of  this 
history  into  the  times  usually  distinguished  as  those  of  the  anti- 
Reformation,  it  would  be  necessary  to  examine  with  close  attention 
the  "  Catholic  League  "  of  France,  in  conjunction  with  the  Pope  and 
Spain  in  1576,  the  part  taken  by  the  Jesuits  in  this  great  counter- 
movement  throughout  Europe,  and  new  displays  of  Christianity  strug- 
gling again  with  racks  and  fires,  as  in  the  ages  already  traversed  in  our 
Martyrology.  The  field  is  too  vast  to  be  presented  by  an  incidental 
notice  ;  and  the  development  of  principles,  good  and  evil,  without 
which  history  is  useless,  could  not  be  attained  in  a  hurried  compen- 
dium. This  chapter,  therefore,  shall  close  with  a  notice  of  the  last 
hoars  of  Charles  IX. 

The  Duke  of  Anjou,  one  of  the  chief  conspirators  with  Catherine  to 
destroy  the  Huguenots,  had  been  elected  King  of  Poland,  and,  when 
he  went  to  take  possession  of  the  throne,  was  accompanied  by  Charles 
towards  the  frontier,  as  well  as  by  their  mother,  who  could  not 


472  CHAPTER    VI. 

conceal  her  discomfort  at  losing  this  confidential  son,  and  her  hope 
that  he  would  soon  return.  Charles  desired  the  contrary  ;  and,  after 
having  accompanied  him  some  part  of  the  way,  left  him  and  his 
mother  to  proceed,  and  returned  to  St.  Germain,  exceedingly 
depressed.  From  that  time  he  languished,  and  the  decline  was 
accelerated,  if  not  by  any  other  cause,  at  least  by  the  discovery  of  a 
plot  for  seizing  on  the  government  by  the  King  of  Navarre,  the  Duke 
of  Alencon,  (now  bearing  the  title  of  Anjou,)  and  the  Prince  of 
Conde.  Hearing  of  nothing  but  intercepted  correspondence,  arrests, 
tortures,  executions,  and  insurrectionary  troops,  he  was  carried  in 
precipitate  haste  to  Paris, — whither  the  court  fled  with  every  sign 
of  cowardice, — and  laid  on  the  bed  from  which  he  never  rose. 
France  hastened  to  cast  off  the  dying  King,  and  he  found  himself 
insecurely  protected  against  the  vengeance  which  he  too  well  knew 
himself  to  merit.  Catherine  beset  him  with  importunity  until  he  had 
appointed  her  Regent  of  the  kingdom  after  his  decease ;  and,  this 
done,  he  sank  into  a  state  of  bodily  suffering  and  mental  anguish  too 
distressing  to  allow  another  thought  of  state  affairs.  His  mother, 
utterly  indifferent  to  his  condition,  except  as  it  might  be  a  source 
of  satisfaction  to  herself,  came  to  tell  him  of  enemies  captured  or  put 
to  death  ;  but  he  turned  away  from  her  like  one  surfeited  with 
cruelty.  His  limbs  were  distorted  with  spasms.  Blood  oozed  out, 
not  only  from  his  ears  and  nostrils,  but  from  the  pores  of  his  skin. 
Thus  he  lay  bathed  in  gore,  suffering  the  agony  and  humiliation  of  a 
lingering  death.  By  his  bed-side  there  waited  a  faithful  old  nurse, — 
but  she  was  a  Huguenot,  spared,  no  doubt,  because  useful  to  the  royal 
family, — and  into  her  bosom  he  poured  a  confession  that  no  Priest 
would  have  accepted  :  "  Ah,  my  dear  nurse,  (ma  mie,)  I  have  fol- 
lowed bad  advice.  My  God,  forgive  me !  God,  have  pity  on  me  ! 
Where  am  I  ?  I  know  not  where  I  am.  What  will  become  of  all 
this  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  1  feel  it  now,  I  am  lost ! "  On  the  day 
of  his  death  he  called  for  the  King  of  Navarre, — the  man  whom  he 
had  compelled,  during  the  massacre,  to  deny  his  faith,  who  had  since 
been  forced  to  mass,  charged  with  treason,  and  was  at  that  moment  a 
state-prisoner  in  the  Louvre.  Navarre,  like  one  going  to  receive 
sentence  of  death,  followed  the  guards,  trembling,  through  the  vaults 
of  the  palace,  and  came  to  the  bed-side.  The  Queen-Mother  was 
there  to  watch  the  interview,  after  having  endeavoured  to  prevent  it. 
"  He  is  my  brother,"  exclaimed  Charles,  stretching  out  his  arms 
towards  him.  "  My  brother,  I  know  that  you  have  no  hand  in  the 
trouble  that  has  come  upon  me.  If  I  had  believed  what  they  told 
me,  you  would  not  have  been  alive  to-day.  But  I  have  always  loved 
you.  I  commit  my  wife  and  child  to  you  alone.  I  give  them  to  you. 

Do   not   trust  .     God  keep   you!"      So  did   he  pay  the   tardy 

tribute  of  conscience  to  a  former  leader  of  the  Reformation,  unsaying 
every  charge  of  treason  he  had  ever  uttered.  He  was  then  in"  the 
agony  of  death ;  and  Navarre  (afterwards  Henry  IV.)  saw  him  breathe 
his  last  (March  30th,  Io74),  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  age, 
suddenly  cut  off  in  the  flower  of  life.  An  athletic  frame  and  remark- 
ably robust  constitution,  with  a  mind  of  rude  strength,  even  to 


ITALY.  473 

temerity,  gave  way  as  if  withered  by  some  sudden  stroke.  Catherine 
had  endeavoured  to  forestall  suspicion  by  putting  on  the  rack  a  man 
accused  of  witchcraft.  But  common  rumour  attributed  the  guilt  to 
two  of  her  Italian  accomplices  in  other  crimes,  Gondi  and  Biragua. 
The  spasms,  prostration  of  strength,  and  exudation  of  blood,  were 
supposed  to  indicate  the  action  of  a  mineral  poison  ;  and  an  examina- 
tion of  the  body,  far  from  removing  that  suspicion,  gave  it  confirma- 
tion. Whoever  may  have  been  guilty,  the  wretched  end  of  Charles 
IX.,  who  had  surrendered  himself  to  the  most  criminal  advisers,  is 
but  in  correspondence  with  all  the  events  of  a  reign  more  deeply 
stained  with  guilt  than  that  of  any  other  Sovereign  whose  name 
stands  in  the  list  of  persecutors.* 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ITALY,  with  the  Alps,  the  Sub-Alpine  States,  and  the  Islands  of  Sicily  and  Malta, 
from  the  Date  of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg,  in  1530,  to  the  Massacre  of  the 
Hruldenses  of  Piedmont  in  1655,  and  a  few  subsequent  Events. 

ITALY  shall  be  the  subject  of  this  chapter.  From  Nice,  on  the 
shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  you  follow  the  range  of  the  Alps  north- 
ward, including  Savoy,  a  province  almost  French ;  and,  leaving  the 
S\viss  cantons,  except  where  the  Italian  language  marks  them  as 
belonging  to  your  history,  you  pass  eastward  through  the  wild  moun- 
tain region  north  of  Lombardy  ;  and  descending  by  the  same  natural 
boundary  towards  the  south-east,  having  European  Turkey  eastward, 
and  the  Adriatic  on  the  west,  you  take  the  sea-port  of  Trieste  and  the 
Istrian  peninsula  as  the  outposts  of  Italy  on  that  side.  The  field 
of  observation  thus  included,  consists  of  the  entire  Alpine  region, — 
marked  in  the  annals  of  Christendom  as  the  refuge  of  evangelical 
doctrine,  in  various  degrees  of  purity,  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles, 
— Savoy,  Piedmont,  the  Milanese,  Lombardy,  and  Venice.  Then  come 
the  lesser  republics  and  free  cities,  the  commercial  state  of  Florence, 
or  Tuscany,  and  Ferrara.  After  these  the  Papal  States,  having  Rome 
as  their  metropolis,  and  claiming  an  imperial  supremacy  over  Chris- 
tendom. Naples  occupies  the  southern  portion  of  the  peninsula ;  and 
the  islands  of  Corsica,  Sardinia,  Sicily,  and  even  Malta,  can  only 
pertain  to  Italy ;  and  the  whole  of  these  territories,  notwithstanding 
political  diversities,  must  now  be  comprehended  under  a  single  desig- 
nfition.  And  again  we  take  the  date  of  the  confession  of  Augsburg 
for  the  commencement  of  our  inquiry,  and  examine  the  state  of  this 
important  section  of  Europe  in  respect  to  the  Reformation,  in  the  year 
15.30. 

Chiefly  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont  there  are  not  less  than  eight 

*  Theodore  Beza,  Hiatoire  des  Eglises  Reformees  du  Royaume  de  France  ;  and  De  Thou, 
Historiarnm  sui  Teuiporis  Libri ;  are  the  perpetual  authorities  employed  in  the  preparation 
of  this  chapter.     But  their  statements  have  heen  collated  with  those  of  other  historians 
of  France,  Spain,  Italy,  and  the  Council  of  Trent. 
VOL.    III.  3    P 


474  CHAPTER    VII. 

hundred  thousand  Waldenses,*  whose  brethren  are  dispersed  over 
Italy,  and  have  important  settlements  in  Calabria.  The  peasantry 
of  the  Rhsetian  Alps,  or  Orisons,  have  recently  received  some  know- 
ledge of  the  Gospel,  and  seceded  from  the  Romish  worship  in  many 
of  their  villages.  For  some  years  past  there  have  been  witnesses  to 
the  truth  in  Milan.  Venice,  a  great  commercial  city,  and  head  of  a 
republic,  serves  as  a  market  for  Lutheran  books,  which  are  translated, 
printed,  and  sold  there  without  any  hinderance,  and  circulated  thence 
all  over  Italy ;  and  Luther  was  rejoicing,  two  years  ago,  that  the 
Venetians  had  received  the  word  of  God.  They  are  now  in  active 
correspondence  with  Germany ;  and  while  Melancthon  has  been 
labouring  at  Augsburg  to  conciliate  Romish  theologians,  Venetian 
brethren  have  been  exhorting  him  to  firmness  and  intrepidity.  Two 
of  them,  Carnesecchi  and  Lupetino,  are  eminent  for  learning  and  piety, 
and  will  soon  be  crowned  with  martyrdom.  They  have  not  yet 
organized  churches,  but  are  now  purposing  to  do  so ;  and  the  Senate 
is  not  indisposed  to  authorize  such  a  proceeding.  The  Duchess 
of  Ferrara,  Renee,  daughter  of  Louis  XII.  of  France,  is  a  Christian 
lady,  and  retains  learned  and  devoted  Protestants  in  her  husband's 
court,  who  spare  no  effort  to  communicate  scriptural  knowledge  by  the 
channels  of  education  and  literature.  It  will  be  found  that  most 
of  the  eminent  Italian  Reformers  have  resided  in  the  court  of  Ercole 
II.  At  Florence,  the  teaching  of  Savonarola  is  not  forgotten.  Some 
of  his  disciples  are  yet  alive.  Bruccioli  and  others  have  been  busy 
in  translating  the  holy  Scriptures,  which  are  now  published  in  the 
vernacular  of  Italy,  and  will  be  stamped  with  absolute  prohibition ; 
and  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  is  already  denounced  from 
the  pulpits  of  the  city  as  a  prevalent  heresy.  A  native  of  Florence, 
Peter  Martyr,  is  now  in  the  city  of  Naples  reading  evangelical  lectures 
to  ecclesiastics  and  nobles,  assisted  by  Mollio,  and  by  Ochino,  at  this 
time  a  man  of  undoubted  orthodoxy,  who  preaches  Christ  from  the 
pulpit.  A  Reformed  church  will  soon  arise,  the  fruit  of  these  labours. 
The  sack  of  Rome  by  the  Germans  is  a  recent  event,  accounted  to 
have  been  a  visible  judgment  of  God  on  the  Pope  and  his  court.  And 
this  is  repeated  in  the  sermons  which  the  Evangelicals,  (Evangelici,)  as 
they  properly  call  themselves,  deliver  in  private  houses  throughout  the 
Papal  States,  and  especially  in  Faenza,  notwithstanding  the  sovereign 
jurisdiction  of  the  Pope  over  that  city,  and  the  residence  of  a  Bishop 
there.  Believers  in  the  Gospel  multiply  from  day  to  day.  The  tidings 
of  salvation  have  crossed  the  strait  of  Messina;  and  although 
obscurely  recorded  by  Protestant  writers,  the  murmurings  of  others 
disclose  the  fact  that  there  are  "many  heretics"  in  Sicily. 

In  this  year  (1530),  the  Vicar-General  of  the  preaching  Friars  repre- 
sented to  Clement  VII.  that  "  the  Lutheran  heresy  was  gaining  strength 
in  many  parts  of  Italy:"  and  that  Pontiff  issued  the  Bull  Cum  sicut 
ex  relatione,  reciting  the  statements  of  the  Vicar ;  commanding  the 
Inquisitors  to  proceed  instantly  against  suspected  persons,  but  espe- 
cially against  Monks  who  had  imbibed  the  new  doctrine ;  and  giving 

*  In  Martyrologia,  vol.  ii.,  p.  494,  the  Waldenses  arc  described. 


WALDENSES.  475 

them  authority  to  absolve  such  as  would  recant.*  By  an  offer  of  in- 
dulgences, he  stimulated  the  zeal  of  all  who  would  take  up  the  badge 
of  a  cross,  and  become  servants  of  the  Holy  Inquisition ;  and  com- 
manded the  Bishops  to  assist  the  Inquisitors  in  their  work.f  Simul- 
taneous, then,  with  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  was  the  revival  of  the 
Roman  Inquisition,  first  intended  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  Italy, 
but  afterwards  set  at  the  head  of  the  inquisitorial  system  throughout 
the  world.  And  at  the  same  time  that  this  tribunal  received  new 
strength,  the  islands  of  Malta  and  Gozo,  by  a  remarkable  coincidence, 
were  given  to  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  "  that  they  might 
employ  whatever  belonged  to  their  religion  for  the  benefit  of  the 
•Christian  commonwealth,  and  exercise  their  forces  and  their  arms 
against  the  perfidious  enemies  of  the  Christian  religion."  J  Thus  did 
the  diploma  of  Charles  V.  constitute  the  employment  of  their  arms 
against  Lutherans  or  Calvinists,  as  well  as  Turks,  a  condition  for  their 
tenure  of  those  islands  ;  and  although  the  Knights  of  St.  John  were 
not  specially  commissioned  to  make  war  on  heretics,  such  was  the 
general  idea  which  pervaded  military  orders,  and  which  found  expres- 
sion shortly  afterwards  in  the  institution  of  the  order  of  St.  Lazarus 
for  the  suppression  of  heresy  in  Savoy.  Here,  then,  we  perceive,  on 
one  hand,  an  advance  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy ;  and,  on  the 
other,  a  preparation  of  temporal  force  for  its  resistance.  To  what 
extent  this  force  was  employed  we  soon  shall  see. 

Even  in  the  depths  of  the  Alpine  valleys  the  remnant  of  Waldenses 
could  scarcely  find  a  hiding-place.  Watched  by  Inquisitors,  they  had 
discontinued  public  worship,  and  only  ventured  to  unite  in  prayer  in 
their  cottages  by  small  companies,  and  under  a  perpetual  consciousness 
of  danger,  until  their  enemies  almost  fancied  that  the  dragonnades 
of  the  preceding  century  under  Albertus  de  Capitaneis,  and  the 
lesser  persecutions  that  followed,  had  eradicated  the  last  shoot  of  the 
heresy  of  Valdo  from  the  valleys  of  Savoy  and  Piedmont.  The  Barbes, 
however,  and  the  few  aged  fathers  yet  surviving,  longed  for  a  revival 
of  religion,  prayed  for  it,  and  sent  messengers  into  Germany  and 
Switzerland  to  confer  with  the  Reformers,  and  evangelists  to  awaken 
the  slumbering  courage  of  their  scattered  brethren  in  Provence,  on 
the  one  side,  and  in  Italy,  and  especially  Calabria,  on  the  other. 
The  voice  of  God's  children  could  no  longer  be  smothered  in  silence. 
Hymns  of  praise  again  resounded  in  those  valleys  ;  and  the  echo,  heard 
in  Turin,  alarmed  the  Archbishop  and  the  Inquisitor,  who  ran  to  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  and  Prince  of  Piedmont,  and  implored  him  to  deliver 

*  The  Bull  may  be  cited  as  an  authority  in  this  case.  It  witnesses  to  the  state 
of  Italy  thus  : — "  Since  it  has  been  made  known  to  us,  to  the  great  grief  of  our  heart, 
that  in  various  parts  of  Italy  that  pestiferous  heresy  of  Luther  is  rite,  not  only  among 
secular  persons,  but  even  among  Ecclesiastics  and  regulars,  both  mendicant  and  not 
mendicant,  that  sometimes  some  by  their  discourses  and  words,  and,  what  is  still  worse, 
by  public  preachings,  infect  great  numbers  with  this  pest,  and  grievously  scandalize  the 
faithful  of  Christ  who  live  under  the  obedience  of  the  holy  Roman  Church,  and  observe 
the  precepts  of  the  same,  to  the  augmentation  of  heresy,  the  offence  of  the  weak,  and 
to  the  no  small  detriment  of  the  Catholic  faith,"  &c. — Gerdesii  Specimen  Italiie  Reforin- 
ataR,  p.  9. 

t  Limboreh,  Hist.  Inquisit.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  £9, 

i  Malta  Illustrata,  lib.  ii.,  not.  14. 

,3    i-   2 


476  CHAPTER  VM. 

over  all  his  subjects  of  that  religion  to  the  secular  arm ;  not  to  exe- 
cute the  sentence  of  any  tribunal,  but  by  a  mere  act  of  power  to 
extirpate  the  troublers  from  their  haunts  (A.D.  153-1).  Duke  Charles, 
forgetting  the  declaration  of  his  predecessor,  Philip  VII.,  that  he  had 
no  subjects  so  good,  so  faithful,  and  so  obedient  as  those  Vaudois, 
commanded  Pantaleone  Bressour,  Lord  of  Roccapiatta,  to  fulfil  the 
pleasure  of  the  Church  in  their  destruction.  Honoured  with  this 
commission,  as  he  thought  himself,  Pantaleone  secretly  collected  five 
hundred  men,  of  the  sort  best  fit  for  that  kind  of  service,  suddenly 
marched  into  the  condemned  district,  and  for  one  day  they  murdered 
every  person  whom  they  could  find.  The  greater  part  of  the  popula- 
tion, however,  having  fled  into  their  familiar  hiding-places,  rallied 
their  forces  during  the  night ;  and  next  day,  when  the  brave  soldiers 
were  marching  through  the  valley  of  Lucerne  to  continue  the  massa- 
cre, they  found  themselves  surrounded  by  the  inhabitants,  who  charged 
them  so  vigorously  on  the  rear  and  flank,  that  they  were  obliged  to 
run.  But  many  were  left  dead  on  the  ground ;  and  the  surviversr 
half  dead  with  terror,  hardly  reached  the  open  country,  the  booty 
remaining  behind  them.  Their  mode  of  attack  was  therefore  changed. 
Small  parties  of  men,  accustomed  to  skirmish,  infested  the  valleys, 
and  frequently  surprised  stragglers :  for  His  Highness  had  found 
that  "  every  skin  of  a  Vaudois  cost  him  fifteen  or  twenty  good 
Catholics;"  and,  avoiding  the  peril  of  open  invasion,  employed  his 
servants  to  infest  the  country  after  the  manner  of  brigands,  and  thus 
for  a  long  time  they  horribly  tortured  and  put  to  death  as  many  as 
they  could  take,  or,  when  circumstances  favoured,  extorted  ransoms  to 
eke  out  their  pay.  But  the  endurance  of  the  persecuted  was  invinci- 
ble ;  and  it  is  related  of  Catalan  Girard,  a  native  of  the  valley 
of  Lucerne,  that  when  bound  to  a  stake  in  the  town  of  Reuel  in  Pied- 
mont, he  asked  for  two  large  pebbles,  and,  holding  them  out  to  the 
bystanders,  told  them  that  as  easily  could  he  eat  and  digest  those 
stones,  as  could  they  extirpate  the  churches  of  Christ  by  the  death 
of  their  members. 

Meanwhile  Piedmont  was  the  seat  of  war  between  the  Sovereigns 
of  Germany  and  France,  until  Savoy,  and  a  part  of  Piedmont,  includ- 
ing Turin,  fell  into  the  power  of  Francis  I.,  and  a  Parliament  was 
established  at  Turin,  similar  to  courts  bearing  that  name  in  France. 
With  Francis,  the  Pope  Paul  III.  entered  into  intimate  alliance ;  and 
both  united  to  impel  the  Parliament  to  a  persecution  of  the  Vaudois, 
which  was  effected  by  vexatious  penalties  inflicted  on  them  for  no 
other  cause  than  that  of  their  religion ;  and  when  they  appealed  to 
their  new  King  for  protection,  the  only  answer  he  vouchsafed  to  their 
humble  petition  was,  a  command  to  live  according  to  the  Roman  laws, 
with  a  threat  that,  if  they  failed  to  obey,  he  would  punish  them  as 
obstinate  heretics ;  adding,  by  way  of  reason,  that  he  would  not  burn 
them  in  France  to  let  them  live  on  the  Alps.  The  Parliament,  in 
pursuance  of  this  command,  required  them  to  send  away  their  Barbes, 
receive  Priests  in  their  stead,  and  assist  at  mass  ;  but  the  poor  Wal- 
denses  refused  to  abandon  their  Ministers,  and  answered,  that  they  could 
not  possibly  obc>y  orders  so  contrary  to  the  word  of  God  ;  and  although 


CHARLKS    V.    AT    NAPLES    AND    ROME.  4/7 

they  were  willing  to  render  to  Caesar  the  things  that  were  Caesar's,  they 
could  not  fail  to  render  to  God  also  the  things  that  were  God's.  After 
the  example  of  the  holy  Apostles,  they  resolved  to  obey  God  rather 
than  man,  and  rather  to  abide  by  His  word  than  by  the  traditions 
of  the  Popes.  Terrible  vengeance  would  certainly  have  fallen  on  them 
if  Francis  had  not  been  heavily  pressed  in  warfare  with  enemies  that 
were  more  than  able  to  resist  him,  and  necessity  compelled  him.  to 
leave  the  Parliament  and  the  Inquisitors  to  expend  their  zeal,  unas- 
sisted by  the  sword,  in  Piedmont,  as  they  were  doing  elsewhere  ;  and 
especially  in  the  Milanese,  where  a  Bull  of  Paul  III.  called  on  the 
Bishop  to  disperse  conventicles  that  were  crowded  with  certain  nobles 
"  of  both  sexes,"  to  awaken  the  multitude  to  zeal  by  means  of  ser- 
mons against  the  revived  heresies  of  the  Beguins  and  paupers  of  Lyons, 
and  to  inquire  diligently  after  innovators  and  punish  them  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  law  (June  26th,  1536). 

Wliile  Francis  gained  ground  in  Piedmont,  and  contested  it  in  Lom- 
bardy,  his  antagonist  held  undisputed  sway  in  Southern  Italy,  Naples 
being  a  Spanish  possession.  But  one  of  Charles's  most  trustworthy 
servants,  Juan  Yaldes,  a  Spaniard,  who  had  attended  him  in  Germany, 
and  there  associated  with  the  Reformers,  and  was  now  discharging 
the  duties  of  royal  Secretary  at  Naples,  displayed  fervent  zeal  in  the 
propagation  of  the  truth,  being  constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ  to 
exhort  all  around  him  to  repentance.  Four  learned  Italians  aided 
him  in  the  same  work.  These  were  Bernardino  Ochino,  a  Capuchin  ; 
Giovanni  Montalcino,  a  Minorite  of  St.  Francis  ;  Lorenzo  Romano, 
of  Sicily,  a  Monk  of  St.  Augustine  ;  and  Pietro  Martire  Vermigli, — 
the  celebrated  Peter  Martyr, — a  Canon.  They  all  preached  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Reformation  to  crowded  audiences,  wherein  many  thou- 
sands of  the  common  people,  and  not  a  few  persons  of  high  rank, 
openly  professed  the  same  faith  as  that  of  Luther  and  Melancthon, 
whose  writings,  translated  into  Italian,  were  read  with  avidity  in 
every  circle  of  society.  While  Naples  rang  with  the  applause  of  these 
preachers,  and  the  priesthood  knew  not  how  to  resist  the  torrent 
of  evangelical  influence,  Charles  V.  visited  the  city,  and  resolved  to 
suppress  the  innovation  which  had  caused  him,  as  he  believed,  so 
much  trouble  in  Germany.  For  this  purpose  he  published  an  edict, 
prohibiting,  under  pain  of  death  and  confiscation  of  goods,  all  inter- 
course or  correspondence  with  persons  suspected  of  the  Lutheran 
heresy  (February  4th,  1536)  ;  and,  on  his  departure,  commanded  his 
Viceroy,  Pedro  de  Toledo,  to  exert  his  utmost  diligence  to  preserve 
Naples  from  the  contamination  which  had  laid  hold  on  the  other 
Italian  states.  Don  Pedro  resolved  to  spare  no  pains  to  assimilate 
the  condition  of  Naples  to  that  of  Spain  ;  the  Waldenses,  too,  abounded 
in  Calabria,  a  Neapolitan  province,  and  a  persecution  not  less  san- 
guinary than  that  of  their  brethren  in  the  north  might  have  followed, 
had  not  they  striven  to  avert  it  by  using  extreme  caution,  or  had  it 
not  pleased  God  to  shelter  them  for  the  time.  From  Naples  the 
Emperor  proceeded  to  Rome.  Supported  by  two  Cardinals,  he  entered 
the  city  (April  5th).  A  train  of  Cardinals,  Bishops,  and  civil  func- 
tionaries followed.  Laymen  lined  the  streets,  and  through  their  ranks 


478  CHAPTER    VII. 

he  rode  to  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  knelt  at  the  high  altar,  adored  the 
Pope,  and  accepted  lodgings  in  the  Vatican.  During  a  sojourn  of  ten 
days  the  heads  of  the  empire  and  of  the  popedom  held  familiar  con- 
ferences,— visiting  each  other's  apartments  without  ceremony  and 
without  attendants, — pondered  the  state  of  Europe,  agreed  that  by  all 
means  the  Reformation  should  be  suppressed,  but  differed  as  to  the 
means  to  be  employed  ;  Paul  craving  a  crusade,  which  Charles  durst 
not  venture  to  attempt. 

At  the  court  of  Ferrara,  one  Oritz,  a  French  Inquisitor,  Ambassador 
of  Henry  II.,  by  this  time  seated  on  the  throne  of  France,  bore 
instructions  from  his  master  to  engage  the  Duke  to  compel  Renee 
by  force,  if  persuasion  failed,  to  return  to  Popery,  or,  if  she  would 
not  yield,  to  separate  her  from  the  society  of  the  Reformed, 
whom  she  protected,  and  even  from  her  own  children,  and  to  place 
her  under  personal  restraint,  but  without  the  scandal  of  a  formal 
imprisonment.  The  Duchess  accepted  those  hard  conditions,  and,  shut 
up  from  all  Christian  society,  and  torn  away  from  all  her  children, 
except  one,  that  one  being  of  age,*  surrendered  everything  but  the  peace 
that  Christ  had  given  her,  and  stood  steadfast  in  his  cause.  Calvin, 
Marot,  and  other  Frenchmen,  with  Peter  Martyr,  who  had  taken 
refuge  there  on  the  approach  of  danger  at  Naples,  and  other  Italians, 
were  driven  from  the  duchy.  Calvin  became  a  refugee  from  Ferrara 
in  Geneva,  and  Ochino  found  an  asylum  from  the  persecution  at 
Naples  in  Venice,  f 

No  great  revival  of  religion,  at  that  time,  gave  character  to  the 
Italian  Reformation.  During  many  years  the  believers  in  evangelical 
doctrine  associated  with  each  other  secretly,  or,  by  a  management  like 
that  which  marred  the  same  cause  in  Spain,  carried  caution  so  far  that 
it  degenerated  into  dissimulation  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  phi- 
losophism  of  Italy  had  served  as  a  cloak  for  error,  a  vehicle  of  specu- 
lative doctrine  so  exhibited  as  to  be  tolerable,  even  when  true,  and  an 
apology  for  faithfulness  to  truth  in  doctrine,  as  long  as  the  enmity 
of  the  human  heart  was  not  awakened  by  any  very  loud  appeal  to 
conscience.  Neither  was  there  any  general  persecution ;  and  during 
this  interval  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Italy  affords  but  one  notable 
event  (A.D.  1540),  the  sanction,  at  Rome,  of  the  new  order  of  Ignacio 
Loyola,  which  has  since  risen  into  unexampled  notoriety.  But  as  yet 
it  does  not  require  further  notice  on  these  pages. 

But  while  the  infant  and  imperfect  churches  had  rest,  the  profes- 
sion of  evangelical  religion  grew  more  vigorous,  especially  in  the  city 
and  republic  of  Venice,  and,  by  uniform  consequence,  persecution  was 
aroused.  At  Rome,  the  Pope  once  more  saw  the  Emperor  embark  on 

*  She  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  marry  the  Duke  of  Guise,  and  was  present  at  the 
massacre  of  Vassy,  which  she  attempted  to  prevent,  hut  in  vain. 

t  Ochino  became  a  Socinian ;  and  it  is  to  be  lamented  that  by  means  of  the  Socini 
and  other  Itah'ans,  Socinianism  spread  iuto  other  countries  and  especially  into  Poland  ; 
and  some  Popish  writers  have  thence  endeavoured  to  make  it  appear  that  Sociuianidm  is 
a  mere  consequence  of  the  Protestant  Reformation.  But  whoever  repeats  this  charge 
must  be  reminded  that  the  Socinian  heresy  is  but  the  re-production  of  an  elder  infidelity, 
even  that  which  was  condemned  as  Arianism  by  the  Council  of  Mice,  and  that  its 
revival  came  from  Italy,  the  high  seat  of  Romanism,  of  infidelity,  and  of  licentiousness. 
For  these  three  have  nowhere  been  more  thoroughly  combined  than  at  Rome  and  Naples. 


ACADEMY    OF    MODENA.  479 

an  expedition  against  the  Turks  (A.D.  1,512),  without  consenting  to 
turn  his  arms  against  the  Protestants  of  the  empire,  and  therefore 
determined  to  improve  the  Inquisition  on  which,  after  all,  the  Church 
would  have  to  depend  for  the  subjugation  of  her  enemies ;  and,  to 
that  end,  framed  a  new  constitution  for  the  Holy  Office  in  Rome.  Six 
Cardinal-Inquisitors  were  appointed  to  take  cognizance  of  heretical 
pravity  in  all  places  of  the  Christian  republic,  whether  within  the 
mountains  or  beyond.  They  were  invested  with  authority  against 
heretics  of  all  sorts,  together  with  persons  suspected  of  heresy,  and 
their  accomplices  and  abettors,  of  what  state,  degree,  order,  condition, 
and  pre-eminence  soever.  To  these  six  Eminences  were  added  a  Pro- 
curator-Fiscal, Notaries,  and  other  officers,  the  whole  body  being  em- 
powered to  degrade  Clergymen,  coerce  the  refractory,  invoke  the  aid 
of  the  secular  arm,  appoint  provincial  Inquisitors  everywhere,  receive 
appeals,  and  exercise  plenary  jurisdiction.  And,  finally,  he  defined 
the  penalties  to  be  inflicted  on  the  disobedient,  and  denounced  on  all 
such  the  indignation  of  Almighty  God,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Paul.  The 
principles  of  the  Inquisition  had  been  already  settled,  but  its  plan  had 
never  been  so  clearly  drawn.  Here,  in  fact,  began  the  Congregation 
of  the  Holy  Office,  that  still  exercises  its  functions  in  Eome.  This  for- 
midable measure  alarmed  the  Evangelicals,  who  began  to  emigrate  into 
Protestant  countries ;  and  as  the  Grisons  were  an  independent  repub- 
lic in  open  separation  from  the  Church  of  Rome,  many  of  them 
emigrated  thither.  Here  and  there,  however,  even  on  the  peninsula, 
under  the  remains  of  municipal  independence,  a  congregation  assem- 
bled openly,  as  at  Pisa,  where  the  mass  was  superseded  by  the 
eucharist  (A.D.  1543). 

A  more  scriptural  theology  had  found  place  in  the  Academy  of 
Modena,  where  the  Rotnish  dogma  was  not,  indeed,  openly  contro- 
verted, but,  under  the  conviction  that  it  would  be  submitted  to 
revision  in  an  Ecumenical  Council,  passed  by  in  silence.  Following 
such  a  course,  the  academicians  could  not  but  arrive  at  the  same 
point  with  the  theologians  of  Wittemberg ;  and  Modena,  therefore, 
incurred  the  wrath  of  the  newly-constituted  Roman  Inquisition.  One 
of  the  six  Cardinal-Inquisitors  went  thither  to  investigate  the  state 
of  the  Academy,  and,  not  venturing  to  begin  with  extreme  measures, 
endeavoured  to  obtain  subscription  to  an  accommodated  Romish 
confession  of  faith.  Most  reluctantly,  and  in  deference  to  Cardinal 
Morone,  himself  suspected  of  Lutheranism,  and  afterwards  imprisoned, 
they  signed  the  formulary  ;  but  retained  their  convictions,  and  were 
completely  alienated  from  the  Clergy.  The  Clergy,  on  the  other 
hand,  dreading  the  severe  criticisms  of  the  academicians,  almost 
deserted  the  pulpits;  and  as,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent,  1543, 
no  one  could  be  persuaded  to  submit  a  sermon  to  the  ordeal  of  their 
learned  judgment,  there  was  no  preaching  on  that  day.  After  long 
silence,  the  Bishop  found  a  Friar  to  re-occupy  the  pulpit,  and  the 
whole  Academy  came  to  hear  him  ;  but  the  preacher  suppressed 
Popish  doctrine  entirely,  and  his  employer  committed  him  to  the 
Inquisition,  under  whose  coercion  he  signed  a  retractation  of  forty-six 
propositions  noted  in  the  sermon  ;  but  afterwards  received  an  address 


48tl  CHAPTER     VII. 

of  approbation  of  the  condemned  teaching  from  a  large  body  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens.  Another  Friar  was  engaged  to  preach  ; 
but  he  also  offended  the  Inquisition,  and  was,  in  his  turn,  condemned. 
Shortly  afterwards,  a  discontented  member  of  the  Academy  went  to 
Rome,  and  gave  the  Holy  Office  information  of  the  disaffected  members, 
especially  marking  one  of  them,  Filippo  Valentino.  Paul  III.  then 
sent  a  mandate  to  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  under  whose  jurisdiction 
Modena  was,  requiring  him  to  arrest  that  child  of  iniquity,  Filippo 
Valentino,  author  and  head  of  the  Lutheran  heresy  in  Modena.  He 
was  to  be  kept  in  custody  at  the  Pope's  pleasure,  his  books  and 
papers  being  seized,  and  his  accomplices  put  to  silence  (May  2Tth, 
1545).  The  informer  himself,  now  a  Commissary  Apostolical,  came 
back  from  Rome  to  see  the  mandate  executed,  attended  by  an  armed 
force,  and  would  have  dragged  him  from  his  bed ;  but,  when  the 
company  reached  his  house  at  night,  he  had  escaped,  and  they  could 
only  get  possession  of  his  books  and  papers.  Next  morning  the  dis- 
mayed inhabitants  read  a  ducal  edict  prohibiting  the  reading  of 
heretical  or  suspected  books,  and  any  private  or  public  disputation  on 
religion,  under  penalties  advancing,  to  the  third  offence,  from  the  fine 
of  one  hundred  thousand  crowns  of  gold  or  the  strappado,  to  death 
and  confiscation.  The  academicians  fled,  and  the  Academy  of  Modena 
ceased  to  be.  A  few  vestiges  of  Reformation  re-appeared  in  the  city 
after  this  dispersion  ;  but,  in  spite  of  some  endeavours  of  the  Duke  to 
save  his  subjects  from  the  Inquisition,  the  Pope  being  absolute,  they 
were  swept  away. 

A  similar  mandate  (February  7th,  1545)  produced  the  like  effect  at 
Mantua.  Cardinal  Gonzaga,  Bishop  of  that  see,  had  refrained  from 
persecuting  several  Priests,  Monks,  and  humble  laymen,  dissentients 
from  the  Roman  standard  of  belief;  but  the  Pontiff  commanded  him 
to  be  vigilant,  arrest  the  delinquents,  put  them  to  the  torture,  deliver 
definitive  sentence,  and  then  send  them  to  Rome,  just  made  ready  to 
be  burnt.  For  a  time  the  Duke  parried  the  blow  ;  but  only  for  a 
time,  and  at  his  own  peril.  The  Reformation  was  crushed  in  Mantua. 

Ferrara  still  sheltered  a  multitude  of  less  eminent  Christians.  But  the 
Duchess  was  a  prisoner  in  her  own  palace.  The  illustrious  Reformers 
who  had  resided  in  that  court  and  university  were  banished,  and  a 
Papal  brief  (A.D.  1545)  instructed  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  to 
proceed,  as  usual,  to  apprehension,  torture,  and  sentence  of  the 
Lutherans.  As  open  accusation  could  not  easily  be  obtained,  fami- 
liars were  dispersed  all  over  Italy,  disguised  under  every  variety 
of  character,  and  haunting  every  circle  of  society.  Many  of  them 
were  in  Ferrara ;  and,  under  their  slow,  stealthy,  and  incessant 
diligence,  the  Reformed  Church  melted  away  by  imprisonment, 
banishment,  or  voluntary  exile.  During  this  persecution  in  Modena, 
Mantua,  and  Ferrara,  the  Inquisition  at  Rome  found  an  easy  oppor- 
tunity for  striking  terror  into  the  hearts  of  Italian  heretics  through 
the  sacrifice  of  a  stranger,  whom  no  Duke  protected,  and  for  whose 
lescue  no  population  would  revolt.  Jayme  Encinas,  or  Dryander,*  a 

*   Encina,  in  Spanish,  is  equivalent  \vith  Spvs,  "  an  oak,"  whence  Dryander,  his  name 
being  Gneciaed,  after  the  custom  of  those  days. 


FANNIO.  481 

native  of  Burgos,  in  Spain,  and  student  of  Louvain,  had  received  the 
knowledge  of  Christianity  while  in  Paris,  and  was  confirmed  therein 
by  the  constancy  of  the  martyrs  whom  he  saw  swung  over  fires  in  the 
streets  for  the  entertainment  of  the  courtiers.  At  the  earnest  desire 
of  his  father,  who  wished  him  to  devote  himself  to  the  priesthood, 
and  to  labour  for  ecclesiastical  preferment,  he  visited  Rome,  had 
spent  some  time  there,  and,  weary  of  the  place,  was  preparing  to  join 
his  brothers,  then  in  Germany,  and  Protestants,  when  a  countryman 
of  his  own  reported  him  to  the  Inquisition  as  a  heretic.  The  parti- 
culars of  his  examination  we  do  not  know,  except  that  his  being  at 
once  a  Spaniard,  a  Lutheran,  and  a  scholar,  stimulated  the  curiosity 
of  the  Clergy,  and  drew  many  Cardinals  and  Bishops  to  his  trial, 
which  was  not  altogether  secret ;  and  that  his  confession  of  Christ  was 
so  bold  as  to  irritate  both  Judges  and  spectators.  The  latter,  espe- 
cially those  of  them  who  were  Spanish,  clamoured  for  his  instant 
condemnation.  He  was  summarily  condemned  ;  but  afterwards 
offered  life  if  he  would  put  on  a  sambenito,  after  the  Spanish  manner, 
and  profess  penitence.  But  he  refused,  and  was  hurried  away  to  the 
stake,  where  he  died  as  became  an  aspirant  after  the  eternal  crown 
(A.D.  1546). 

The  Spaniard  was  soon  followed  by  an  Italian  martyr.  Fannio,  or 
Faventino,  so  called  from  Faventia,  or  Faenza,  the  place  of  his  birth, 
was  a  member  of  the  persecuted  church  of  Christ  in  Italy.  First,  in 
Faenza,  he  fearlessly  confessed  his  Lord,  and,  being  of  noble  family 
and  independent  fortune,  spent  his  time  in  teaching  his  fellow- 
townsmen.  In  pursuance  of  the  mandates  above  described,  he  was 
thrown  into  prison,  and  there,  yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  his  wife, 
children,  and  other  relatives,  submitted  to  sign  a  recantation  (A.D. 
1  547),  and  was  dismissed.  But  such  liberty  soon  became  intolerable  ; 
and,  filled  with  horror  at  the  thought  of  having  fallen  into  denial 
of  Christ,  he  quitted  Faenza,  and,  travelling  through  Romagna, 
publicly  preached  Christ  from  village  to  village.  A  few  sermons 
sufficed  to  bring  him  into  the  grasp  of  his  former  persecutors,  and, 
being  seized  at  a  place  called  Bagnacavallo,  he  was  convicted  of  heresy, 
and  condemned  to  die.  Reluctant,  as  it  would  seem,  to  hazard  a 
tumult  by  executing  the  sentence,  the  Inquisitors  removed  him  to 
Ferrara,  where  he  remained  in  durance  for  two  years,  sometimes  in 
one  prison,  and  sometimes  in  another ;  for  so  numerous  were  his 
visiters,  and  so  successfully  did  he  exhort  his  fellow-prisoners,  that 
the  authorities  found  it  necessary  to  break  up  the  little  congregations 
that  gathered  round  him  in  each  place,  not  excepting  some  noblemen, 
state-prisoners,  in  his  last  place  of  confinement,  whose  ridicule  was 
changed  into  weeping  for  their  sins,  and  who  came  out  of  prison  new 
creatures,  and,  in  their  turn,  witnesses  to  the  grace  and  power  of  the 
Saviour,  declaring  that  they  had  not  known  happiness  until  they 
found  it  in  a  prison.  No  solicitations  could  again  move  him  to 
recant,  nor  could  Pope  Paul  III.  find  courage  to  command  his  execu- 
tion. Julius  III.,  succeeding  to  the  tiara,  had  no  such  hesitancy,  but 
ordered  that  the  Church  should  be  avenged.  The  messenger  who 
brought  notice  of  this  decision  received  his  thanks  for  the  glad  tidings 

VOL.   ITI.  3  Q 


482  CHAPTER    VII. 

of  deliverance.  To  the  jailer  and  his  fellow-prisoners  lie  spoke  at 
great  length  of  the  blessedness  of  that  life  into  which  he  was  about  to 
enter  ;  and  to  several  who  again  implored  him  to  save  his  life  by 
returning  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  if  it  were  but  for  the  sake  of  his 
family,  he  replied  that  he  had  placed  his  wife  and  children  under  the 
protection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  a  faithful  keeper,  who  would 
preserve  all  confided  to  his  care.  The  messenger  departed  in  tears. 
Next  day  he  was  taken  to  the  common  prison,  and  delivered  over  to 
the  secular  Magistrate.  .  Magistrates  and  their  wives,  with  persons 
of  all  ranks,  crowded  around  him  in  the  cell,  some  begging  him  to 
recant  and  accept  life  from  "the  Holy  Father,"  and  others  weeping. 
All  were  amazed  at  the  fluency  with  which  he,  a  layman,  quoted 
Scripture ;  and  one  asked  how  he  could  go  to  death  so  jocund  and 
gladsome,  when  Jesus  Christ  himself,  in  the  garden,  sweat  as  it  were 
great  drops  of  blood.  "  Christ,"  said  he,  "  sustained  in  his  body  all 
the  sorrows  and  conflicts  with  hell  and  death  that  were  due  nnto  us, 
by  whose  suffering  we  are  delivered  from  sorrow  and  fear  of  them  all." 
Thus  passed  his  last  night  of  earthly  conflict.  Three  hours  before 
day,  that  the  people  of  Ferrara  might  not  see  the  murder,  nor  hear 
him  speak,  he  was  taken  to  the  place  of  execution,  and,  after  fervent 
prayer,  by  an  extension  of  mercy  more  common  in  Italy  than  in 
other  countries,  was  first  strangled,  and,  after  some  hours,  burnt. 
The  Priests  and  Magistrates  were  all  ashamed  to  undertake  the 
removal  of  his  ashes,  and,  at  last,  some  of  the  people  consented  to 
perform  the  odious  office  (October  31st,  1550).  During  his  long 
imprisonment  he  wrote  several  pious  treatises  and  epistles,  which  were 
not  only  read  in  Italy,  but  translated  into  German,  and  printed.* 

The  church  at  Vicenza  cannot  be  regarded  with  unmingled  satis- 
faction, inasmuch  as  it  was  tainted  with  Socinianism  ;  but  it  would 
be  too  much  to  affirm,  with  some,  that  it  was  a  Socinian  congrega- 
tion. As  it  lay  within  the  Venetian  territory,  the  Pope  addressed  a 
brief  to  the  Senate  of  that  republic,  complaining  that  the  Podesta  and 
Captain  had  allowed  Lutheranism  to  be  openly  professed  there,  and 
requiring  that  they  should  be  made  to  assist  the  Vicars  ol  the  diocese 
in  seizing  and  punishing  the  heretics.  The  Senate  complied,  and  the 
church  of  Vicenza  was  dispersed  (A.D.  15-16). 

The  dioceses  of  Capo  d'Istria  and  Pola,  under  the  influence  of 
their  respective  Bishops,  Pierpaolo  Vergerio,  once  Papal  Nuncio  in 
Germany,  and  Gianbattista,  his  brother,  were  rapidly  emerging  from 
the  ancient  superstition,  when  an  Inquisitor,  Annibale  Grisone,  came 
from  Rome,  read  a  Bull  from  the  pnlpits,  commanding  the  people  to 
deliver  up  heretical  books,  and  aid  in  the  apprehension  of  heretics. 
At  first  they  received  him  coolly;  but  his  perseverance  and  zeal 
revived  the  expiring  spirit  of  obedience  to  the  Church,  the  work  of 
inquisition  began  in  earnest,  consternation  seized  the  inhabitants, 
every  tie  of  kindred  and  of  gratitude  was  broken,  the  son  betrayed  his 
father,  the  wife  her  husband,  the  client  his  patron.  At  last  he  called 
on  the  multitude,  when  preaching  in  the  pulpit  of  the  cathedral 

*   And   are   noted    thus    in  tlie    Index  Expurgatorius :— "  Faventinus    (Didymus), 
Germ.  TL.  Luth.  1.  cl." 


FLORENCE.  .  4S3 

of  Capo  d'lstria,  to  rise  against  their  Bishop,  whose  heresy  was 
drawing  down  blight,  as  he  said,  on  their  land,  and  murrain  on 
their  cattle.  The  people  grew  furious,  Vergerio  fled,  and  his  brother 
of  Pola  died  suddenly,  not  without  suspicion  of  poison.  The  Clergy 
followed  up  this  stroke,  and  the  dispersion  of  the  church  in  Capo 
d'lstria  and  Pola  was  soon  complete. 

Persecution  began  at  Florence  by  the  medium  of  legislation. 
Severe  penalties  were  enacted  on  the  possessors  of  heretical  books,  as 
well  as  on  their  printers  (A.D.  1547).  Then  followed  the  usual 
inquisitorial  searchings  ;  and  when  the  number  of  prisoners  had 
become  sufficient  to  render  an  act  of  faith  formidable  to  the  citizens, 
twenty-two  persons  were  paraded  as  penitents  in  dresses  resembling 
those  used  in  Spain,  and  among  them  was  one  *  who  had  formerly 
served  the  Duke  as  Ambassador  at  the  court  of  France.  These 
penitents  were  then  "reconciled"  in  the  cathedral,  and  a  company 
of  females  underwent  a  similar  humiliation  in  the  church  of  S. 
Simone  (December,  1551).  A  triad  of  Inquisitors  had  been  intrusted 
with  the  work  of  purifying  Florence  from  Lutheranism  ;  but  it  was 
not  found  easy  to  preserve,  with  such  an  executive,  the  profound 
secrecy  and  singly  inexorable  purpose  of  their  chief.  Two  were, 
therefore,  removed,  and  Florence  was  placed  at  the  mercy  of  one  man, 
ignorant  and  reckless,  who  filled  the  once-flourishing  city  with  terror 
and  mistrust.  Foreigners,  whom  he  suspected  as  innovators,  and 
pursued  with  incessant  vexations,  ceased  to  frequent  a  mart  where 
familiars  haunted  them  at  every  step,  and  their  ships  no  longer  glad- 
dened the  course  of  the  Arno.  The  merchants  were  impoverished, 
the  inhabitants  emigrated,  artists  and  literary  men  shunned  the  halls 
of  the  Medici,  the  more  eminent  Protestants  sought  refuge  in 
Germany  or  England,  and  the  less  instructed,  left  without  a  shepherd, 
perished  for  lack  of  knowledge.  A  similar  process  of  expurgation 
swept  away  known  Protestants  from  all  the  Tuscan  territories.  A 
severe  persecution  visited  Sienna  (A.D.  1567),  and  even  Germans  who 
had  come  to  study  in  that  University  were  delivered  to  the  Pope,  in 
breach  of  public  faith. 

The  intention  of  the  Emperor  to  extirpate  heresy,  when  at  Naples 
in  1536,  had  been  announced,  but  not  executed,  and  the  Neapolitans 
had  always  manifested  an  insuperable  repugnance  to  the  establishment 
of  an  Inquisition.  But  after  other  parts  of  Italy  became  familiarized 
with  that  tribunal  during  a  period  of  ten  years,  conducted,  however, 
with  a  caution  unexampled  in  its  history,  both  Pope  and  Emperor, 
actuated  by  very  different  motives,  desired  to  erect  it  there  also. 
Paul  III.  would  fain  extend  thither  the  Roman  tribunal,  and  gradually 
establish  it  among  the  institutions  of  Italy,  waiting  until  the  sanction 
of  time  should  prepare  the  people  to  submit  to  higher  degrees  of 
rigour.  Charles  V.  would  rather  act  in  Naples,  as  in  his  other 
hereditary  dominions,  with  an  extreme  severity,  that  would  stun  the 
multitude  at  once,  and  leave  all  things  at  his  disposal.  The  Priest 
wished  for  the  Roman,  the  soldier  purposed  to  introduce  the  Spanish, 
Inquisition  in  Naples.  The  Viceroy,  Don  Pedro  Toledo,  both  from 

*   Bartolommeo  Panchiarichi. 

3  Q  2 


484  CHAPTER    VII. 

taste  and  policy,  was  intent  on  carrying  out  the  intention  of  his 
master.  Ambitious  to  overawe  the  Italians  by  the  sanguinary  solemni- 
ties of  a  Spanish  auto,  yet  aware  that  the  Pope  would  not  readily 
forego  his  owu  scheme,  he  began  by  merely  requesting  a  Commissary 
from  Rome  to  begin  the  inquisition  of  heresy,  but  with  absolute 
power  over  the  Clergy  both  regular  and  secular.  Paul,  secretly 
hoping  that  this  measure  of  severity  would  arouse  the  Neapolitans  to 
revolt  against  the  Viceroy,  and  enable  him  to  interpose  with  a  milder 
form  of  inquisition,  and  so  strengthen  the  Roman  See  at  the  expense 
of  Charles,  instantly  granted  the  petition. 

Toledo  received  the  desired  Bull,  and,  in  concert  with  the  Arch- 
bishop, caused  it  to  be  published  amidst  the  festivities  of  Palm  Sun- 
day (April  3d,  1547),  hoping  that,  at  such  a  season,  people  would  be 
too  much  dissipated  to  reflect  seriously  on  the  unexpected  announce- 
ment. But  when  a  copy  of  the  Bull,  with  the  royal  exequatur,  was 
affixed  to  the  doors  of  the  Archbishop's  palace  and  the  cathedral,  and 
the  Parliament  was  assembled  in  the  church  of  St.  Augustine  to 
deliberate  on  the  actual  establishment  of  the  abhorred  tribunal,  the 
terror  and  indignation  of  all  ranks  became  indescribably  intense. 
A  deputation,  representing  the  nobility  and  the  people,  proceeded  to 
Pozzuolo,  where  Toledo  resided,  on  account  of  the  salubrity  of  the 
air ;  and  Antonio  Grisone,  a  noble,  addressed  him  to  the  following 
effect : — 

"  Most  illustrious  and  most  excellent  Seignior  :  This  banner,  and 
this  our  most  faithful  city  of  Naples,  inasmuch  as  we  have  always 
thought  aright  concerning  the  catholic  and  orthodox  faith,  has  ever 
been  reputed  most  religious  ;  and  we  believe  that  this  is  nothing 
new  or  doubtful  to  any  one,  and  especially  to  you,  who  so  well  know 
us  all.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  clear  and  manifest  to  all  the  world 
that  the  name  of  Inquisition  has  always  been  not  only  odious,  but 
formidable,  to  this  city  and  kingdom,  and  this  for  many  and  most  just 
reasons ;  and  chiefly  because,  while  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom 
false  witnesses  and  ribalds,  men  without  conscience,  may  be  so  easily 
corrupted  by  hatred  or  for  money,  the  city  and  kingdom  would  soon 
be  utterly  undone  and  ruined.  Ever  since  the  time  when,  under  the 
government  of  the  Catholic  King,  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  of  happy 
memory,  this  scheme  of  an  Inquisition  was  attempted,  but,  through 
the  grace  of  His  Majesty,  and  our  just  resistance,  set  aside  and  utterly 
abandoned,  we  have  been  at  ease  and  secure,  and  the  more  so  since 
your  Excellency,  a  few  days  ago,  led  us  to  hope  that  it  would  never 
be  revived.  But  now,  by  this  edict,  we  are  filled  with  trouble  and 
with  dread  ;  and  fearing  an  Inquisition  more  than  pestilence,  we  are 
come  with  confidence  to  your  Excellency,  first  Minister  of  His  Coesarean 
Majesty,  and  therefore  our  chief  protector,  regarding  you  no  less  as  a 
citizen  of  our  own,  so  to  speak,  than  as  supreme  President  and 
Governor,  hoping  that  this  affair  may  so  end  that  we  shall  continue 
in  our  wonted  quiet  and  security.  We,  therefore,  implore  your 
Excellency  to  be  pleased  not  to  suffer  that,  in  your  time,  Naples  be 
stained  with  such  an  opprobrium  and  shame,  nor  subjected  to  so 
intolerable  and  unmerited  a  yoke.  And  we  commit  and  confide  into 


INQUISITION     RESISTED    AT    NAPLES.  485 

your  hands  our  property,  our  wives,  our  children,  and,  what  is  of  all 
most  precious,  our  honour."  * 

The  Spaniard  eyed  them  all  intently  during  the  delivery  of  this 
most  unwelcome  address,  and,  when  it  was  ended,  assuming  an  air 
of  perfect  gentleness,  answered  in  his  own  Castilian  with  mild  and 
measured  words.  It  was  quite  unnecessary,  he  assured  them,  for 
them  to  have  taken  the  trouble  of  that  journey,  and  for  the  city  to 
have  given  way  to  so  great  anxiety  and  suspicion.  He  did,  indeed, 
account  himself  a  citizen  of  Naples,  by  long  residence  and  family 
alliance  ;  and  neither  the  Emperor  nor  he  would  suspect  them  of 
heresy,  nor  force  an  Inquisition  on  their  religious  city.  Might  God 
avert  such  a  calamity  during  his  government !  and,  if  the  Emperor 
were  to  give  such  a  command,  and  should  he  be  unable  to  dissuade 
him  by  remonstrance,  he  would  rather  resign  the  government  than 
enforce  it.  Assuredly  there  should  be  no  Inquisition ;  but  as  there 
were  some  persons  in  Naples  infected  with  heresy,  he  hoped  they 
would  not  think  it  wrong  to  seek  out  heretics,  and  punish  them  in 
the  ordinary  way,  according  to  the  canons.  For  that  end,  and  for  no 
other,  had  those  edicts  been  framed.  The  deputies,  charmed  with 
the  gracious  answer  of  Don  Pedro,  returned  to  the  city,  and  related  it 
to  the  multitudes  in  the  public  places.  Their  report,  at  first,  drew 
forth  thunders  of  applause ;  but,  when  repeated  and  re-considered,  a 
new  suspicion  chilled  the  gladness  of  the  Neapolitans.  What  meant 
those  words  of  the  Viceroy,  "  punish  the  guilty  ?  "  For,  although  he 
had  said  that  the  punishment  should  be  inflicted  in  the  ordinary  way, 
might  he  not  advance  from  gentler  beginnings  even  to  the  horrible 
severities  of  Spain  ?  Yet  they  suffered  themselves  to  be  persuaded 
that  those  fears  were  groundless,  and  Naples  was  again  tranquil. 

Gianpietro  Caraffa,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Naples,  also  went  to 
Pozzuolo,  to  the  very  spot  where  primitive  Christian  charity  had 
welcomed  that  ambassador  in  chains  who  bade  the  servants  of  God 
not  to  strive,  but  meekly  instruct  their  opponents,  and  feed,  not 
worry,  the  flock  of  God.  The  effect  of  consultation  between  the 
Cardinal  and  the  Viceroy  was  made  patent  in  a  day  or  two.  Another 
edict,  affixed  to  the  Cardinal's  gate  (May  llth),  much  clearer  and 
more  forcible  than  the  former,  dispelled  the  illusion  ;  nor  was  the 
word  "  Inquisition "  wanting  to  confirm  the  terror  of  the  people. 
A  murmur  of  indignation  broke  from  every  lip.  There  was  no  time 
for  second  impulse,  or  second  thought.  Quickly  as  groups  could 
gather  in  the  streets  a  simultaneous  cry  burst  forth  in  all  directions  : 
"  To  arms !  To  arms !  Long  live  the  Emperor !  Death  to  the 
Inquisition  ! "  The  multitude,  armed  with  all  sorts  of  weapons,  and 
rushing  like  a  torrent  through  every  street,  lay  round  the  palace 
of  Caraffa,  as  when  the  sea  that  has  washed  down  the  embankments,  no 
longer  to  be  resisted,  floods  the  land.  One  Tommaso  Anello,  a  rude 
peasant  of  Sorrento,  mad  with  rage,  tore  down  the  edict,  and  trampled 
it  under  foot,  while  the  walls  trembled  with  dreadful  peals  of  execra- 
tion. A  tumultuary  assemblage,  in  the  square  of  St.  Augustine, 
deposed  several  Magistrates,  who  were  known  for  servility  to  the 

*  Botta,  Storia  d'ltulia,  libro  vii.,  1547. 


486  CHAPTER    VII. 

Viceroy ;  but  they  did  no  further  violence.  The  nobles  then  mingled 
with  the  populace,  glad  to  exasperate  their  hatred  of  Don  Pedro,  and 
all  agreed  that  they  would  have  no  sort  of  Inquisition,  neither  Spanish 
nor  Roman. 

Don  Pedro,  unaware  of  his  position,  gave  orders  to  one  of  the 
remaining  Magistrates  to  arrest  Anello,  and  Mormile,  a  young  noble- 
man, and  put  them  both  to  death,  for  an  example  to  the  multitude. 
Being  summoned  to  appear,  they  obeyed  the  summons  ;  but  came 
attended  with  trains  of  men  in  arms,  to  the  terror  of  the  Magistrate, 
who  complimented  them  on  their  courage,  in  defect  of  courage  of 
his  own,  and  saw  them  return  to  their  houses  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
people.  Not  yet  instructed,  Pedro  threw  a  force  of  three  thousand 
Spaniards  into  the  city.  But  three  thousand  men  could  only  resist 
the  entire  population  in  one  desperate  and  sanguinary  struggle. 
Dispersed  through  the  streets  of  Naples,  after  killing  thousands  of  the 
people,  they  were  every  one  cut  to  pieces.  The  horrid  strife  lasted 
out  the  day.  All  business  was  suspended,  all  authority  inert,  and  the 
last  Spaniard  had  expired  ere  the  evening  bells  bade  prayers  for  the 
dead.  Nothing  daunted,  Don  Pedro  resolved  to  punish  the  insur- 
gents, and  caused  two  gentlemen  to  be  beheaded  in  the  open  street ; 
on  which  the  whole  city  united  in  revolt,  refused  him  obedience,  sent 
messengers  to  the  Emperor,  imploring  that  the  Viceroy  might  be 
removed,  and  that  the  Spanish  Inquisition  might  not  be  forced  upon 
them.  The  former  petition  was  not  granted  ;  but,  after  Naples  had 
surrendered  to  the  authority  of  the  Emperor,  Don  Pedro  was 
instructed  to  refrain  from  introducing  the  Inquisition  under  thnt 
form,  but  to  proceed  against  heretics  after  the  usual  manner.  While 
the  agitation  consequent  on  this  attempt  continued,  the  Priests 
allowed  nonconformists  to  continue  their  secret  meetings,  but  no 
longer.  A  Sicilian,  Lorenzo  Romano,  who  had  formerly  preached  the 
doctrine  of  Zuinglius  at  Caserta  Vecchia,  about  five  leagues  north 
of  Naples,  and  afterwards  had  gone  to  Germany,  returned,  and,  in  a 
class  of  logic,  expounded  the  Scriptures  to  his  pupils.  But  the 
Spanish  Inquisition  failing,  the  Roman  had  been  extended  into 
Naples,  and  Romano  was  brought  to  that.  Overcome  by  fear  of 
death,  he  not  only  consented  to  abjure  and  do  penance  in  the 
churches  of  Naples  and  Caserta,  but  gave  information  of  a  multitude 
of  persons  who  had  received  evangelical  instruction,  both  in  the 
capital  and  the  provinces.  The  Inquisitors  used  this  information 
diligently,  threw  many  into  prison,  and  sent  some  to  Rome  to  suffer 
death.  And,  at  last  (March  24th,  1564),  two  noblemen,  Giovan- 
francesco  d'Aloisio,  of  Caserta,  and  Giovanbernardino  di  Gargano, 
of  Avarsa,  were  beheaded  in  the  market-place,  and  then  burnt.  As 
in  some  of  the  academies  the  lecturers  had  entered  on  theological 
discussions,  or  made  allusions  to  the  holy  Scriptures,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  Lutheranism,  the  Viceroy  caused  those 
academies  to  be  closed.  This  again  filled  the  city  with  terror  of  the 
Inquisition,  whole  streets  were  deserted  by  their  inhabitants,  com- 
merce declined,  and  Naples  lay  in  sackcloth. 

A    lingering,    but    effectual,    persecution     nearly    suppressed     the 


VENICE.  487 

Reformation  in  Venice.  The  Senate,  at  the  instance  of  the  Nuncio, 
published  an  edict  (A.D.  1548),  commanding  all  who  had  prohibited 
books  to  deliver  them  up  within  a  week,  under  penalty  of  being  prose- 
cuted as  heretics,  since  a  strict  search  would  be  made  by  officers 
appointed  for  the  purpose.  Money  was  offered  to  informers,  with 
promise  of  secrecy  and  favour  besides.  But  it  must  be  noted  that 
the  republic  of  Venice  would  not  permit  the  Inquisitors  alone  to 
execute  this  edict,  but  associated  the  local  magistracy  with  them  ; 
and  the  zeal  of  Paul  III.  nearly  outran  his  discretion  when  he 
launched  a  Bull  against  the  Doge  and  Senate,  who  had  infringed  on 
the  liberties  of  the  Church,  as  he  said,  by  employing  lay  Judges  to 
assist  the  servants  of  the  Holy  Office  in  destroying  heretics.  This 
Pope  loved  the  Inquisition  to  distraction.  He  could  speak  of  little 
else  in  the  Consistory  ;  and,  in  the  article  of  death,  prayed  the  Cardi- 
nals, whatever  they  did,  to  take  care  of  the  Inquisition,  "  the  sole 
hope  of  the  Church,  the  only  defence  of  Italy."  Paul  IV.,  his  suc- 
cessor,* with  like  zeal,  engaged  the  Senate  to  do  the  drudgery  of 
persecution  ;  and  at  his  command  they  arrested  Pomponio  Algieri,  a 
man  of  eminent  erudition,  who,  while  prosecuting  his  studies  at 
Padua,  had  become  experimentally  acquainted  with  Christianity,  and, 
unable  to  hide  his  lamp  under  a  bushel,  exhorted  his  fellow-students 
to  accept  the  truth  which  had  been  made  the  power  of  God  to  his 
own  salvation.  The  Governor  of  the  city  threw  him  into  prison,  by 
direction  of  the  Magistrates  of  Venice,  whither  he  was  immediately 
transferred,  and  subjected  to  a  long  incarceration  ;  but  the  extreme 
heat  of  his  dungeon  in  summer,  the  cold  of  winter,  the  entreaties 
of  friends,  and  the  visits  of  senators,  with  heavy  fetters,  and  the 
sufferings  and  ignominy  of  the  place,  could  not  subdue  his  constancy. 
He  meditated  on  the  sufferings  and  the  triumph  of  martyrs,  confided 
in  the  promises  of  Christ  to  those  who  suffer  for  his  sake,  wrote  a 
long  and  admirable  epistle  to  his  persecuted  brethren,  which  is  still 
preserved  ;  and  was,  at  last,  taken  to  Rome,  that  the  Church  might 
have  no  partner  in  putting  him  to  death,  which  he  endured  by  fire 
without  a  murmur,  after  having  made  his  murderers  blush  under  the 
keenness  of  his  reproofs  (A.D.  1555). 

By  virtue  of  their  universal  jurisdiction,  the  agents  of  Rome  pro- 
cured the  imprisonment  of  even  foreigners  who  came  to  trade  in 
Venice.  And  the  Republic  so  far  surrendered  its  own  rights  as  to 
allow  the  Inquisitors  to  seize  whom  they  pleased,  put  him  to  torture, 
and  send  him  to  Rome.  Some  of  the  Grisons  were  imprisoned  ;  but 
released  by  the  Senate,  on  the  remonstrance  of  special  Envoys,  after 
long  delays.  In  the  provinces  the  Magistrates  were  often  more 
obsequious  to  the  Clergy  than  in  Venice,  until  there,  also,  the  civil 
authority  threw  itself  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the  Inquisition.  Some 
citizens,  who  had  purchased  a  vessel,  and  were  about  to  embark  for 
Istria,  were  arrested,  and  taken  to  the  prisons  already  occupied  by 
other  brethren.  Cupidity  quickened  bigotry,  and  then  the  Senate 
threw  off  all  restraint.  They  slowly  thinned  the  numbers  of  the 
Lutherans  by  nocturnal  drowning.  In  the  dead  of  night  the  con- 

*  Marcellns  II.  succeeded  Paul  III.,  but  reigned  only  twenty-two  days. 


488  CHAPTER    VII. 

demned  person  was  carried,  bound,  into  a  boat,  and  rowed  out  to  sea, 
where  another  boat  had  gone  before.  The  two  boats  were  then 
brought  stern  to  stern :  on  a  plank  laid  on  between  them  he  was 
chained,  with  a  heavy  stone  lashed  at  his  feet.  A  Priest  offered  him 
absolution  in  return  for  a  confession,  if  he  would  make  it ;  and  then, 
the  boats  being  pulled  off,  the  plank  dropped,  and  the  martyr's  body 
sank  into  its  resting-place,  until  the  day  when  the  sea  shall  give  up 
its  dead.  The  first  sufferer  was  Giulio  Guirlanda,  of  the  Trevisano, 
about  forty  years  of  age.  When  stretched  on  the  plank  between  the 
boats,  he  cheerfully  bade  the  Captain  farewell,  and  was  plunged  into 
the  waves  (October  19th,  1562).  The  records  of  those  martyrdoms 
are  extremely  scanty,  and  three  years  elapse  before  another  name  is 
added  to  our  catalogue.  Antonio  Ricetto,  a  gentleman  of  Vicenza, 
was  thrown  into  prison  in  Venice,  and  his  property  sequestered. 
Although  condemned  by  the  ecclesiastical  Judges,  the  senators  would 
have  spared  his  life  if  he  had  pronounced  a  sentence  of  recantation. 
They  surrounded  him  with  solicitations  to  submit ;  his  son,  a  boy 
twelve  years  of  age,  was  brought  into  the  prison,  fell  at  his  feet,  and 
implored  him  not  to  leave  his  child  an  orphan ;  but  he  had  freely 
surrendered  life,  fortune,  and  family,  and  would  not  take  them  back 
again  at  the  hazard  of  his  soul.  One  of  his  brethren  gave  way,  and 
the  jailer  ran  to  tell  him  that  such  an  one  had  recanted,  and  renewed 
the  entreaty  that  he  would  do  the  like  ;  but  he  only  answered, 
"  What  is  that  to  me  ?  "  In  the  boat,  as  they  rowed  away  seaward 
in  the  dark  night,  he  prayed  for  his  murderers,  commended  his  soul 
to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  without  fear  dropped  into  the  water  (February 
15th,  1566).  Ten  days  afterwards,  Francesco  Sega  followed  him. 
During  his  imprisonment  Sega  had  written  several  tracts  for  the 
consolation  and  instruction  of  his  fellow-sufferers,  some  of  which  are 
yet  extant  among  the  monuments  of  the  Italian  martyrs.  Francesco 
Spinula,  member  of  a  noble  family  of  Geneva,  but  born  at  Brescia,  in 
Lombardy,  a  Priest,  and  intimate  friend  of  Aonio  Paleario,  of  whom 
we  have  yet  to  speak,  and  author  of  a  Latin  metrical  version  of  the 
Psalms,  was  numbered  with  the  Venetian  confessors.  Thrice  was  he 
subjected  to  severe  examination  ;  and  once  the  Papal  Legate  and 
several  of  the  high  Clergy  attended  to  witness  the  trial,  and  heard 
him  make  a  clear  confession  of  Christ  and  Christian  doctrine,  and 
testify  against  the  usurpation  of  the  Pope,  the  fable  of  purgatory,  and 
the  worship  of  saints.  Exhausted  by  the  rigours  of  imprisonment 
and  trial,  he  fell  sick,  and,  in  an  hour  of  infirmity,  made  some  con- 
cession ;  but,  on  recovery,  renewed  his  profession  of  faith  in  Christ, 
was  ceremonially  degraded,  and  laid  in  the  sea-grave  with  his  brethren 
(January  31st,  1567).  Of  Baldo  Lupetino,  a  native  of  Albona,  and 
Provincial  of  the  Franciscan  Monks  at  Venice,  we  have  an  incidental 
notice  by  Flacius  Illyricus,*  who  thus  describes  him :  "  The  reverend 
Baldo  Lupetino,  descended  of  noble  parentage  and  most  illustrious 
family,  a  very  learned  Monk,  and  Provincial  of  his  order,  after  he  had 
for  a  long  time  preached  the  word  of  God  in  many  cities,  and  in 
both  the  vernacular  languages,  (Italian  and  Sclavonian,)  with  groat 

*  Apud  Gerdesii  Specimen  Italice  Reformats,  p.  173. 


THE    MILANESE.  489 

applause,  and  had  honourably  disputed  in  many  places,  was  at  length 
thrown  into  a  dark  dungeon  in  Venice  by  the  Inquisitor,  and  the 
Legate  of  Antichrist,  and  there  constantly  bore  testimony  to  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  for  nearly  twenty  years  ;  so  that  his  bonds  and  his 
doctrine  became  known,  not  only  in  that  city,  but  throughout  Italy 
and  Europe,  and  so  much  the  more  widely  did  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel  spread.  Which  doctrine,  at  length,  that  most  pious  and 
excellent  man,  not  changed  by  any  threatenings  or  promises,  nor  by 
the  wretchedness  of  a  long  imprisonment,  nor  by  pitiable  sufferings 
of  pain,  confirmed  by  a  constant  martyrdom,  being  sunken  in  the  sea. 
Among  many  other  traces  of  divine  Providence  which  appeared  in  his 
case,  this  was  especially  admirable,  that  neither  the  Princes  of  Ger- 
many, who  frequently  interceded  for  him,  could  obtain  his  deliver- 
ance ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  could  the  Papal  Legate  and  the 
Inquisitor, — nay,  nor  could  even  Antichrist  himself, — although  they 
used  much  persuasion  and  unwearied  solicitation,  succeed  in  having 
him  burnt  to  death.  For,  even  after  he  was  condemned  so  to  die,  he 
was  delivered  from  the  penalty  of  burning  by  a  sentence  of  the  Doge 
himself  and  Senate."  The  date  of  this  martyrdom  is  not  pre- 
served. Throughout  the  Venetian  territory  the  inquisitorial  plague 
prevailed  ;  but  the  secrecy  of  that  tribunal,  and  the  contempt  of 
Italian  historians  towards  heretics,  hide  their  names,  and  we  have 
only  the  general  statement  of  foreign  writers  that  their  brethren 
of  the  Venetian  republic  everywhere  suffered  bonds,  poverty,  and 
death.  Yet  Protestant  writings  were  read  in  secret,  even  by  the 
senators,  and  Protestant  worship  was  held  in  private,  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  by  Venetians  themselves ;  and  per- 
haps at  no  time  was  it  utterly  set  aside  by  German  Protestants  trading 
at  Venice. 

We  now  pass  into  the  Milanese,  and  adjacent  territory.  In  the 
market-place  of  Piacenza,  a  young  man,  named  Domenico,  just 
returned  from  Naples,  where  persecution  has  broken  out  afresh,  has  a 
temporary  pulpit  erected,  and  preaches  with  great  boldness  concerning 
true  confession,  purgatory,  and  indulgences.  On  the  day  following 
he  returns,  discourses  to  a  large  congregation  on  true  faith  and  good 
works,  and  announces  that,  on  the  morrow,  he  shall  depict  the  mass 
and  Antichrist  in  their  true  colours.  We  know  not  whether  zeal 
against  Popery  or  love  for  souls  predominated  in  this  youth ;  but  find 
that,  when  he  appears  on  the  third  day,  the  Magistrates  remove  him 
from  the  pulpit,  and  take  him  to  the  Bishop's  Vicar,  who  questions 
him  as  to  his  vocation  to  preach,  and  commits  him  to  prison.  Little 
more  is  heard  of  him,  except  that  he  perseveres  in  refuting  the  false 
doctrine  of  Popery,  commits  himself  to  the  mercy  and  grace  of  Christ 
alone,  prays  for  his  enemies,  and  surrenders  himself  meekly  to  suffer 
death  (September,  1550).  Galeazzo  Trezio,  a  nobleman  of  Lodi, 
while  a  student  in  the  University  of  Pa  via,  became  converted  to 
spiritual  Christianity,  and,  rather  conspicuous  by  the  sanctity  of  his 
conduct  than  by  any  formal  profession  of  his  faith,  was  seized  by  the 
Inquisitors.  Thrice,  according  to  custom,  they  invited  him  to  abjure  ; 
but  as  often  he  refused,  until  the  solicitations  of  friends  partially 

VOL.    III.  3    R 


490  CHAPTER    VII. 

subdued  his  firmness.  But  a  slight  concession,  which  he  then  made, 
was  more  than  covered  by  prompt  repentance.  He  affirmed  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  written  the  truth  upon  his  heart ;  and  it  is  related 
that  he  discoursed  with  such  fervour  to  his  companions,  that  they 
longed  for  martyrdom,  and  were  only  restrained  by  the  jailer  from 
voluntarily  declaring  themselves  Protestants.  After  being  four  months 
in  prison,  he  was  burnt  alive  (November  24th,  1551).  "  The  perse- 
cution became  more  general  when  the  Duke  of  Alva  took  the  govern- 
ment of  Milan.  In  the  year  1558,  two  persons  were  committed  alive 
to  the  flames.  One  of  them,  a  Monk,  being  forced  into  a  pulpit, 
erected  beside  the  stake,  there  to  make  his  recantation,  confessed  the 
truth  with  great  boldness,  and  was  driven  into  the  fire  with  blows 
and  curses.  During  the  course  of  the  following  year  scarcely  a  week 
elapsed  without  some  one  being  brought  out  to  suffer  for  heresy  ;  and 
in  1563  eleven  citizens  of  rank  were  thrown  into  prison.  The 
execution  of  a  young  Priest,  in  1569,  was  accompanied  with  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  barbarity.  They  condemned  him  to  be  dragged  to 
the  gibbet  at  a  horse's  tail,  and  then  hanged.  In  consequence  of 
earnest  intercessions  in  his  favour,  the  former  part  of  the  sentence  was 
dispensed  with ;  but,  after  being  half-strangled,  he  was  cut  down, 
and,  refusing  to  recant,  was  literally  roasted  to  death,  and  his  body 
thrown  to  the  dogs."  *  But  this  is  little  to  what  would  have  taken 
place  if  the  Spanish  Inquisition  had  been  established  in  Milan.  Alva 
fancied  that  it  would  be  an  impregnable  rampart  against  heresy,  and 
had  obtained  permission  of  the  Pope  to  try  the  experiment.  The 
citizens  remonstrated,  but  Alva  persisted  ;  they  exclaimed  against  the 
brutality  of  the  Spanish  Inquisitors,  and  he  offered  them  Italians, 
who  would  handle  the  heretics  more  gently  ;  but  the  dissatisfaction 
assumed  the  appearance  of  a  general  insurrection,  and,  bearing  in 
mind  the  terrible  revolt  of  Naples,  he  prudently  withdrew  the  project 
(A.D.  1563). 

Amidst  the  dearth  of  information  respecting  these  martyrs,  it  is 
satisfactory  to  possess  a  very  distinct  account  of  Francesco  Ganiba,  a 
native  of  Brescia.  Having  received  some  knowledge  of  evangelical 
doctrine,  and  experienced  the  power  of  true  religion,  he  determined  to 
visit  Geneva,  in  order  to  receive  further  instruction  from  some  of  the 
eminent  Ministers  of  that  Church  ;  and,  having  proceeded  thither 
from  Como,  as  it  would  seem,  united  with  the  congregation  at  Whit- 
suntide in  celebrating  the  eucharist.  The  report  of  this  act  soon 
reached  his  townsmen,  and  they  prepared  to  commit  him  to  the 
avengers  of  their  Church.  Not  apprehending  any  danger,  he  was  on 
the  lake  of  Como,  returning  from  Geneva,  when  a  party  seized  the 
boat,  took  him  to  the  town,  and  committed  him  to  prison.  The  tale 
of  his  martyrdom  is  thenceforth  related  by  a  friend,  in  a  letter  to  his 
brother,  probably  a  resident  in  Brescia,  and  is  as  follows  : — From 
the  time  that  he  was  first  in  custody,  an  incredibly  large  number 
of  persons  of  all  classes,  and  especially  noblemen  and  scholars,  went 
to  visit  him,  and  entreat  him  most  earnestly  that  he  would  not  persist 
obstinately  in  the  vain  opinions  that,  as  they  supposed,  he  had 

*  These  lines  are  borrowed  from  M'Crie,  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy,  chap.  v. 


FRANCESCO    GAMBA.  491 

adopted.  They  prayed  him  to  have  heed  to  his  salvation,  and 
renounce  those  idle  fancies.  But  the  good  man  replied  steadfastly, 
and  invariably  maintained  that  he  would  abide  by,  and  defend,  what 
he  had  professed  ;  that  those  were  not  empty  speculations  or  vain 
opinions ;  neither  was  he  under  a  delusion,  or  insane,  as  they 
imagined,  but  spoke  the  pure  truth  of  God,  the  holy  word  and 
salutary  doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  this  he  laboured  to 
confirm  by  citing  weighty  testimonies  of  holy  writ ;  and  closed  his 
conversations  by  declaring,  with  unconquerable  constancy,  that  he 
would  rather  suffer  death,  following  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  Saviour 
and  Redeemer  of  the  world,  whose  cause  and  doctrine  were  dear  to 
him,  than  betray  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  by  perfidy  ;  but  would 
persevere  unto  death  in  the  cause  confided  to  him  by  his  God. 

When  the  Doctors,  Monks,  and  Priests  had  given  over  their  boot- 
less disputation,  the  laity  crowded  round  him,  some  hoping  to  move 
him  from  his  opinions,  others  actuated  by  compassion  for  one  whom 
they  all  knew  to  be  a  good  and  upright  man,  and  endeavoured  to 
dissuade  him  from  his  error,  as  they  deemed  it,  by  offering  hopes 
of  honour  and  temporal  advantage  if  he  would  but  lay  it  aside.  But 
when  they  found  that  their  labour  was  ineffectual,  they  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  tell  him  that,  unless  he  renounced  the  notions  he  had  taken 
up,  he  would  be  put  to  death.  To  this  he  answered  cheerfully,  that 
that  was  the  very  thing  which  he  desired  above  all  others  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  a  more  welcome  message  could  not  have  been  brought. 
Then  came  a  letter  from  the  Senate  of  Milan,  commanding  that 
Francesco  Gamba  should  be  burnt  alive.  But  as  the  Judges  were 
preparing  to  execute  the  sentence,  they  received  intercessory  letters 
from  the  Imperial  Legate,  and  from  several  noblemen  of  Milan,  which 
deferred  the  execution  for  some  days,  while  Gamba  awaited  the  issue 
with  undisturbed  calmness.  The  decision,  however,  did  not  linger. 
Other  letters  required  the  Judges  to  proceed  ;  and  the  faithful  con- 
fessor was  brought  out  of  the  castle  into  the  presence  of  the  Podesta, 
or  chief  Magistrate,  who  pronounced  the  final  sentence  that,  unless 
he  would  repent  and  renounce  his  false  opinions,  he  should  suffer 
capital  punishment.  On  hearing  this  he  rejoiced  exceedingly,  and, 
with  great  modesty,  returned  humble  thanks  to  the  Podesta  for  having 
brought  him  such  good  tidings  ;  and  the  Podesta,  yielding  to  the 
intercession  of  some  friends,  remanded  him  to  prison  for  a  week. 
This  interval  he  spent  in  free  conversation  with  all  who  came  to  visit 
him,  alleging  from  holy  Scripture  reasons  and  authorities  why  he 
should  persevere ;  his  holy  courage  grew  stronger  from  day  to  day  ; 
and  as  the  end  of  his  life  drew  near,  his  confidence  appeared  more 
and  more  triumphant.  At  length  the  Judge  summoned  him  again, 
and  told  him  that,  by  order  of  the  Senate  of  Milan,  he  must  die  the 
next  day,  or,  at  latest,  on  the  day  following.  His  reply  was  the  same 
as  before,  that  no  intelligence  could  be  to  him  more  joyful.  The 
Podesta  repeated  the  offer  of  life,  asked  him  if  he  would  retract  what 
he  had  dared  to  speak  concerning  the  sacrament  of  the  mass,  and 
proposed  to  reward  him  with  honour  as  well  as  pardon,  if  he  would 
submit ;  but  he  stood  unmoved  as  a  rock  in  the  breeze,  and  in  few 

3   R  2 


492  CHAPTER    VII. 

words  replied,  that  the  conveniences  which  they  then  offered  him 
were  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  eternal  benefits  which  he  knew 
he  should  receive  from  the  Lord,  in  whose  hand  is  the  crown  of  life 
eternal,  to  be  given,  in  fulfilment  of  a  sure  promise,  to  all  those  who 
worship  God  aright. 

When  the  Podesta  dismissed  him  from  his  presence,  and  he  was 
beset  by  the  enemies  of  the  truth,  who  left  no  promise  nor  threaten- 
ing untried  to  move  him,  the  majesty  of  his  faith  did  but  rise  the 
higher,  towering  over  all ;  and  when  the  Magistrate  saw  that  per- 
suasion and  threatening  were  alike  vain,  he  appointed  that  on  the 
morrow  he  should  die.  When  he  knew  this,  he  sent  for  his  friend, 
and  besought  him  to  write  a  distinct  account  of  his  whole  cause  and 
suffering  to  his  brother,  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  in  token  of  bro- 
therly affection,  together  with  a  message  of  consolation  and  encou- 
ragement, telling  him  that,  in  view  of  the  death  which  he  was  going 
to  suffer  gladly  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  was  full  of  comfort 
and  joy,  acknowledging  the  great  goodness  of  God,  who  had  called 
him  out  of  the  world  to  suffer  shame,  and  to  endure  a  cruel  death,  in 
order  that  the  cause  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  not  spared 
his  own  life,  but  died  to  give  salvation  to  all  believers,  might  be 
promoted.  Finally,  he  desired  his  love  to  his  sisters  and  their 
children,  for  whom  he  prayed  that  God  would  keep  them  in  peace, 
and  crown  them  with  grace  for  His  service. 

On  the  next  day  the  executioner  brought  him  notice  of  his  death, 
and,  as  usual,  asked  forgiveness.  He  bade  him  do  his  office  boldly, 
and  not  only  forgave  him,  but  prayed  God  that  he  would  enlighten 
him  by  his  grace,  and  give  him  knowledge  of  salvation ;  adding,  that 
if  he  had  possessed  any  money,  he  would  have  given  it  to  him  gladly. 
Then  the  Podesta  himself  begged  pardon  for  proceeding  to  that 
extremity,  excusing  himself  by  the  necessity  laid  on  him  to  submit  to 
the  authority  of  his  superiors.  Francesco  modestly  replied  that  he, 
too,  was  exceedingly  sorry  that  those  superiors  were  doing  they  knew 
not  what,  and  prayed  God  that  he  would  show  them  mercy.  As  they 
were  thus  speaking,  the  bell  tolled  the  signal,  and  four  Capuchin 
Friars  made  their  appearance  to  offer  their  service  for  confession,  and 
beg  him  to  be  comforted ;  but  he  declined  accepting  their  services, 
and  beckoned  them  to  withdraw.  Neither  would  he  fix  his  eyes  on  a 
crucifix,  as  they  desired  him  to  do,  in  order  to  refresh  his  memory 
of  the  cross  of  Christ ;  but  told  them  that  that  image  was  excellently 
impressed  upon  his  heart,  with  remembrance  of  His  death,  and 
assurance  of  its  power.  He  told  them  that,  far  from  sinking  into 
despair,  as  they  thought  he  would,  if  without  the  comfort  of  a 
crucifix,  his  heart  was  overflowing  with  gladness,  with  joy  surpassing 
all  human  understanding.  And  as  for  the  cross  which  he  was  about 
to  bear,  that  would  be  soon  surmounted,  and  then  he  would  be  a 
partaker  of  the  future  blessedness  of  heaven  in  the  society  of  happy 
spirits  and  angels,  and  enjoy  bliss  beyond  what  eye  of  man  had  ever 
eeen,  or  ear  had  heard.  But,  as  if  they  envied  the  power  of  utterance 
to  one  who  could  speak  thus,  or  feared  the  effect  that  such  discourse 
would  have  upon  the  multitude,  they  pierced  his  tongue,  and  led  him 


LOCARNO.  493 

away  to  the  place  of  death.  There,  on  bended  knees  and  with 
uplifted  hands,  he  offered  prayer,  not  framed  in  words,  but  such  as 
God  can  hear,  and  the  murmuring  of  the  crowd  was  hushed  in 
reverence  of  that  singular  devotion.  As  he  rose  from  his  knees,  the 
hangman  threw  a  cord  round  his  neck,  and  strangled  him,  the  pain 
of  burning  being  remitted  by  an  act  of  mercy.  When  in  the  hands 
of  the  hangman,  he  signified,  by  gesture,  to  his  friend  a  final  injunc- 
tion to  write  to  his  brother  ;  and  this  last  desire  being  expressed,  he 
surrendered  his  life  in  testimony  to  Him  who  redeemed  it  with  His 
own.  Four  thousand  people  fixed  their  eyes  on  him  in  silence,  and, 
when  the  body  lay  lifeless  on  the  ground,  separated,  wondering  why 
such  a  man  should  have  died  so  ignominiously,  and  saying  that  a 
most  excellent  and  innocent  person,  a  true  martyr  and  witness  of 
Jesus  Christ,  had  been  put  to  death  that  day  (July  21st,  1554). 

Locarno,  now  annexed  to  Switzerland,  had,  until  very  lately,  been 
a  part  of  the  duchy  of  Milan.  The  Reformed  doctrine  had  been 
introduced  there  early,  but  did  not  find  much  acceptance  until  the 
year  1546,  when  Benedetto  di  Locarno,  a  native  of  the  canton,  who 
had  been  preaching  the  Gospel  in  Sicily,  and  in  various  parts  of  the 
Italian  peninsula,  returned  to  his  native  country.  Giovanni  Beccaria, 
called,  for  his  great  zeal,  Apostle  of  Locarno,  whose  only  book  had 
been  the  Bible,  and  his  only  teacher  the  Holy  Spirit,  also  proclaimed 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation.  Other  persons  of  high  respectability 
and  undoubted  piety,  aided  these  in  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
church  which  was  eventually  organized  under  the  direction  of  a  Minis- 
ter from  Chiavenna.  The  usual  routine  of  Romish  assault  followed.  A 
popular  Priest  challenged  Beccaria  to  a  disputation,  wherein  the  Priest 
was  beaten  in  argument,  and  the  Prefect  sent  Beccaria  to  prison,  by 
way  of  solace  to  the  baffled  theologian  (A.D.  1549).  The  inhabitants 
were  so  indignant  at  this  injustice,  that  the  Prefect  saw  it  good  to 
release  Beccaria ;  and  the  Priests,  therefore,  awaited  some  other  occa- 
sion of  revenge.  This  good  man,  and  the  other  leaders  of  the 
Locarnese  Reform,  were  compelled,  by  incessant  persecution,  to  quit 
their  home  ;  but  the  seed  which  they  had  sown  bore  fruit,  and  a  large 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  no  longer  sent  for  Priests  to  administer 
"the  sacrament  of  the  dying,"  nor  brought  their  children  to  the 
accustomed  font,  nor  purchased  funeral  ceremonies  and  masses  for  the 
dead.  Ministers  from  Chiavenna  had  admitted  their  children  into  the 
visible  church  by  baptism,  and  interred  their  dead.  The  revenue 
of  the  Priests  was  much  diminished,  and  this  alone  was  enough  to 
stimulate  their  ingenuity  for  the  eradication  of  "  the  new  religion." 
They  revived  the  old  calumny  of  secret  meetings  and  licentious  feasts  ; 
and  by  the  time  that  this  began  to  be  believed,  the  town-clerk  had  a 
forgery  prepared, — a  deed,  said  to  have  been  executed  several  years 
before,  whereby  he  made  it  appear  that  the  senators  and  citizens 
of  the  town  and  bailiwick  of  Locarno  had  bound  themselves  to  the 
seven  Popish  cantons,  under  oath,  that  they  would  abide  by  the  dis- 
cipline of  Romanism  until  the  meeting  of  a  General  Council.  This 
paper  he  sent  to  a  Diet  of  the  seven  cantons,  who  received  it  as 
genuine ;  and  agreed,  that  all  the  Locarnese,  agreeably  to  that  bond, 


494  CHAPTER    VII. 

should  be  required  to  confess  in  Lent,  and  submit  to  a  rigid  exaction 
of  conformity  (March  10th,  1554).  Two  hundred  families  in  Locarno, 
brought  to  the  brink  of  ruin,  appealed  to  the  Protestant  cantons,  and 
their  case  was  discussed  in  a  General  Diet ;  but  there  the  majority 
decided  against  them  ;  so  did  the  arbiters,  to  whom  the  final  decision 
was  intrusted  ;  and  they  were  driven  to  a  hard  alternative.  All  inhabit- 
ants free  from  crime  were  required  to  conform  to  Romanism,  or  to 
quit  the  country.  Any  who  had  reproached  the  Virgin  Mary,  or 
become  Anabaptists,  or  dissented  from  either  of  the  authorized  confes- 
sions, were  to  be  punished.  The  canton  of  Zurich  protested  against 
this  decision  ;  but  their  protest  availed  nothing.  Commissioners  from 
the  Popish  majority  of  the  Diet  went  to  Locarno,  convened  a  meeting 
of  the  inhabitants,  read  the  decree,  obtained  the  signatures  of  the 
municipal  authorities,  and  bade  the  dissentients  take  one  day  for  con- 
sideration, and  then  return  their  answer.  Another  sun  witnessed  their 
confession.  In  the  morning  the  waverers  came  over,  asking  pardon 
of  the  Commissioners  for  anything  that  might  have  been  offensive  in 
their  past  conduct.  In  the  afternoon  two  hundred  fathers  of  families, 
accompanied  by  their  wives  and  children,  came  to  the  council-chamber. 
The  men  walked  two  abreast,  leading  their  elder  children,  and  fol- 
lowed by  their  wives,  who  carried  the  little  ones ;  and  thus  they  pre- 
sented themselves  to  the  representatives  of  Popery  in  Switzerland, 
who  received  the  supplicants  with  contemptuous  levity.  One  of  their 
number  addressed  the  Commissioners,  denied  charges  of  Anabaptism, 
Arianism,  and  disloyalty  to  the  state  confederation,  pronounced  a 
confession  of  their  faith,  professed  allegiance  to  the  cause  of  their 
common  country,  solicited  a  strict  investigation  of  the  conduct  of 
every  one,  and  then  implored  pity  on  the  women  and  children,  that 
they  might  not  be  driven  from  their  dwellings  in  the  depth  of  winter. 
The  Commissioners  haughtily  replied,  that  they  were  not  come  there 
to  hear  a  recitation  of  their  faith,  and  that  the  sentence  of  the  seven 
cantons  was  neither  to  be  argued  nor  disputed,  but  they  were  to  say  in 
one  word,  would  they  quit  their  faith  or  not  ?  With  one  voice  the 
congregated  families  exclaimed  :  "  We  will  live  in  it !  We  will  die  in 
it !  We  will  never  renounce  it !  It  is  the  only  true  faith  !  It  is  the 
only  holy  faith !  It  is  the  only  saving  faith  !"  Men,  women,  and 
children  reiterated  these  sentences  for  several  minutes ;  and  the  hearty 
confession  yet  again  lingered  ou  their  lips  in  devout  asseveration. 
Then,  without  one  exception,  or  one  faltering  voice,  two  hundred 
fathers  gave  their  names  to  the  clerk,  whose  record  of  each  confirmed 
the  expatriation  of  a  household.  The  day  for  their  departure  was 
fixed,  March  5th,  1555,  while  yet  winter  reigned  over  the  Alpine 
region  which  they  would  have  to  traverse.  This  expulsion  might 
have  satisfied  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  but  the  measure  of  their 
vengeance  was  not  full.  Riverda,  the  Pope's  Nuncio,  who  had 
laboured  with  dire  success  in  the  assembly  that  condemned  them, 
came  also  to  Locarno,  and,  having  thanked  the  deputies  for  their  dili- 
gence, requested  that  they  would  desire  the  Grison  league  to  deliver 
up  Beccaria,  who  had  taken  refuge  among  them,  that  he  might  be 
punished  for  the  perversion  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  that  they  would 


ROME.  495 

confiscate  the  property  of  the  exiles,  and  retain  their  children,  to 
be  educated  in  the  holy  Catholic,  apostolic,  Roman  faith.  The 
deputies  would  gladly  have  thrown  Beccaria  into  the  fangs  of  the 
Tibriue  wolf ;  but  he  was  beyond  their  power.  As  for  the  children, 
they  durst  not  venture  on  an  outrage  that  the  Protestant  cantons 
would  have  avenged.  The  Nuncio,  with  some  zealous  Dominicans, 
laboured  to  decoy  the  confessors  into  the  snares  of  Romanism  ;  but 
not  one  could  he  take.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  appointed,  the 
entire  church  departed  from  Locarno,  to  take  refuge  in  the  Grisons, 
and  would  have  taken  the  better  road ;  but  the  Senate  of  Milan  would 
not  allow  them  more  than  three  days  for  transit  over  the  Milanese 
territory,  a  term  utterly  insufficient.  They  therefore  embarked  on  the 
lake  Maggiore,  sailed  to  the  northern  extremity,  landed  there,  crossed 
the  Helvetian  boundary  near  Bellinzone,  and  made  their  way  to  Rove- 
redo,  a  small  town  subject  to  the  Grison  league.  There  they  waited 
two  months,  with  scarcely  roofs  to  cover  them,  until  the  thaw  opened 
a  passage  for  them  by  the  Rheetian  Alps  to  Zurich.  A  few  remained 
in  Roveredo ;  the  greater  number  were  welcomed  to  the  rights 
of  citizenship  in  Zurich ;  and  reformed  Christendom  thus  received  a 
colony  of  good  citizens,  of  whom  Popedom  was  not  worthy. 

Rome  and  the  Roman  states  were  watered,  as  well  became  them, 
with  the  blood  of  martyrs.  In  the  church  of  Sta.  Maria,  near 
Minerva,  there  was  held  a  meeting  of  solemnity  then  unprecedented 
in  that  place  (September  5th,  1553).  The  six  Cardinal-Inquisitors, 
with  their  assessors  of  the  tribunal,  occupied  chairs  of  state.  A  crowd 
of  penitents,  as  we  must  call  them,  stood  on  a  rude  platform,  wearing 
the  sordid  livery  of  the  Inquisition.  A  full  congregation  covered  the 
floor,  and  listened  to  a  sermon  in  dispraise  of  heresy,  delivered  by  a 
Dominican,  who  failed  not  to  inveigh  against  the  prisoners  that  were 
brought  thither  to  undergo  the  salutary  discipline  of  the  Church,  and 
be  reconciled  by  the  sacrament  of  penance.  Among  them  stood 
Giovanni  Mollio,  of  Montalcino,  a  Doctor  in  Divinity,  and  Professor 
of  the  University  of  Bologna,  a  man  of  travel,  a  well-tried  confessor 
of  Christ,  who  had  been  four  times  imprisoned,  and  after  having 
foiled  many  disputants  in  argument,  and  instructed  many  thousands 
of  Italians  in  the  first  elements  of  Christianity,  had  been  seized  at 
Ravenna  by  command  of  Pope  Julius  III.,  brought  to  Rome,  passed 
through  the  ordeal  of  a  dungeon,  and  the  forms  of  the  Holy  Office, 
and  was  brought  there  to  make  a  public  recantation  with  the  rest. 
By  his  side,  in  Christian  brotherhood,  stood  a  humble  weaver,  an 
evangelist  from  Perugia.  The  Professor  and  the  artisan  both  resolved 
to  disappoint  their  Master's  enemies  that  day.  Therefore,  after  the 
Dominican  had  finished  his  oration,  and  descended  from  the  pulpit, 
and  the  others  had  recanted,  Mollio  advanced  to  the  front  of  the 
platform,  and  raised  his  voice.  He  defended  the  articles  of  Christian 
faith  that  he  had  taught,  and  refuted  those  of  Popery,  briefly,  but 
with  a  strength  of  eloquence  that  held  the  Cardinals  and  Clergy  dumb 
upon  their  seats ;  and  charged  on  them  the  infidelity,  licentiousness, 
ambition,  and  cruelty  for  which  they  were  notorious.  "  Your  great 
object,"  said  he,  "is  to  amass  wealth  by  every  sort  of  injustice  and 


496  CHAPTER    VII. 

of  cruelty.  Without  ceasing,  you  thirst  for  the  blood  of  the  saints. 
Can  you  be  successors  of  the  holy  Apostles,  you  who  despise  Christ 
and  his  word,  you  who  live  as  if  you  believed  not  that  there  is  a  God 
in  heaven,  you  who  persecute  his  faithful  servants  unto  death,  you 
who  make  his  laws  of  no  effect,  you  who  tyrannise  over  the  conscience 
of  the  saints?  I  appeal  from  your  sentence.  I  summon  you, 
tyrants  and  murderers,  to  answer  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  last  day,  when  your  titles  and  your  pomp  will  not  dazzle,  when 
your  guards  and  your  instruments  of  torture  will  not  terrify  us.  And 
in  testimony  of  this,  take  back  that  which  you  gave  me."  Thus 
saying,  he  flung  his  taper  to  the  ground,  where  it  lay  extinguished. 
The  weaver,  also,  threw  down  his.  The  Cardinals  deigned  not  a 
reply,  but  ordered  Mollio  and  his  companion  to  be  removed.  Those 
Princes  of  the  Church,  having  temporal  jurisdiction,  could  commit 
men  to  the  flames  without  infringing  on  the  decorum  of  the  priest- 
hood ;  and  they  were  therefore  taken,  without  further  ceremony,  to 
the  Campo  di  Flora,  and  there  the  weaver  was  first  hung.  Mollio 
invited  the  executioner  to  hasten  his  end,  and  in  a  few  moments 
followed  his  brother  into  paradise.  The  two  bodies  were  then  burnt, 
their  ashes  thrown  into  the  Tiber,  and  the  insulted  dignity  of  the 
Roman  court  was  pacified.  Some  years  passed  away  before  they 
immolated  another  victim  in  the  Holy  City,  and  then  they  caught  a 
Minister  on  his  way  from  Geneva  to  Calabria,  Giovanni  Aloisio,  and 
burnt  him  (A.D.  1559).  Another  would  have  been  put  to  death  at 
the  same  time ;  but,  for  some  reason  unexplained,  he  was  sent  across 
the  strait,  and  suffered  at  Messina. 

Next  after  these  followed  Lodovico  Paschali,  a  Waldensian  Pastor 
from  Calabria.  The  colleague  of  Paschali,  Stefano  Negrino,  had  died 
of  hunger  in  a  prison  in  Cosenza ;  and  he,  after  enduring  eight 
months'  confinement,  was  taken  to  Naples,  and  thence  to  Rome.  On 
the  journey  to  Naples,  he  had  suffered  as  much  as  any  living  man 
could  well  bear,  from  a  Spaniard  who  had  him  in  custody  ;  and  at 
Rome  he  was  so  disfigured  with  hunger,  filth,  and  laceration,  that  his 
brother,  who,  after  great  difficulty,  had  obtained  permission  to  see 
him,  fainted  at  the  sight.  No  entreaty  could  move  the  Inquisitors  to 
mitigate  his  sufferings  in  the  Roman  prison  ;  but  the  Lord  of  mercy 
sustained  him  ;  and  in  letters  to  his  friends  at  Geneva,  and  to  his 
wife,  we  find  expressions  of  the  utmost  resignation.  He  tells  them 
that  he  enjoyed  an  ineffable  gladness  in  his  heart,  and  was  so  happy 
that  he  forgot  his  bonds,  and  seemed  already  to  be  at  liberty.  Ready 
to  suffer  death  for  Christ,  not  once  only,  but  a  thousand  times,  he 
persevered  in  prayer,  imploring  divine  succour  until  the  last  hour, 
lest  by  any  appearance  of  wavering  he  should  dishonour  God.  Part 
of  a  letter  to  his  wife  shall  be  translated,  as  characteristic  of  the  true 
martyr.  "  Wherefore,  my  dearest  wife,  rejoice  and  console  yourself  in 
Jesus  Christ.  Retain  deeply  engraven  in  your  memory  the  first  three 
petitions  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  casting  all  your  care  and  anxiety  upon 
the  Lord.  Trust  all  to  him,  and  he  will  give  you  whatever  it 
becomes  you  to  desire.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord :  walk  reverently  before 
God :  read  in  the  holy  Scriptures  without  ceasing :  attend  at  the 


SIX    CARDINALS-INQUISITORS.  49~ 

sacred  sermons :  succour  those  who  are  in  distress :  visit  the  sick  : 
and,  as  far  as  you  are  able,  comfort  the  afflicted  and  the  tempted. 
Above  all,  persevere  in  faithful  and  devout  prayer,  and  ask  that  your 
life  may  be  an  example  and  mirror  of  His  doctrine  whom  thou  hast 
lately  professed  to  serve ;  and  study,  ever  more  and  more,  that  as  you 
are  risen  with  Christ,  you  may  seek  not  the  things  which  are  below, 
but  those  which  are  above."  The  good  man  was  taken  from  prison 
to  the  temple  of  Minerva  to  hear  the  last  sentence  read,  and,  next 
day,  to  the  open  place  before  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  where  the  Pope 
and  a  train  of  Cardinals  were  assembled  to  witness  the  spectacle.  On 
seeing  the  supreme  Pontiff,  Paschali  expostulated  with  him  for  his 
arrogance  in  pretending  to  be  Vicar  of  Christ,  when  the  hangman 
strangled  him.  He  was  then  beheaded,  and  lastly  burnt,  that  the 
multiplicity  of  his  offence  against  Roman  majesty  might  be  symbolized 
in  the  manifold  fashion  of  his  death  (September  9th,  1560). 

When  the  objects  of  displeasure  were  beyond  reach,  the  Pope  could 
only  launch  his  curse  causeless  at  a  distance.  Thus  did  he  command 
the  Cardinal-Inquisitors  to  proceed  against  the  Cardinal  of  Chatillon, 
Odet  de  Coligny,  St.  Remain,  Archbishop  of  Aix,  and  other  six  or 
seven  French  Bishops.  Execution  by  Inquisitors  being  impracticable, 
he  pronounced  sentence  on  each  of  them  in  secret  consistory,  judg- 
ing and  declaring  them  to  be  heretics,  schismatics,  and  blasphemers, 
deposed  from  all  profit  and  honour  of  the  Cardinalate,  Archiepiscopate, 
and  Episcopate,  and  deprived  of  benefit  of  Clergy,  with  all  honours, 
offices,  and  dignities,  and  placed  them  under  perpetual  incapacity,  as 
heretical  and  unfruitful  branches,  cut  off  from  the  Church,  and  here- 
after to  be  legitimately  punished,  and  their  persons  taken,  kept,  and 
delivered  by  the  faithful  to  the  ministers  of  justice  (A.D.  1563).  And 
shortly  afterwards,  that  the  tribunal  of  the  faith  might  have  a  pleni- 
tude of  power,  he  authorized  the  six  Cardinals  to  exercise  penal 
jurisdiction  over  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  the  Pope  alone 
excepted,  reserving  to  himself,  in  such  cases,  the  prerogative  of  pro- 
nouncing final  judgment  in  consistory  (A.D.  1564).  As  the  fabric 
of  the  Roman  Inquisition  was  not  yet  deemed  secure,  its  groundwork 
was  completed  about  two  years  afterwards  ;  and  as  the  Bull  of  Pius  V., 
then  published,  establishes  the  Roman  Inquisition  on  the  basis  which 
still  subsists  under  its  present  form,  the  reader  may  not  be  displeased 
by  having  a  translation  of  it  underneath.* 

*  "Our  most  holy  Lord,  the  Lord  Pius  V.,  by  Divine  Providence,  Pope,  established, 
decreed,  ordained,  and  commanded  that  the  affairs  of  faith  be  preferred  to  all  and 
every  other,  since  faith  is  the  substance  and  foundation  of  the  Christian  religion.  There- 
fore, to  all  and  every  of  the  fair  city  and  its  district,  Governor,  Senator,  Vicar,  and 
Auditor  of  the  Apostolic  Chamber,  and  to  all  others  soever,  Legates,  Vice-Legates, 
Governors  of  the  provinces  and  lands  of  His  Holiness  and  of  the  holy  Roman  Church, 
mediately  and  immediately  subject,  and  to  their  lieutenants,  officers,  bariselles,  and 
other  ministers,  as  well  as  to  other  ordinaries  of  places,  and  other  magistrates  and 
officers,  and  men  of  every  condition  and  estate  existing  in  all  and  every  land,  town,  and 
city,  and  in  all  the  Christian  republic,  under  sentence  of  excommunication  pronounced, 
and  of  the  indignation  of  His  Holiness,  and  other  penalties  to  be  imposed  and  executed 
at  the  pleasure  of  His  Holiness,  and  the  most  Illustrious  and  Reverend  Lord  Cardinals- 
Inquisitors,  that  they  obey  the  said  Cardinals- Inquisitors  and  their  precepts  and  com- 
mandments in  whatever  concerns  the  office  of  the  Holy  Inquisition.  But  he  prayed 
Kings,  Dukes,  Earls,  Barons,  and  all  other  Princes,  in  the  name  of  God,  that  they 
VOL.  III.  3  S 


498  CHAPTER    VII. 

Whenever  the  constitution  of  the  Holy  Office  is  revised,  its  officers 
are  sure  to  make  trial  of  their  renovated  powers,  and  thus  did  they  at 
Home.  Pietro  Carnesecchi  had  been  Prothonotary  to  Clement  VII., 
and  he  maintained,  for  several  years,  so  great  an  influence  over  that 
Pontiff  that  people  were  wont  to  say  that  the  pontificate  was  managed 
by  Carnesecchi  rather  than  by  Clement  ;  yet  his  reputation  survived 
after  the  decease  of  his  patron,  when,  not  occupying  a  similar  place  in 
the  councils  of  his  successors,  he  quitted  the  perilous  field  of  public 
life,  and,  living  on  his  benefices,  devoted  himself  to  pursuits  of  learn- 
ing. Being  an  accomplished  classic,  a  poet,  and  an  orator,  and  already 
familiar  with  the  highest  circles  of  society,  he  found  welcome  every- 
where. His  mind  had  long  been  imbued  with  the  principles  of  the 
Reformation  ;  and  when  the  echoes  of  German  preaching  resounded 
in  the  select  societies  of  Italy,  Carnesecchi,  Cardinals  Pole  and  Con- 
tarini,  Marcantonio  Flaminio,  and  others  of  the  same  class,  used  to 
delight  themselves  in  feeding  on  "  that  meat  which  never  perishes," 
as  Pole  confessed  it,  but  which  he,  more  than  any  other,  so  shame- 
fully rejected  afterwards.  But  Carnesecchi,  more  earnest  and  simple- 
minded,  persevered  in  search  of  Gospel  truth.  Valdes,  the  Apostle 
of  Naples,  taught  him  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly.  Ochino,  while 
yet  a  believer  in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  Peter  Martyr,  were  his 
intimate  companions ;  nor  did  he  cease  to  correspond  with  them  after 
they  had  fled  from  Naples  ;  and  when  good  men  were  reduced  to 
indigence  by  persecution,  he  supplied  their  necessities.  Pursued  by 
suspicion,  and  directly  accused  of  heresy,  he  also  found  himself  com- 
pelled to  leave  Italy  ;  but,  favoured  with  the  good  opinion  of  Paul  III., 
eluded  the  strokes  of  inquisitorial  violence  ;  and  first  at  the  court 
of  Margaret,  Duchess  of  Savoy,  and  then  at  that  of  Henry  II. 
of  France,  found  protection.  But  in  all  these  wanderings,  and  while 
surrounded  by  the  glare  and  licentiousness  of  courtier  life,  he  did  not 
lose  his  desire  after  experimental  religion,  to  say  the  least ;  and  after 
converse  with  the  more  eminent  Huguenots  in  France,  fearing  to 
return  to  Italy  proper,  he  went  to  Padua,  in  the  Venetian  territory, 
hoping  that  the  arm  of  Roman  power  might  not  reach  him  there.  An 
excommunication,  indeed,  was  hurled  on  him  by  Paul  IV. ;  but,  under 
a  good  Providence,  the  intercessions  of  friends  saved  him  from  the 
ultimate  sentence  during  that  reign  ;  and  when  one  of  the  Medici  next 
ascended  the  throne  under  the  name  of  Pius  IV.,  Carnesecchi,  being 
also  a  Florentine,  and  zealous  supporter  of  the  Pope's  family,  obtained 
a  recall  of  the  impending  curse  without  being  subjected  to  any  condition 
of  abjuration  ;  and  he  continued,  perhaps  more  devotedly  than  ever, 
to  correspond  with  the  Reformed,  and  promote  the  Reformation. 
Then  Ghislieri,  Prince  of  Inquisitors,  succeeded  to  the  Popedom  ;  and 

•would  favour  the  said  Cardinal- Inquisitors,  and  their  officers,  and  afford  them  help,  and 
cause  help  to  be  rendered  to  them  hy  magistrates,  their  subjects,  in  affairs  pertaining  to 
the  said  Inquisition.  And  further,  that  they  transmit  all  prisoners  for  whatsoever  crimes 
and  offences,  even  the  most  atrocious,  that  are  in  any  way  delated  to  the  said  office 
of  the  Inquisition,  or  denoitnced,  suspending  the  cognizance  of  other  inferior  crimes,  to 
the  said  Cardinals,  and  to  the  prisons  of  the  Inquisition,  there  to  be  detained  in  ordur  to 
the  cognizance  and  examination  of  the  crime  of  heresy,  and  afterwards  to  be  sent  back 
to  the  said  officers  for  examination  concerning  other  crimes,  without  delay." — Limborch, 
Hist.  Inquisit.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  29. 


CARNESECCHI.  499 

the  noble  Florentine,  dreading  a  renewal  of  persecution,  hastened  to 
his  native  city,  sought  momentary  refuge  in  the  friendship  of  Cosimo 
the  Duke,  and  purposed  to  proceed  to  Geneva  and  openly  join  the 
church  of  Christ.  This  purpose,  which  was  afterwards  ascertained  from 
his  papers,  was  deferred,  in  consequence  of  the  apparent  cordiality 
of  Cosimo,  who  showed  him  every  mark  of  esteem  and  hospitality. 
Hospitality,  however,  has  little  sanctity  with  men  who  are  everywhere 
aliens,  except  under  the  shadow  of  the  Vatican.  The  Pope  laid  his 
case  before  a  secret  consistory,  and  sought  assistance  for  gaining 
possession  of  his  person  by  guile,  if  not  by  force.  Cardinal  Pacecco, 
proceeding  in  the  confidence  of  the  college,  wrote  a  flattering  letter  to 
the  Duke  of  Florence,  pointing  out  the  advantages  that  would  result 
to  the  Church  and  to  His  Excellency,  if  that  one  man  were  but 
removed  out  of  the  way.  The  indirect  overture  was  followed  up  by  a 
direct  summons  from  the  Pope,  who  wrote  a  letter  to  Cosimo  with  his 
own  hand,  and  sent  it  by  the  Master  of  "  the  Sacred  Palace."  The 
letter  contained  a  demand  to  deliver  up  the  heretic,  the  inveterate 
enemy  of  the  Catholic  Church,  the  corrupter  of  multitudes.  Carne- 
secchi  was  in  the  palace,  seated  at  table  with  the  Duke  in  the  confi- 
dence of  an  established  friendship,  at  the  moment  when  the  official 
entered,  presented  his  credentials,  and  disclosed  his  message.  Cosimo, 
charmed  with  the  promise  of  a  smile  from  the  head  of  the  Church, 
coolly  delivered  up  his  guest,  and  friend,  and  subject,  to  the  Papal 
messenger,  who  dragged  him  from  the  palace,  and  took  him  in  custody 
to  Rome.  But  ten  days  intervene  between  the  dates  of  the  letter 
of  demand  and  of  another  letter  of  acknowledgment,  wherein  the 
Holy  Father  applauds  the  dexterity  and  obedience  of  the  perfidious 
Duke,  in  doing  "so  good  a  deed  in  such  an  excellent  spirit!"  The 
formalities  at  Eome  were  very  brief.  A  former  Secretary  of  his  own, 
a  Portuguese,  purchased  favour  by  acting  as  his  legal  accuser.  A 
series  of  articles,  drawn  from  his  letters,  reported  from  his  conversa- 
tions, and  now  acknowledged  by  himself,  was  material  for  condemna- 
tion. The  Pope  pretended  a  desire  to  be  lenient.  The  Inquisitors 
delivered  the  usual  exhortations,  and  made  the  usual  offers  of  mercy. 
Even  Cosimo, — whether  in  remorse  or  in  hypocrisy,  who  can  say  ? — 
wrote  letters  intercessory  ;  but  Carnesecehi  neither  equivocated,  nor 
conceded,  nor  prayed  for  pity.  He  witnessed  a  good  confession  ;  and 
after  the  forms  and  delays  of  office, — forms  employed  to  counterfeit 
justice,  and  delays  that  simulated  compassion, — was  taken  to  that 
noted  church  of  Sta.  Maria  supra  Minervam,  and  heard  the  Inquisi- 
torial sentence  read,  as  usual,  a  second  time,  together  with  some  other 
sentences,  probably  of  so-called  penitents.  To  show  the  Romans 
that,  although  their  Inquisition  was  eminently  gentle,  that  of  Spain 
was  quite  after  the  heart  of  their  master,  the  illustrious  victim  was 
covered  with  a  sambenito,  as  in  Spain.  As  a  counterpoise  to  the 
effect  of  that  exhibition,  there  was  a  last  parade  of  mercy.  A  Capuchin 
Monk  went  with  him  from  St.  Mary  to  the  prison,  and  they  two  were 
shut  up  together  for  ten  days  ;  and  for  ten  days  and  nights  the  Monk 
hung  on  him  with  wearisome  but  fruitless  objurgations.  His  noble 
soul  was  kept  in  patience ;  and  on  the  last  morning  he  attired  him- 

3  s  2 


500  CHAPTER    VII. 

self  as  well  as  possible  for  one  who  had  to  wear  the  Spanish  sambenito, 
walked  with  placid  cheerfulness  to  the  scaffold,  was  beheaded,  and  his 
body  burnt  (October  3d,  1567).  There  was  no  one  to  collect  his 
sayings,  nor  describe  his  constancy.  The  persecutors  charged  him 
with  obstinacy,  of  course  ;  and  Romish  writers,  weary  or  ashamed 
of  reiterating  the  old  charge  of  heresy,  are  pleased  to  set  him  down 
as  a  fanatic.  We  own  him  as  a  martyr.  His  doctrine,  as  gathered 
from  the  thirty-four  articles  presented  to  the  Inquisition,*  was  purely 
scriptural :  his  enemies  have  not  accused  him  of  irreligion  or  immo- 
rality :  he  displayed  neither  timidity  nor  anger  during  his  imprison- 
ment and  trial :  he  was  happy  on  the  morning  of  his  martyrdom. 

Never  did  Popery  rage  more  furiously  within  her  own  states  than 
under  Pius  V.,  who  was  promoted  to  the  pontifical  dignity  from  the 
presidency  of  the  Inquisition.  In  Bologna  "  persons  of  all  ranks  were 
promiscuously  subjected  to  the  same  imprisonment,  and  tortures,  and 
death"  (A.D.  1567).  In  that  city  the  heretics  were  not  always  deprived 
of  life  by  hanging  or  beheading,  but  often  by  fire.  The  University, 
as  usual,  was  attacked,  and  many  of  the  students,  being  Germans, 
were  compelled  to  flee.  At  Rome  some  were  every  day  burnt  alive, 
hanged,  or  beheaded.  All  the  prisons  were  overfilled,  and  new  ones 
were  erected.  Not  even  here,  however,  did  the  zealots  overlook  the 
meaner  considerations  that  stimulated  their  brethren  elsewhere.  Two 
persons  of  great  distinction,  Baron  Bernardo  d'Angole  and  the  Count 
di  Petigliano,  were  thrown  into  prison.  After  long  resistance,  they 
consented  to  recant,  under  promise  that  they  should  be  released.  But 
the  promise  was  strangely  kept.  The  Baron  was  condemned  to  pay 
a  fine  of  eighty  thousand  crowns,  and  suffer  perpetual  imprisonment. 
The  Count  paid  one  thousand,  and  was  shut  up  in  the  convent  of  the 
Jesuits  to  the  day  of  his  death.  They  sought  to  save  their  life,  but 
lost  it.  Not  Carnesecchi  alone  was  betrayed  into  the  gripe  of  the 
Inquisition  ;  for  perfidy,  in  all  its  forms,  was  preferred  to  force. 
Thus,  for  example,  when  a  rich  nobleman  at  Ferrara  had  been  delated 
as  a  heretic,  and  the  Pope  could  not  command  certain  means  of  taking 
him  at  home,  he  contrived  to  take  him  in  a  snare.  He  had  a  cousin 
in  Rome,  and  him  the  Curials  summoned  to  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo, 
and  addressed  in  such  words  as  these :  "  Either  you  must  die,  or 
write  to  your  cousin  at  Modena,  desiring  him  to  meet  you  at  Bologna, 
at  a  certain  hour,  as  if  you  wished  to  speak  with  him  on  important 
business."  The  letter  was  sent,  the  cousins  met  at  Bologna,  the  one 
was  dismissed,  and  the  other  brought  bound  to  Rome,  and  dropped 
into  the  vortex  of  the  Inquisition  ;  and  this  anecdote  is  the  only  trace 
of  the  event.  People  disappeared  from  their  houses,  their  beds  were 
found  empty  in  the  mornings,  their  neighbours  whispered  that  such 
an  one  and  such  an  one  were  dead;  but  the  rest  of  the  tale  was  buried 
in  panic  silence  ;  men  were  afraid  even  to  betray  fear ;  and  every 
man's  existence  seemed  to  hang  in  doubt  (A.D.  1568).  Not  banditti 
only,  but  familiars,  spread  dismay  along  the  high-roads  of  the  Papal 
states,  and  often  appeared  at  Rome,  bringing  in  their  captives.  Thus 
they  brought  Francesco  Cellario,  a  Waldensian  Barbe,  from  the  Valte- 

*  They  are  given  by  Gerdes,  Spec.  Ital.  Ref.,  p.  144,  from  Laderchius. 


AONIO    PALEARIO.  501 

line.  When  travelling  according  to  the  custom  of  those  reverend  evan- 
gelists, he  was  way-laid,  bound,  carried  to  a  Roman  prison,  and  after 
suffering  there  twelve  months,  was  brought  out  to  the  stake  (A.D. 
1569).  The  sufferings  of  those  good  men  were  intense,  no  doubt ; 
but  the  grace  of  God  reached  them  in  that  extremity ;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  cloak  of  silence  thrown  over  the  horrors  of  Rome  in  the 
time  of  Ghislieri.  we  catch,  now  and  then,  a  distant  sound  of  the 
martyr-song,  and  venture  to  believe  that  those  Italians  were  not  less 
triumphant  over  death  than  our  own  Latimer  and  Ridley.  One, 
Bartolommeo  Bartoccio,  after  wandering  from  city  to  city,  had  estab- 
lished himself  under  a  feigned  name, — we  remember  that  nothing  was 
more  common, — and  become  owner  of  a  silk  manufactory  at  Geneva. 
One  day,  being  at  Genoa,  he  incautiously  revealed  his  real  name  to  a 
merchant,  was  apprehended,  and  sent  on  to  Rome.  Two  years' 
imprisonment  proved  his  faith,  and  then  he  walked  firmly  to  the 
stake ;  and  while  the  flames  were  feeding  on  him,  the  astonished 
bystanders  heard  him  shout,  Vittoria  !  Vittoria  !  reiterating  the  tes- 
timony that  he  had  found  victory  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
(A.D.  1569). 

Few  names  are  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of  Italian  history  more 
illustrious  than  that  of  Aonio  Paleario,  born  at  Veroli,  in  the  Cam- 
pagna  di  Roma,  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  He 
first  attained  to  eminence  as  public  teacher  of  Greek  and  Latin,  in 
Sienna,  appointed  by  the  Senate.  In  that  city  he  read  lectures  on 
philosophy  and  literature  with  great  applause,  combining  the  energy 
of  a  manly  spirit,  during  seven  *  of  the  best  years  of  his  life,  with  the 
charm  of  a  Ciceronian  Latin  ;  and  his  orations  gained  him  the  admi- 
ration of  the  learned  throughout  Europe.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
works  of  the  German  and  Swiss  Reformers,  and  studied  the  Bible  for 
himself.  The  sentiment  of  his  discourses  was  not  less  dignified  and 
chaste  than  the  language  in  which  it  was  conveyed  ;  and  although  he 
did  not  assume  the  character  of  a  Reformer,  he  was  one  in  reality  ; 
and  the  admonitions  of  his  friend,  Cardinal  Sadolet,  did  not  dissuade 
him  from  insisting  openly  on  truths  which  many  other  scholars 
laboured  to  conceal.  Such  a  man  could  not  escape  persecution  :  his 
private  and  unguarded  conversations  were  reported,  his  writings  were 
scrutinized,  and  it  became  probable  that  the  power  of  the  Senate 
would  be  insufficient  to  save  him  from  the  grasp  of  the  Inquisition. 
A  person  who  appears  in  the  works  of  Paleario  under  his  Latinised 
name,  Otho  Melius  Cotta,  seems  to  have  been  the  most  diligent  and 
vexatious  of  the  persecutors.  To  clear  himself  from  an  accumulation 
of  calumnies,  Paleario  pronounced  an  oration  before  the  senators 
of  Sienna  in  his  own  defence,  a  few  passages  of  which  disclose  the 
moral  condition  of  society  in  Sienna,  no  less  clearly  than  his  own. 
"  Cotta,"  he  exclaims,  "  dost  thou  think  thyself  a  Christian,  because 
thou  wearest  in  purple  the  sign  of  Christ  ?  Dost  thou  think  thyself 
a  Christian  while  thou  art  contriving  calumny,  and  trampling,  not  on 
a  mute  image  of  Christ,  but  on  an  innocent  man  ?  He  who  attacks  a 
man  with  wicked  guile,  is  far  indeed  from  the  religion  of  Christ ;  and 

*  Probably  from  the  age  of  thirty-four  to  forty-one. 


502  CHAPTER    VII. 

while  thou  hast  suffered  no  injury  from  me,  and  yet  art  plotting  tins 
against  me,  I  know  not  what  thou  canst  fancy  thyself  to  be  in  the 
sight  of  Christ.  Surely  thou  hast  not  learned  of  him  to  fling  at  me 
a  false  accusation  like  an  envenomed  shaft,  to  envy  me  this  dignity, 
and  circumvent  me  in  every  way  possible.  Hast  thou  never  reflected 
that  with  false  witnesses,  and  by  tricks  like  these,  they  once  assailed 
Christ  himself,  of  all  beings  the  most  innocent  ?  0  egregious  piety  ! 
O  admirable  religion!  Surely  if  thou  hast  learnt  thus  to  worship 
Christ,  it  must  be  to  recall  his  death  to  mind  that  thou  art  crucifying 
the  innocent.  And  thou,  good  man,  hast  gone  to  the  Octovirs,*  and 
asked  them  to  deprive  me,  a  man  that  am  a  heretic,  as  thou  sayest, 
of  the  office  of  teaching.  But  that  Greek  and  novel  designation  I 
disclaim  utterly  :  for  I  am  not  now  addressing  thee  alone,  a  barbarian 
and  vulgar  man,  but  speak  to  these  also,  who  are  persons  of  under- 
standing and  religion.  Thou  didst  add,  most  shamelessly,  that  I 
agree  in  opinion  with  the  Germans,  and  that  thou  wast  well  able  to 
prove  it ;  and  those  who  knew  not  the  hatred  that  lurked  under  these 
words,  took  them,  not  for  an  accusation,  for  there  is  no  place  for 
accusation,  but  for  evidence.  Thou  sayest  that  I  agree  with  the 
Germans  ;  but  how  vulgar  a  charge  is  this  !  Thinkest  thou  that  all 
Germans  are  tied  up  in  one  bundle  ?  All,  all  bad  ?  But  if  thou 
meanest  that  I  agree  with  the  German  theologians,  this,  too,  is  excessively 
perplexing :  for  in  Germany  there  are  many  most  noble  theologians ; 
neither  is  there  another  country  where  so  many  and  so  various  opinions 
are  in  circulation  ;  wherefore,  in  saying  that  I  agree  with  the  Germans, 
thou  hast  pronounced  nothing.  But  thy  maledictions,  although 
replete  with  folly,  have  a  point ;  and  when  thou  utterest  them,  are 
full  of  poison.  (Ecolampadius,  Erasmus,  Melancthon,  Luther,  Pome- 
ranus,  Bucer,  and  others,  who  have  been  brought  under  suspicion, 
are  Germans.  But  I  think  that  none  of  our  theologians  will  be  so 
stupid  as  not  to  understand  and  acknowledge,  that  very  many  things 
which  they  have  written  are  worthy  of  all  praise  :  written  with  gravity, 
accuracy,  and  sincerity :  either  gathered  from  those  first  fathers,  (the 
Apostles,)  who  left  us  their  healthful  precepts,  or  from  Greek  com- 
mentators, and  men  of  our  own,  who,  although  not  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  those  pillars  of  the  Church,  are  not  to  be  despised." 
But  Paleario  declares  that  he  neither  follows  the  Germans,  nor  is  he 
at  enmity  with  Frenchmen  or  Italians  ;  nor  indiscriminately  receives 
all  things,  good  or  bad,  that  German,  Frenchman,  or  Italian  may 
have  written.  And  then,  with  reference  to  the  attempts  of  Cotta  and 
his  adherents  to  deprive  him  of  his  public  employment,  he  addresses 
the  Senate.  "  As  for  this  poverty  of  mine,  conscript  fathers,  this 
domestic  indigence,  I  call  it  golden,  and  think  it  not  mean  in  com- 
parison with  the  magnificence  and  luxury  of  these  men.  It  is  my 
triumph.  Truly  my  means  at  home  are  scanty  (res  angusta  domi)  ; 
but  I  have  a  conscience  in  the  depths  of  my  soul  that  is  great, 
(augusta,)  glad,  and  free.  This  conscience  the  furies  cannot  agitate 
by  day,  nor  terrify  with  flaming  brands  at  night.  Let  them  sit  in 
the  professor's  chair,  let  them  bestow  honours,  let  them  adorn  their 

*  The  eight  Senators. 


AONIO    PALEARIO.  503 

apartments  with  magnificence  ;  I  will  hide  me  in  my  library  with  my 
oaken  stool,  and  be  satisfied  if  I  can  wrap  myself  in  woollen  to  keep 
off  the  cold,  or  wear  linen  for  the  heats,  and  rest  quietly  upon  my 
bed.  And,  0  thou  gracious  Christ,  author,  preserver,  eularger  of  thy 
gifts,  as  thou  hast  given  me  a  contempt  for  those  things,  and  firmness 
of  mind  that  I  can  speak  with  a  regard  to  truth  rather  than  to  my 
own  will  and  comfort,  so  I  pray  thee  to  give  me  piety,  modesty,  and 
continence,  and  heap  on  me  those  riches  which  I  know  are  most 
precious  to  thee  and  thine." 

The  senators  could  not,  or  would  not,  protect  him.  In  the  same 
oration  he  refers  to  a  book  written  by  himself  in  Italian  (Thusce) 
that  year  (A.D.  1543),  on  the  Benefit  of  the  Death  of  Christ,  and 
appeals  to  it  as  containing  his  real  sentiments  respecting  Christianity. 
The  book  was  printed  without  a  name  ;  but  this  open  avowal  of  author- 
ship shows  that  he  did  not  fear  to  confess  Christ ;  and  although  the 
Inquisitors  have  so  far  destroyed  the  impression  that  not  one  Italian 
copy  of  it  is  known  to  be  extant,  forty  thousand  were  circulated 
within  six  years,  and  it  was  soon  translated  into  French,  Spanish,  and 
English.  Of  this  last  version  a  reprint  has  recently  been  published, 
and  attests  the  orthodoxy  of  Paleario  in  every  essential  point  of  doc- 
trine ;  and  especially  his  earnestness  in  exalting  Christ,  whose  sacred 
name  ever  dwelt  upon  his  lips.  But  he  expected  that  the  composi- 
tion of  that  book  would  bring  on  him  the  penalty  of  death  ;  and  the 
spirit  in  which  he  awaited  martyrdom  is  apparent  in  his  own  words  to 
the  Senate.  "  Than  which  penalty,  if  I  must  suffer  it,  for  the  testi- 
mony I  have  given,  nothing  will  be  more  happy  for  me  :  neither  do  I 
think  that  it  becomes  a  Christian  to  die  on  his  bed  in  times  like  these. 
It  is  a  little  thing  to  be  accused  and  thrown  into  prison,  to  be  beaten 
with  rods,  to  be  hung  up  with  a  rope,  to  be  sewed  up  in  a  sack,  to  be 
thrown  to  wild  beasts ;  it  will  become  us  well  to  be  roasted  at  the 
fire,  if  by  these  punishments  the  truth  may  be  brought  to  light." 
And  thenceforth  he  stood  prepared  for  such  a  death.  Under  the  title 
of  "  Servant  of  Jesus  Christ,"  he  wrote  letters  to  Luther  and  Calvin  ; 
but  his  most  important  work,  subsequently  to  this  oration,  and  after 
his  removal  from  Sienna,  which  soon  took  place,  is  the  "  Testimonies 
of  Aonio  Paleario  to  the  People  and  Nations  who  call  upon  the  Name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;"  followed,  as  a  second  part,  by  an  "Action, 
or  Declaration  of  the  Testimonies  against  the  Roman  Pontiffs  and 
their  Adherents,  addressed  to  the  Christian  Princes  and  Prefects  in 
the  Council,  in  whom  dwells  the  Spirit  of  God."  After  many  pro- 
mises and  convocations,  the  Council  of  Trent  was  near  at  hand ;  but 
while  no  one  could  confidently  expect  that  it  would  be  assembled,  the 
Protestants  refused  to  acknowledge  a  company  so  convened  to  be  a 
Christian  Council.  Still  they  desired  and  awaited  such  a  Council,  and 
hoped  that  before  it  the  Papacy  would  fall.  Paleario  participated  in  the 
hope,  and  privately  wrote  twenty  articles  testatory  against  the  antichris- 
tian  doctrines  and  practices  of  Rome,  and  the  larger  treatise  following, 
and  confided  the  whole  to  friends  whom  he  considered  to  be  "  holy 
men  and  full  of  faith,"  with  a  testamentary  injunction  that  it  should 
be  preserved  secret,  transmitted  by  them  to  their  heirs,  and  kept 


504  CHAPTER    VII. 

unpublished  until  the  meeting  of  the  desired  Council,  when  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Swiss  and  German  churches  might  receive  the  Testi- 
mony, and  when  the  Declaration  should  be  presented  to  the  Christian 
Princes,  and  read  in  the  Council  as  from  a  departed  confessor,  or,  as 
he  thought  probable,  a  martyr  of  Christ.  These  documents  are  emi- 
nently evangelical,  and  written  with  the  seriousness  of  one  who  expects 
every  moment  to  be  deprived  of  liberty  and  life.  The  only  points 
of  difference  between  him  and  the  Reformed  Churches  in  general  are, 
that  he  speaks  of  marriage  as  if  it  were  a  sacrament ;  and  maintains 
that  judicial  oaths  are  unlawful.  When  he  sat  down  to  write  these 
Testimonies,  he  "  found  himself  destitute  of  all  the  succours  of  life, 
except  CHRIST,  to  whom  he  was  entirely  devoted  ;"  and  he  expected 
to  be  compelled  "  to  leave  relatives,  friends,  a  most  excellent  wife  and 
most  lovely  children,  and  be  cut  off  from  Italy,  and  have  to  roam  in 
solitudes,  or  dwell  in  prison,  and  then  die  by  violence."  At  that 
moment  sorrow  and  weeping  took  possession  of  his  house,  for  he  was  dis- 
missed from  his  employment,  disgraced,  and  exposed  to  poverty,  reproach, 
and  peril ;  but  he  provided  this  testimony  of  trust  in  God  his  Saviour ; 
and  about  fifty  years  afterwards,  having  passed  through  unknown 
hands,  the  manuscript  was  found,  and  committed  to  the  press. 

His  fears,  however,  were  not  yet  fully  realized.  The  Senate 
of  Lucca  invited  the  illustrious  outcast  of  Sienna  to  accept  a  similar 
appointment  in  their  city,  where  he  remained  for  about  ten  years,  and 
then  transferred  his  services  to  Milan.  Shielded  by  the  good  provi- 
dence of  God  until  an  advanced  age,  he  contributed  to  sustain  the 
standard  of  truth  in  Italy  during  the  persecutions  above  narrated,  and 
was  about  to  remove  to  Bologna  when  that  storm  overtook  him  which 
swept  over  the  Papal  states  under  Pius  V.  His  book  on  the  Benefit 
of  the  Death  of  Christ,  his  oration  before  the  Senate  of  Sienna,  which 
contained,  with  much  that  was  offensive  to  Roman  ears,  a  warm  com- 
mendation of  Ochino,  and  the  tenor  of  his  conversation,  writings,  and 
lectures  for  many  years,  were  all  arrayed  against  him.  The  Inquisitor 
at  Milan  seized  him,  and  took  him  to  Rome,  where  he  was  imprisoned 
in  the  Torre  Nona,  and  subjected  to  an  inquisitorial  trial.  Their 
sentence  was,  that  he  should  be  shut  up  for  three  years  in  a  dungeon, 
then  be  hung,  and  his  body  committed  to  the  flames.  After  so  deli- 
berately severe  a  sentence,  one  might  suppose  that  the  culprit  had 
committed  some  unusually  aggravated  crime  ;  but  the  sum  of  guilt  is 
no  greater,  the  annalist  Laderchius  being  witness,  than  what  the 
following  articles  express  : — 

"  1 .  He  denied  that  any  purgatory  is,  or  can  be,  found. 
"  2.  He  disapproved  of  the  custom  of  burying  the  dead  in  churches, 
and  other  buildings  ;  and  said  that  the  ill  smell  of  corpses  should  be 
got  rid  of,  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient  Romans,  who  were  used  to 
bury  their  dead  outside  the  city. 

"  3.  He  slighted  and  thought  badly  of  the  state  and  habit  of  Monks, 
comparing  them  to  the  Priests  of  Mars,  who  carried  shields  about  the 
city,  singing  and  dancing  ;  and  to  the  Priests  of  Cybele,  mutilated, 
and  having  halters  round  their  necks  ;  and  to  the  Druids ;  and 
derided  them  because  of  their  motley  religious  habits. 


PALEARIO    MARTYRED.  505 

"4.  He  appeared  to  attribute  justification  to  faith  alone  in  the 
divine  mercy,  remitting  sins  through  Christ." 

On  these  points,  certainly  of  most  unequal  magnitude,  Paleario 
attempted  to  reason  with  his  Judges,  but  found  them  deaf  to  reasons, 
and  therefore  ceased  from  arguing,  and  surrendered  himself  to  their 
vengeance.  "  Since  your  Eminences,"  said  he,  "  have  so  many 
credible  witnesses  against  me,  it  is  useless  for  you  to  trouble  your- 
selves, or  me,  any  longer.  I  have  determined  to  follow  the  counsel 
of  the  blessed  Apostle  Peter,  who  says,  that  '  Christ  suffered  for  us, 
leaving  us  an  example,  that  we  should  follow  his  steps :  who  did  no 
evil,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  :  who,  when  he  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again  ;  when  he  suffered,  threatened  not,  but  committed 
himself  to  Him  that  judgeth  righteously.'  Proceed,  then,  to  give 
judgment.  Pronounce  sentence  on  Aonio.  Gratify  his  adversaries, 
and  fulfil  your  office."  When  the  period  of  imprisonment  was 
expired,  they  passed  the  final  sentence,  gave  him  up  to  a  fraternity 
of  Monks  in  order  to  be  "  converted  ;"  and  the  brethren,  greedy  of  an 
honour  that  they  could  not  merit,  registered  him  as  one  that  had 
recanted, — which,  however,  is  contradicted  by  the  formal  testimony 
of  their  own  historians, — and  on  a  Monday  morning  (July  3d,  1570), 
he  was  brought  out  to  die.  Before  quitting  the  cell,  he  was  permitted 
to  write  a  letter  to  his  wife,  and  another  to  his  two  sons,  which  the 
Friars  undertook  to  deliver,  after  copying  them  into  their  archives. 
To  his  wife  he  addressed  a  few  words  of  affectionate  consolation,  tell- 
ing her  that  he  was  going  to  depart  joyfully  to  attend  the  nuptials 
of  the  Son  of  the  Great  King,  a  joy  which  he  had  always  prayed  God 
to  grant  him  through  his  goodness  and  infinite  mercy.  He  bade  her 
not  grieve  for  him,  an  old  man  of  threescore  years  and  ten,  and  use- 
less. To  his  children  he  gave  some  information  and  counsel  as  to 
their  family  affairs,  intrusted  their  "  little  sister"  to  their  special  care, 
gave  paternal  salutations  to  other  two  daughters,  and  prayed  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  might  comfort  and  keep  them  all.  At  the  pyre  there  was 
no  witness  to  record  the  last  confession  ;  but  his  witness  is  in  heaven, 
and  his  record  is  on  high. 

The  Court  of  Rome,  arrogating  to  themselves  a  jurisdiction  over  the 
whole  world  in  matters  of  religion,  have  never  acknowledged  the  right 
of  foreigners  to  have  protection  from  the  Inquisitors  in  their  city. 
An  Englishman  in  Rome  has  not  yet  any  guarantee  for  safety.  And 
it  is  worthy  of  observation  here,  that  even  when  Italians  ceased  to  be 
put  to  death  in  Rome  for  Christ's  sake,  Englishmen  were  made  vic- 
tims. About  the  month  of  July,  1581,*  one  Richard  Atkins,  a  native 
of  Hertfordshire,  arrived  at  Rome,  and  presented  himself  at  the  door 
of  the  English  college.  The  students,  supposing  that  he  desired  hos- 
pitality, came  out  to  welcome  him,  and  invited  him  to  lodge  there, 
according  to  custom.  But  to  their  amazement  he  refused  the  welcome, 
and  reproved  them  for  their  sins.  "  I  come  not,  my  countrymen," 
said  he,  "  with  any  such  intent  as  you  judge ;  but  1  come  lovingly  to 
rebuke  the  great  misorder  of  your  lives,  which  I  grieve  to  hear,  and 
p;ty  to  behold.  I  come,  likewise,  to  let  your  proud  Antichrist  under- 

*  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  Appendix. 
VOI  .     III.  3    T 


506  CHAPTER    VII. 

stand  that  he  doth  offend  the  heavenly  Majesty,  rob  God  of  his  honour, 
and  poisoneth  the  whole  world  with  his  abominable  blasphemies, 
making  them  do  homage  to  stocks  and  stones,  and  that  filthy  sacra- 
ment, which  is  nothing  else  but  a  foolish  idol."  Irritated  by  this 
plainness  of  speech,  one  Hugh  Griffith,  a  Welchman,  caused  him  to  be 
put  into  the  Inquisition,  whence,  by  some  unusual  effort  of  charity,  he 
was  released  in  a  few  days.  But  Atkins  had  seriously  gone  to  Rome  to 
testify  against  the  wickedness  of  Romanism,  and  was  not  to  be  daunted, 
nor  put  to  silence.  Meeting  a  procession  with  the  host,  he  endea- 
voured to  snatch  it  from  the  Priest,  but  failed ;  and  the  people,  not 
understanding  the  reason  of  such  a  gesture,  supposed  that  he  was 
moved  by  a  rapture  of  devotion  to  embrace  the  god,  admired  his 
fervour,  and  allowed  him  to  pass  on.  But  "  a  few  days  after,  he  came 
to  St.  Peter's  church,  where  divers  gentlemen  and  others  were  hearing 
mass,  and  the  Priest  at  the  elevation  ;  he,  using  no  reverence,  stepped 
among  the  people  to  the  altar,  and  threw  down  the  chalice  with  the 
wine,  striving  likewise  to  have  pulled  the  cake  out  of  the  Priest's 
hands,  for  which  divers  rose  up  and  beat  him  with  their  fists,  and  one 
drew  his  rapier,  and  would  have  slain  him,  so  that,  in  brief,  he  was 
carried  to  prison,  where  he  was  examined  wherefore  he  had  committed 
such  a  heinous  offence  :  whereunto  he  answered,  that  he  came  pur- 
posely for  that  intent,  to  rebuke  the  Pope's  wickedness,  and  their 
idolatry.  Upon  this  he  was  condemned  to  be  burned  ;  which  sentence, 
he  said,  he  was  right  willing  to  suffer,  and  the  rather,  because  the 
sum  of  his  offence  pertained  to  the  glory  of  God."  Many  English- 
men came  to  him  in  prison,  endeavouring  to  persuade  him  to  recant ; 
but  he  "  confuted  their  dealings  by  divers  places  of  Scripture,  and 
willed  them  to  be  sorry  for  their  wickedness,  while  God  did  permit 
them  time ;  else  they  were  in  danger  of  everlasting  damnation.  These 
words  made  the  Englishmen  depart,  for  they  could  not  abide  to  hear 
them."  But  they  could  abide  the  sight  of  a  murdered  countryman. 
Atkins,  naked  from  the  middle  upwards,  was  mounted  on  an  ass,  and 
led  through  the  city.  Four  English  Priests  walked  by  him,  and 
preached  "repentance  ;"  and,  to  give  emphasis  to  their  addresses,  or 
to  instruct  him  in  the  nature  of  infernal  torment,  thrust  at  his  naked 
body  the  burning  torches  which  they  carried.  But  he  exhorted  them 
to  repent,  and,  "  for  Christ's  sake,  have  regard  to  the  saving  of  their 
souls  ;"  and  as  the  flaming  brands  were  applied,  bent  forward  to 
receive  them,  and  even  held  the  fire  to  his  flesh,  to  show  that  God  had 
delivered  him  from  the  terror  of  the  hell  they  threatened.  For  about 
half  a  mile  they  carried  him  in  this  way,  to  St.  Peter's,  where  faggots 
were  made  ready  outside  the  church  ;  and  there,  to  give  him  space 
for  recantation,  they  did  not  consume  him  quickly,  but  burnt  off  his 
legs  first.  "  Not  dismayed  a  whit,"  he  endured  the  torment  ;  and 
when  some  one  would  have  put  a  crucifix  into  his  hand,  that  he  might 
embrace  it,  in  token  that  he  died  a  Christian,  he  put  it  away,  telling 
them  that  they  were  "  evil  men,  to  trouble  him  -with  such  paltry, 
when  he  was  preparing  himself  to  God,  whom  he  beheld  in  majesty 
and  mercy,  ready  to  receive  him  into  eternal  rest."  Then  his  tender- 
hearted countrymen,  finding  his  faith  invincible,  walked  away,  crying, 


ENGLISHMEN    BURNT    AT    ROME.  507 

"Let  us  leave  Lira  to  the  devil,  whom  Le  serves."  TLe  Romans 
understood  not  a  word  ;  but  the  crowd  stood  mute  with  wonder  at 
the  monstrous  zeal  of  the  Anglo-Catholics,  in  Rome,  their  country, 
and  at  the  superhuman  patience  of  the  English  martyr.  Atkins  was 
the  first  Englishman  whom  they  had  seen  die  for  the  sake  of  Christ ; 
but  Dr.  Thomas  Reynolds,  a  resident  at  Naples,  had  been  carried 
prisoner  to  Rome  about  fifteen  years  before,  and  died  in  the  hands 
of  the  tormentors  in  their  secret  chamber,  refusing  to  depose  anything 
against  his  fellow-prisoners,  three  Neapolitans.* 

The  word  of  God  might  not  be  printed  for  public  use  ;  but  Roman 
literature  was  now  enlarged  by  the  issue  of  some  important  volumes, 
such  as,  a  "  Formulary  of  the  Inquisition,"  a  "  Lantern  of  Inquisi- 
tors" (A.D.  1584)  ;  and,  within  twelve  months  after  them,  a  "Direc- 
tory for  Inquisitors ; "  all  tending  to  reduce  their  occupation  to  rules 
of  science,  and  to  a  uniformity  worthy  of  that  Church  which  is  always 
and  everywhere  the  same.  And,  at  length,  Sixtus  V.  instituted  fifteen 
congregations  of  Cardinals  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  city  and  the 
world,  confiding  to  the  first  of  these — matters  of  faith  being  indis- 
putably most  important — the  care  of  the  Inquisition.  With  undevi- 
ating  assiduity  that  congregation  still  prosecutes  its  labours.  The 
same  Pontiff  also  deigned  to  take  the  literature  of  Europe  under  his 
paternal  care  ;  establishing,  to  that  end,  a  congregation  "for  the  Index 
of  Prohibited  Books  ;"  restoring  the  library  of  the  Vatican,  f  on  a  scale 
of  great  magnificence,  that  all  books  in  Christendom  might  thence- 
forth be  conformed  to  the  standard  and  expurgated  copies  that  should 
be  found  there  ;  erecting  a  printing-office,  in  order  that  the  typography 
of  the  Christian  world  might  follow  a  normal  institution ;  and  cau- 
tiously ordaining  that  no  printing-office  should  be  permitted  to  exist  in 
any  place  where  Inquisitors  were  not  resident,  to  watch  over  the 
exercise  of  that  dangerous  art.  He  also  deemed  it  right  to  take  the 
lead  in  the  matter  of  Biblical  translation,  and  actually  printed  an 
Italian  Bible  ;  but  Catholic  Christendom  trembled  at  the  announce- 
ment of  such  a  work.  His  Holiness  was  taught  that  he  had  taken  a 
false  step  :  he  retracted,  and  the  vernacular  edition  is  extinct.  J  But 
the  Vatican  library  is  now  vulgarly  regarded  as  a  monument  of  Papal 
liberality,  no  less  than  munificence. 

The  Roman  Inquisitors  watched  with  keenest  anxiety  against  the 
introduction  of  heresy  from  England.  In  1595  an  Englishman  was 
burnt  alive,  together  with  a  native  of  Silesia  ;  the  former  having 
snatched  the  host  from  the  hand  of  a  Priest  in  procession,  and  the 
offending  hand  was  cut  off  at  the  stake  before  the  lighting  of  the 
faggots.  Many  Englishmen  have  been  imprisoned  ;  but  who,  or  Low 
many,  have  suffered  violent  death,  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture. 
Inquisitorial  privacy  covers  their  memory  with  an  impenetrable  veil. 

Atrocities  which  lay  hidden  under  the  secret  in  the  larger  conti- 
nental Inquisitions,  and  only  transpired  now  and  then  by  voluntary 

*  Strype,  Annals  of  the  Reformation  under  Queen  Elizabeth,  chap.  48. 
t   Which  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Germans  when  they  sacked  Rome. 
t  Mendham,  in  his  "  Literary  Policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,"  has  collected  imicb. 
minute  information  concerning  these  proceedings,  chap.  3. 

3x2 


508  CHAPTER    VII. 

disclosure  of  the  persecutors,  or  in  public  acts  of  faith,  and  might  be 
reported  by  strangers  who  had  seen  them,  were  utterly  concealed  in 
the  remoter  provinces,  and  in  the  islands.  Of  Sicily  we  have  but 
indistinct  and  general  reports.  Malta,  except  as  the  Knights  of  St. 
John  made  that  arid  rock  visible  to  the  eye  of  Europe,  was  shrouded 
in  its  proper  insignificance  ;  and  its  rude  inhabitants  must  have  been 
almost  impervious  to  rumours  of  religious  change  when  wafted  from 
the  busier  scenes  of  continental  Christendom.  Yet  there  were  Inqui- 
sitors there,  who  watched  over  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Knights,  the 
army,  and  the  fleet,  while  the  Bishop  and  his  host  contended  for  the 
utmost  amount  of  spiritual  jurisdiction  ;  and  the  advances  of  civiliza- 
tion were  as  yet  too  feeble  to  dislodge  the  troglodytes  from  their  dens. 
As  for  the  Inquisition,  it  could  not  keep  its  prisons  with  the  awfully 
severe  discipline  of  Spain,  or  even  of  Rome  ;  and  it  would  seem  that 
the  Judaising  or  Islamising  heretic  was  consigned  to  an  almost  pro- 
miscuous detention  with  common  criminals.  So  much,  at  least,  may 
be  inferred  from  some  passages  of  the  following  narration.* 

About  the  year  1659,  when  that  extraordinary  religious  movement, 
commonly  called  "  Quakerism,"  was  at  its  height  in  England,  two 
pious  women,  Catherine  Evans  and  Sarah  Cheevers,  believed  them- 
selves commissioned  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  to  leave  their  husbands 
and  children,  and  preach  the  Gospel  in  Alexandria.  Our  business  is 
not  to  discuss  the  propriety  of  their  proceeding,  nor  to  fix  the  limits 
within  which  it  may  please  the  great  Head  of  the  church  to  dispense 
his  gifts.  In  the  present  volume  we  have  to  deal  with  facts ;  and 
perhaps  there  are  few  facts  more  worthy  of  remembrance  than  those 
which  arose  out  of  this  Quaker  mission.  They  do  not  appear  to  have 
suffered  any  contradiction  at  home  :  their  husbands  bowed  with  sin- 
cere submission  to  what  they  regarded  as  the  sovereign  will  of  God  ; 
supplied  their  wives  with  money,  and  saw  them  embark,  in  the  port 
of  London,  irf  a  vessel  bound  for  Leghorn.  "Many  weeks"  were 
they  tossed  about  the  Downs  and  Channel, — a  perilous  navigation, — 
took  their  departure  from  Plymouth,  and  reached  Leghorn  after  a 
stormy  passage  of  thirty-one  days. — "  Many  trials  and  storms,  both 
within  and  without ;  but  the  Lord  delivered  'em  out  of  them  all." 
On  reaching  Leghorn  they  were  welcomed  by  some  Friends  resident 
there,  "  went  into  the  city  in  the  living  power  of  the  Lord,  and  stayed 
there  many  days."  Every  day  they  met  for  worship  ;  all  sorts  of 
people  came  to  their  meetings  ;  no  one  attempted  to  molest  them  ;  but 
they  were  suffered  to  distribute  some  books,  and  one  paper, — a 
written  testimony,  doubtless,  against  the  prevalent  idolatry.  The 
Friends  procured  them  a  passage  in  a  Dutch  ship  bound  for  Alex- 
andria, by  way  of  Cyprus ;  but,  another  vessel  being  in  company,  a 
usual  precaution  of  merchantmen  in  the  days  of  piracy,  the  two 
Captains  agreed  to  put  in  at  Malta.  Catherine  and  Sarah,  the  first 
Protestant  Missionaries  to  that  island,  stood  on  the  Dutchman's  deck 
as  they  sailed  into  the  Grand  Harbour,  between  the  towering  forts 
of  Ricasoli  and  St.  Elmo,  and  passed  under  the  battlements  of 

*  Borrowed  from  "  A  brief  History  of  the  Voyage  of  Katherine  Evans  and  Sarah 
Cheevers  to  the  Island  of  Malta,"  &c.,  London,  1715. 


CATHERINE    EVANS    AND    SAUAH    CHEEVERS.  509 

Valetta,  crowded  with  so  many  people,  who  came  to  see  the  ships, 
that  they  fancied  that  the  city  was  "  in  some  commotion."  A  great 
burden  weighed  upon  their  spirits,  and  Catherine  could  not  forbear 
from  saying  to  her  sister,  that  they  had  "  a  dreadful  cup  to  drink  at 
that  place."  But  they  remembered  their  mission  ;  and,  lifting  up  her 
eyes  towards  the  outlandish  multitude  above  them,  Catherine  said  in 
her  heart,  "  Shall  ye  destroy  us  ?  If  we  give  up  to  the  Lord,  then 
he  is  sufficient  to  deliver  us  out  of  your  hands  ;  but  if  we  disobey  our 
God,  all  of  you  cannot  deliver  us  out  of  his  hand"  The  fear  of  man 
could  not  dwell  in  bosoms  fortified  with  such  a  principle.  They  went 
calmly  to  their  cabin  ;  the  English  Consul  came  on  board,  saw  them 
not,  but  left  a  customary  invitation  for  them  to  come  to  his  house. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  week,  in  the  morning,  they  went  on  shore, 
met  the  Consul  on  the  steep  way  up  into  the  city,  answered  many 
questions,  gave  him  some  books  and  "a  paper,"  were  informed  that 
there  was  an  Inquisition  in  the  place  ;  but  "  he  kindly  entreated  them 
to  go  to  his  house,  and  said  that  all  that  he  had  was  at  their  service 
while  they  were  there  ;  sending  them  thither  by  his  servant.  So  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord  they  went ;  and,  as  they  passed  along  the  street, 
they  gave  some  books."  *  Lambs  were  they  among  wolves  !  Treated 
with  good  cheer  at  the  consulate,  they  conversed  freely  with  every 
visiter,  Jesuits  not  excepted,  to  whom  they  gave  books,  which  the 
fathers  glanced  over,  and  then  threw  down  with  disgust.  However, 
they  declared  their  message  to  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  having 
no  fear  of  what  they  could  do  to  them  ;  neither  did  they  dread  the 
Inquisition,  nor  shrink  from  the  consequence  of  publishing  their 
testimony  for  God,  against  the  superstition  and  idolatry  of  that  place, 
by  public  preaching  and  dispersing  of  books.  This  aroused  all  the 
monkery  of  Malta.  The  Jesuits,  too,  were  filled  with  indignation, 
and  ran  to  the  Grand  Master^  and  demanded  punishment  on  the 
heretics  ;  but  he  refused  to  trouble  honest  women.  Failing  with  the 
noble  Spaniard,  they  applied  to  the  English  Consul,  and  found  him 
quite  ready  to  favour  them.  On  their  next  visit,  therefore,  he  invited 
them  to  call  upon  a  sister  of  his  in  one  of  the  nunneries  ;  where  they 
were  taken  into  the  chapel,  and  desired  to  bow  to  the  host,  which  they 
refused  to  do,  and  returned  to  the  Consul's,  much  depressed.  There 
they  sat,  "  waiting  to  know  the  mind  of  the  Lord  ;  and  it  arose  in 
them  that  they  must  give  in  the  great  paper  which  they  had  ;  and 
that,  if  they  would  go  to  save  their  lives,  they  should  lose  them." 
They  were  soon  put  to  a  severer  test.  First,  they  were  summoned 
into  the  presence  of  the  Lord  Inquisitor,  who  came  to  the  house,  and 
noted  every  particular  necessary  to  identify  them  in  the  process  ; 
and  to  his  question,  Wherefore  they  came  into  that  country,  they 
answered,  "  We  are  the  servants  of  the  living  God,  and  are  moved  to 
come  to  call  you  to  repentance."  His  Lordship  dismissed  them  for 
the  moment,  and  commanded  the  English  representative  to  detain 
them  there. 

*  Printed  in  Italian. 

t  "  F.  Martino  de  Redin,  native  of  Aragon,  from  being  Viceroy  of  Sicily  was  created 
Grand  Master,  in  1657,  and  died  in  1660."— Malta  Illustrata,  p.  768. 


510  CHAPTER    VII. 

They  were  detained  accordingly  for  nearly  fifteen  weeks  ;  the  Con- 
sul's wife,  also,  keeping  close  watch  on  them,  and  the  officers  of  the 
Inquisition  subjecting  them  to  frequent  examinations.  Was  she  a 
true  Catholic  ?  they  asked  Sarah.  She  told  them  that  she  was  a  true 
Christian,  one  who  worshipped  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Would 
she  take  an  oath  on  the  crucifix  ? — She  would  speak  the  truth,  but 
would  not  swear ;  for  she  understood  that  Christ  had  forbidden 
judicial  oaths.*  The  Consul  entreated  her  to  be  adjured,  and  said 
that  no  one  should  do  her  any  harm  ;  but  she  refused.  Would  she 
swear  on  a  book  ? — She  would  not  swear  at  all.  What  was  George 
Fox  ? — A  Minister.  Why  came  she  there  ? — To  do  the  will  of  God. 
How  did  the  Lord  appear  to  her? — By  his  Spirit.  How  did  she 
know  that  it  was  the  Lord  ? — He  had  bidden  her  go,  and  promised 
that  his  living  presence  should  go  with  her :  and  he  who  had  pro- 
mised was  faithful,  for  she  felt  his  living  presence.  Catherine  was 
also  required  to  swear,  but  refused  to  do  so  ;  and,  after  answering 
several  questions,  was  asked  whether  she  had  seen  the  Lord.  Her 
answer  was,  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  he  is  spiritually  discerned."  Their 
time  passed  heavily,  and  with  forebodings  of  death  ;  but  the  Consul 
daily  assured  them  that  they  should  suffer  no  harm.  Meanwhile,  a 
correspondence  with  Rome  was  going  forward  ;  and  when,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  refusal  of  the  Grand  Master,  Redin,  to  persecute  them, 
the  Pope,  Alexander  VII.,  had  authorized  my  Lord  Inquisitor  to  take 
the  matter  into  his  own  hands,  the  Consul  prepared  the  way  for  this 
action  by  telling  them  that  the  Inquisitor  had  sent  for  them,  having 
received  papers  from  Rome,  and  he  hoped  they  would  be  free.  But 
at  that  very  moment  they  were  preparing  their  cell.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Grand  Master,  their  only  protector,  had  died  since  their 
arrival ;  and  now  the  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  Order  of  St.  John,  repre- 
senting the  temporal  government,  a  man  with  a  black  rod,  on  part 
of  the  spiritual,  and  the  Consul,  to  show  the  concurrence  of  England, 
— unauthorized  as  he  was, — took  them  to  the  Inquisitor,  who  offered 
them  the  alternative  of  release,  if  they  would  change  their  minds,  or 
punishment,  if  they  persisted  in  heresy.  "  They  answered,  '  The  will 
of  the  Lord  be  done.'  So  the  Inquisitor  arose  up,  and  went  his  way 
with  the  Consul,  and  left  them  there.  Then  the  man  with  the  black 
rod,  and  the  keeper,  took  them,  and  put  them  in  an  inner  room  in 
the  Inquisition,  which  had  but  two  little  holes  for  light  or  air.  And 
though  they  were  shut  up  in  darkness,  they  witnessed  the  inshinings 
of  the  light  of  the  Lord." 

There  they  remained  for  many  days  and  nights,  stung  to  fever  with 
mosquitoes ;  even  in  sleep  they  were  haunted  with  visions  and  dreams 
of  sufferings  more  dreadful,  and  lay  on  their  beds  overwhelmed  with 
trembling  and  amazement.  As  for  the  Consul,  he,  too,  was  wretched. 
He  came  to  see  them,  weeping  with  remorse.  He  had  asked  them 
for  a  sign  that  God  had  sent  them  to  Malta,  and  from  their  answer 
supposed  that  the  sign  had  now  begun,  as  perhaps  it  had.  Already 
mental  agitation  blanched  his  cheeks  ;  he  was  sickening,  and,  long 

*  She  misunderstood  the  text,  indeed,  but  notly  refused  to  act  against  her  conscience. 


CATHERINE    EVANS    AND    SAUAH    CHEEVERS.  511 

before  their  release,  he  died  a  miserable  death.  Next  came  the  Black 
Rod,  two  theologians,  a  Magistrate  and  Secretary,  with  the  jailer ; 
and  then  the  two  confessors  underwent  a  formal  examination  on  all 
the  distinctive  articles  of  Romanism,  against  each  of  which  they  pro- 
nounced an  unequivocal  testimony  of  condemnation.  Next  day  they 
came  again,  bringing,  as  usual,  a  set  of  articles  written,  but  made 
little  use  of  it ;  and  "  then  they  asked  them,  How  many  friends  of 
theirs  were  gone  forth  into  the  ministry,  and  into  what  parts  ? — And 
they  acquainted  them  with  what  they  did  know.  They  said,  All  that 
came  where  the  Pope  had  anything  to  do,  should  never  go  back 
again.  But  they  answered,  The  Lord  was  as  sufficient  for  them  as  he 
was  for  the  three  children  in  the  fiery  furnace,  and  their  trust  was  in 
God.  They  said,  They  (the  Friends)  were  but  few,  and  had  been  but 
a  little  while  ;  but  they  were  many  countries,  and  had  stood  many 
hundred  years,  and  wrought  many  miracles,  and  they  had  none. — 
They  answered,  '  We  have  thousands  at  our  meetings  ;  but  none  of 
them  dare  speak  a  word,  but  as  they  are  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.  And  we  have  miracles  ;  for  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  the 
deaf  do  hear,  and  the  dumb  do  speak,  the  poor  do  receive  the  Gospel, 
the  lame  do  walk,  and  the  dead  are  raised,  mystically.'  ' 

Catherine  and  Sarah  betook  themselves  to  fasting  and  prayer  for 
twelve  days,  to  the  amazement  of  the  Friars,  who  endeavoured  to  take 
advantage  of  their  exhaustion  ;  but  God  sustained  their  spiritual 
strength,  and,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time,  they  ate  and  were 
refreshed,  "  and  glorified  God,  who  comforted  them  in  the  midst 
of  their  extremity."  The  heat  of  the  prison  then  became  insufferable, 
they  lay  on  the  ground,  with  their  mouths  at  a  chink  in  the  door, 
"  for  air  to  fetch  breath  ; "  the  hair  fell  from  their  heads,  their  skin 
became  like  parchment,  often  they  fainted ;  by  day  they  wished  for 
night,  by  night  they  longed  for  day ;  "  they  sought  death,  but  could 
not  find  it ;  they  desired  to  die,  but  death  fled  from  them."  Hoping 
to  raise  a  spark  of  pity,  they  wrote  to  the  Inquisitor,  again  and  again, 
begging  to  be  removed  to  some  other  place,  but  yet  more  earnestly 
imploring  him  to  accept  God's  truth,  which  they  set  forth  with  equal 
force  and  accuracy  ;  but  the  only  answer  they  received  was  a  visit 
of  a  Friar,  who  took  away  their  ink-horn,  having  already  robbed  them 
of  their  Bibles.  But  they  bore  this  with  meekness ;  and,  after  the 
Friar  left  the  cell,  the  door  was  not  again  opened  for  five  weeks. 
Then  came  some  one  with  a  physician,  who  found  the  place  in  such  a 
state,  that  he  declared  it  impossible  for  them  to  live  in  it  ;  and  the 
Inquisitor  permitted  them  to  be  removed.  Yet  even  then  Sarah  was 
threatened  to  be  put  in  irons,  for  not  adoring  a  crucifix.  The  irons 
were  brought,  but  Sarah  showed  no  fear  ;  she  bowed  her  head,  and 
said,  "  Not  only  my  feet,  but  my  hands,  and  my  neck  also,  for  the 
testimony  of  Jesus."  The  Monk  relented,  and  withdrew. 

But  this  relenting  was  only  for  a  moment  :  the  companions  were 
separated,  because,  as  their  persecutors  said,  they  corrupted  each 
other.  Yet,  God  being  their  helper,  they  singly  withstood  every  art 
and  terror  with  as  great  firmness  as  when  united  ;  and  Sarah  even 
made  use  of  her  new  cell  in  a  manner  that  mortified  the  Clergy,  but 


512  CHAPTER    VIT. 

may  not  have  been  unprofitable  to  some  of  them.  This  room  was 
near  the  Chancery,  where  the  Inquisitors  held  frequent  sessions,  and 
where  government-business  was  transacted ;  "  and  she  had  service 
among  them  daily"  In  the  public  hall,  the  palace,  and  the  church, 
her  shrill  voice  could  be  heard,  and  she  raised  it  high,  calling  them 
to  repentance,  and  exhorting  them  to  turn  from  darkness  to  the  true 
light,  and  from  their  wicked  ways,  works,  and  worship,  to  serve  the 
living  God.  Some  raged,  vociferating,  "  Burn  her !  Burn  her ! " 
Some  came  stealthily  to  listen  ;  and  a  prohibition  from  doing  so,  under 
penalty  of  imprisonment,  was  issued.  After  a  separation  of  twelve 
months,  the  two  sufferers  were  again  permitted  to  occupy  the  same 
room,  and  their  condition  was  also  ameliorated  by  the  removal  of  their 
chief  tormentor,  an  English  Friar,  who  had  deprived  them  of  provi- 
sions allowed  by  the  Inquisitor  himself,  and  wearied  himself  in  vain 
with  disputations  which  moved  them  not  ;  and  it  is  further  remark- 
able that  the  Inquisitor,  at  last,  became  less  cruel  than  the  Friars, 
and  even  protected  them  from  grosser  outrage.  Nothing,  however, 
could  subdue  their  freedom  of  speech.  They  exhorted  the  prisoners 
of  all  sorts  that  were  brought  to  the  prison  ;  and  when  a  fleet  of 
twenty  sail  had  come  into  the  harbour,  to  join  that  of  the  Knights  in 
an  expedition  against  the  Turks,  "  the  dread  of  the  Lord  fell  upon 
Sarah  Cheevers,  and  commanded  her  to  prophesy  against  those  of 
Malta,  and  she  cried  out  daily,  saying,  '  God  is  angry,  God  is  angry, 
and  you  cannot  prosper.  Go  not  forth  to  murder,  nor  to  kill  one 
another.  Christ  came  not  to  destroy  life,  but  to  save  it.'  "  The 
night  before  the  fleet  set  sail,  she  dreamt  of  blood  overflowing  into 
the  water,  and  predicted  that  there  would  be  great  slaughter  on  the 
sea.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  ;  for  the  fleet  suffered  severely  in  an 
engagement  with  the  Turks,  the  Knights  were  beaten,  and  returned 
covered  with  confusion. 

At  last  there  dawned  some  hope  of  deliverance.  Another  Consul 
had  been  appointed  to  Malta,  and,  although  he  did  not  presume  to 
demand  their  liberty,  laboured  to  obtain  it,  and,  at  last,  succeeded  in 
engaging  the  Inquisitor  to  promise  that  they  should  be  released  on 
bail,  if  any  one  would  be  bound  to  pay  three  or  four  thousand  dollars 
if  they  ever  returned  to  the  island.  But  they  would  not  accept 
liberty  on  those  terms ;  "  for  they  could  never  desire  any  man  to  be 
engaged  for  them  after  that  manner  ;  because  they  knew  that  all 
decrees,  laws,  ties,  bonds,  chains,  and  precepts  of  men  must  be 
broken,  through  the  righteous  decree  of  the  mighty  Lord  God." 
Neither  could  they  assure  themselves  of  safety,  even  after  a  release 
from  prison.  While  they  were  suffering  fresh  cruelties,  another 
Friend,  Daniel  Baker,  came  "to  offer  up  body  for  body,  life  and  all, 
for  their  liberty."  He,  too,  had  been  moved  to  visit  Italy  as  a 
messenger  of  the  Gospel,  with  three  companions,  and  had  preached 
with  great  boldness,  first  at  Leghorn,  and  then  in  Venice,  Zante,  and 
Smyrna.  On  returning  to  Leghorn,  the  sufferings  of  these  devoted 
women,  of  whom  he  had  heard  before,  were  again  brought  to  his 
attention  ;  and,  believing  it  to  be  his  duty  to  interpose  his  efforts  on 
their  behalf,  he  embarked  in  a  French  ship  for  Malta.  He  was  soon 


CATHERINE    EVANS    AND    SARAH    CHEEVERS.  513 

in  presence  of  the  Lord  Inquisitor,  from  whom  he  demanded  the  just 
liberty  of  his  two  countrywomen,  and,  in  repeated  interviews,  resisted 
his  condition  of  a  bond  to  hinder  their  return.  In  the  prison,  also, 
he  stood  before  the  grating  of  their  dungeon,  and,  in  behalf  of  the 
whole  body  of  God's  elect,  owned  their  testimony,  and  told  them  that 
they  were  a  sweet  savour  to  the  Lord  and  to  His  people.  Gladly  did 
they  once  more  listen  to  the  voice  of  a  Friend,  and  they  all  rejoice  I 
together  with  sweet  refreshment  in  the  presence  of  the  living  God. 
This  correspondence  continued  through  twenty-four  days,  when  the 
good  man  was  compelled  to  leave  Malta,  carrying  letters  from  them 
for  their  friends  in  England. 

By  the  way,  being  wind-bound  at  Gibraltar,  then  under  the  Spanish, 
crown,  Daniel  Baker  went  on  shore,  on  Holy  Thursday,  1662,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  mass-house,  which  he  entered  during  mass  ;  and  having 
"stood  some  time  viewing  this  idolatry,  with  indignation  in  his  heart 
against  it,  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  Priest,  his  dead  god  and 
dumb  idols  at  the  high  altar,  and,  in  the  commandment  of  life,  set  his 
face  toward  the  people,  and  beheld  the  ignorant  multitude  upon  their 
knees  also,  worshipping  these  dark  inventions  and  imaginations  of 
their  sottish  leaders  and  blind  guides.  After  he  had  looked  awhile, 
he  spread  forth  his  arms,  stripped  off  his  vesture,  and  rent  the  same 
from  top  to  bottom  in  divers  pieces,  and  cast  them  from  him,  and 
then  took  his  hat  and  trampled  it  under  foot,  and,  having  done  so,  his 
sackcloth  covering  appeared  to  their  astonishment,  and  then,  with  an 
exalted  voice,  he  sounded  '  repentance '  in  their  ears  three  times, 
giving  testimony,  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  amongst  them,  that  the 
life  of  Christ  and  his  saints  was  arisen  from  the  dead.  And  so  he 
came  away,  as  it  were  flying  from  the  idolatrous  temple,  idolatry,  and 
idolaters,  preaching  the  words  of  the  Lord's  message  through  the 
streets,  till  he  came  to  the  sea-side,  and  there  he  was  moved  to  kneel 
down  and  pray,  and  give  thanks  to  the  living  God,  who  had  so  won- 
derfully preserved  him  in  doing  His  pleasure  and  good  will  on  earth, 
that  no  man  offered  to  touch  or  do  him  harm." 

The  two  confessors  in  the  prison  at  Malta  even  excelled  their  bro- 
ther in  holy  boldness  ;  but,  like  him,  with  an  eccentricity  which 
those  may  take  leave  to  despise  who  can  equal  them  in  triumphant 
patience  and  unconquerable  faith.  On  Easter  day,  the  Maltese,  more 
glad  to  be  released  from  the  abstinence  of  Lent,  than  grateful  for  the 
work  of  redemption  which  our  Lord  had  wrought  when  he  burst  the 
bands  of  death,  gave  loose  to  boisterous  festivity,  and  the  sound 
of  trumpets  and  voices  reverberated  in  the  courts  and  dungeons  of  the 
prison.  Catherine  and  Sarah  felt  horror  at  the  idolatry  of  the  people, 
pitied  them  for  their  ignorance,  and  resolved  to  bear  a  solemn  testi- 
mony against  them,  by  sitting  on  the  ground  bare-footed,  bare-headed, 
thinly  clad,  with  ashes  on  their  heads,  silent,  and  fasting.  For  three 
days  and  nights  they  remained,  in  the  prison-yard,  in  that  "humble 
and  despicable  posture,"  despite  the  raillery  of  some,  and  the  amaze- 
ment of  all  who  saw  them,  and  shivering  in  the  cold  wind,  until  the 
end  of  the  third  day,  when,  singing  a  hymn  of  praise  to — 

VOL.   in.  3   u 


511  CHAPTER    VII. 


-the  only  God, 


A  fountain  pure  and  clear, 
Whose  crystal  stream  spreads  all  abroad, 
And  cleanseth  far  and  near," 

they  rose  from  the  ground,  shook  off  the  ashes,  walked  to  a  fountaiu 
that  played  near  them,  quenched  their  thirst,  and  then  satisfied  their 
hunger.  And,  after  all,  a  religious  awe  rested  on  all  within  the 
prison  at  this  sign  of  Christian  fidelity. 

Daniel  Baker,  who  had  once  been  imprisoned  in  Worcester  jail, 
was  thrown  into  Newgate  shortly  after  his  return  to  England  ;  but 
George  Fox  and  Gilbert  Latye  bestirred  themselves  on  behalf  of 
Catherine  and  Sarah.  Understanding  that  Lord  D'Abaney,  Lord 
Almoner  of  the  Queen-Mother  at  Somerset-House,  had  influence  in 
Malta,  they  laid  their  case  before  him,  and,  although  he  was  a  Priest 
in  Romish  orders,  he  received  them  kindly,  and  soon  gave  them  the 
glad  intelligence  that  he  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  order  from 
the  Pope  for  their  deliverance.  On  the  receipt  of  this  order  the  Lord 
Inquisitor  went  to  them,  comieously  dismissed  them  from  the  place 
where  they  had  suffered  with  more  than  human  constancy,  defying 
the  terrors  of  death,  for  four  years  ;  and  "  so  they  came  away  from 
the  Inquisition  in  peace,  according  to  the  example  of  the  holy  men 
of  God,  kneeling  down,  and  desiring  their  heavenly  Father  never  to 
lay  to  their  charge  what  they  had  done  against  them,  by  reason  that 
they  knew  them  not ;  for  had  they  known  them,  they  would  not  have 
persecuted  them."  Such  was  the  charitable  interpretation  of  the 
nefarious  doings  of  the  Holy  Office  by  those  simple-hearted  women. 

Eleven  weeks  elapsed  before  they  could  quit  the  island ;  and,  in 
that  interval,  they  continued  their  efforts  to  spread  the  knowledge 
of  Christianity,  in  spite  of  Consul,  Inquisitor,  and  Clergy,  who 
renewed  their  vexations,  until  the  frigate  "  Sapphire,"  Captain 
Samuel  Titswell,  under  orders  for  Leghorn,  dropped  anchor  in  the 
road,  and  the  Grand  Master  wrote  him  a  request  to  take  on  board 
"  twenty-four  Knights,  their  servants,  and  two  Quakers."  Now,  for 
the  first  time,  could  these  Chevaliers  converse  with  the  late  prisoners 
of  the  Church,  with  whom  they  had  been  forbidden  correspondence  ; 
and  while  they  heard  them  speak  of  "  Christ  Jesus,  the  light  of  the 
world,  and  the  only  way  to  the  Father,"  many  of  them  acknowledged 
that  they  were  indeed  his  servants  ;  and  one,  brother  to  the  Inquisitor, 
requested  the  English  Captain  to  provide  everything  necessary  for 
their  comfort  on  his  account.  After  cruizing  in  the  Mediterranean, 
the  "  Sapphire "  returned  to  Tangier,  which  was  then  an  English 
possession,  where  the  Governor  received  these  extraordinary  women 
with  the  utmost  courtesy,  by  a  proclamation  protected  them  from  the 
disrespectful  treatment  of  the  profane  and  of  the  bigots,  and  sent  them 
to  England  by  the  next  ship  of  war  returning.  Once  more  they  found 
themselves  on  English  ground;  and,  after  thanking  God  for  his 
mercies,  waited  on  the  Lord  Almoner,  by  whose  interest  at  Rome  they 
had  been  liberated,  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  and  offered  him 
their  service.  "  Whereupon  this  Lord  replied,  '  Good  women,  for 
what  service  or  kindness  I  have  done  you,  all  that  I  shall  desire 


•WALDENSES    OF    PIEDMONT.  515 

of  you  is,  that  when  yon  pray  to  God,  you  will  remember  me  in  your 
prayers.'  And  so  they  parted."  Two  earnestly  written  tracts,  com- 
posed in  the  Inquisition  of  Malta, — one  by  Catherine  Evans,  and  the 
other  by  her  companion,  — were  forthwith  put  to  press ;  *  and  the 
example  of  the  writers  is  yet  oil  record  to  show  how  faith  can  over- 
come the  world. 

The  confession  of  this  faith  having  been  revived  among  the  Wal- 
denses,  the  zeal  of  their  persecutors  was  rekindled.  Francis  I.  of 
France,  and  Paul  III.,  required  the  Parliament  of  Turin  to  proceed 
against  them  in  Piedmont ;  and  their  commands  would  have  been 
thoroughly  obeyed,  if  other  cares  had  not  prevented  the  French  King 
from  sending  sufficiently  numerous  military  reinforcements  into  that 
state.  Instead  of  making  open  war,  therefore,  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical magistracy  laboured,  in  detail,  to  extirpate  that  ancient  church. 
Many  of  its  members  suffered  death  ;  but  we  only  find  a  general 
mention  of  their  constancy,  one  name  alone  being  preserved,  that 
of  Bartolommeo  Ectore,  who  was  burnt  alive  at  Turin  (A.D.  1555),  in 
the  castle-yard,  before  a  multitude  of  spectators,  of  whom  some 
wept,  others  murmured  at  the  barbarity  of  the  Clergy,  and  others 
spoke  out  in  piercing  invectives  against  the  Inquisitors  and  Monks. 
But  those  popular  expressions  provoked  the  chiefs  of  Church  and 
State  to  yet  greater  severity.  The  Parliament  of  Turin  sent  into  the 
Valleys  the  President  Giuliano,  and  a  collateral,  to  summon  the 
\Valdenses  to  submission.  As  they  went  they  published  a  royal  edict, 
commanding  all  the  inhabitants  to  go  to  mass  within  three  days, 
under  penalty  of  death  in  case  of  disobedience,  not  considering  the 
folly  of  commanding  when  they  had  not  the  power  to  enforce  ;  but 
soon  found  that  the  constancy  of  the  Waldenses  was  invincible.  A 
few,  indeed,  professed  conformity  ;  but  they  were  miserably  treated ; 
and  their  weakness  confirmed  the  general  determination  to  "  change 
the  King's  word."  In  the  town  of  Pinerolo  a  large  number  of 
Waldenses  were  called  into  the  presence  of  the  Commissaries,  and 
commanded  to  go  to  mass,  and  have  their  children  baptized.  One  poor 
labourer  came  with  his  infant  in  his  arms,  and  a  Priest  stood  ready  to 
perform  the  ceremony  of  anabaptism  ;  but  he  earnestly  requested 
permission  to  pray  to  God  before  giving  them  an  answer.  After  lift- 
ing up  his  heart  in  prayer,  the  good  man  answered  thus  :  "  Mr. 
President,  I  am  quite  ready  to  allow  you  to  re-baptize  my  child,  but 
under  the  condition  that  you  be  pleased,  by  a  writing  under  your  own 
hand,  to  discharge  me  from  the  sin  against  God  that  you  will  cause 
me  to  commit,  engaging,  for  yourself  and  for  your  children,  to  answer 
for  it  before  God  another  day,  and  to  suffer,  in  your  body  and  in  your 
soul,  the  punishment  that  you  will  cause  me  to  deserve."  The  Presi- 
dent, not  daring  so  to  carry  out  the  Romish  idea  of  substitution,  and 
astonished  at  the  intrepidity  of  the  peasant,  told  him  that  he  had  sins 

*  The  titles  are,  of  the  first, — "  A  brief  Discovery  of  God's  eternal  Truth,  and  a  Way 
opened  to  the  Simple-hearted,  whereby  they  may  come  to  know  Christ  and  his  Ministers 
from  Antichrist  and  his  Ministers.  With  a  Warning  from  the  Lord  to  all  People  that  do 
name  tBe  Name  of  Christ,  to  depart  from  Iniquity:"  and  of  the  second, — "To  all 
People  upon  the  Face  of  the  Earth  ;  a  sweet  Salutation  and  a  clear  Manifestation  of  the 
true  Light  which  lighteth  every  one  who  cometh  into  the  World.'' 

3  u  2 


516  CHAPTER    VII. 

enough  of  his  own  to  answer  for,  bade  him  depart  out  of  his  presence, 
and  never  troubled  him  again.  The  two  Commissaries  could  do  no 
more  than  serve  the  edict  on  the  inhabitants  of  two  of  the  valleys ; 
from  whom  they  received  a  declaration  of  loyalty  to  the  King,  and 
readiness  to  obey  his  orders,  by  changing  their  religion,  if  it  could  be 
proved  by  the  word  of  God  that  they  had  been  in  error. 

With  this  reply  they  rode  back  to  Turin,  told  it  to  the  Parliament, 
obtained  two  Monks,  gifted   with  fluency   of  speech,  and,  by   them 
attended,  revisited  the  scene  of  action.     The  Monks  harangued,  but 
the  people  were  deaf  as  adders  to  their  eloquence  ;  they  knelt  before 
the  crucifix,  but   knelt  alone  ;  and   both  Commissaries  and  Mission- 
aries,  on    return    to    Turin,    after    a    long  and    fruitless  expedition, 
recited  their  failure  in  the  Parliament.     It  was  then  agreed  that  the 
conversion  of  the  Waldenses  was  a  labour  impracticable  by  subordi- 
nates, and  only  to  be  effected  by  the  resistless  powers  of  the  King. 
One  year  elapsed  before  the  resumption  of  their  enterprise  ;  and  then, 
furnished  with  new  orders  from  His  Majesty,  threatening  death  and 
confiscation  to  all  who  would  not   attend  at  mass,  they  went  again. 
But  the  confessors  gave  them  the  same  answer  as  before,  that  they 
must  obey  God  rather  than  man  ;  and  besought   them,  for  the   love 
of  God,  that — seeing  their  constancy,  fidelity,  and  obedience  to  the 
King,  that  their  life  was  without  reproach,  and  that,  in  fact  of  reli- 
gion, they  all  worshipped  the  same  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  had   the 
same  law,  the  same  baptism,  and  the  same  hope,  as  His  Majesty  and 
the  President  himself;  and  considering  that  Jews,  Turks,  open  blas- 
phemers, and  sworn  enemies  of  the  Christian  name,  were  suffered  in 
Piedmont — they  should  be  allowed  to  live  according  to  their  religion, 
•which  they  affirmed  to  be  that  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  holy  Apostles  ; 
but  which  they  were  ready  to  abandon,  if  they  could   be   convinced 
of  the  contrary  by  the  sacred  Scriptures.     Inflamed  with  rage,  the 
Parliament  recommenced  persecution.     All  the  Waldenses  that  could 
be  detected  in  the  towns  of  Piedmont  were  imprisoned ;  and  one,  at 
least,  was  brought  to  Turin,  and  burnt.  This  was  Geoffreddo  Varaglia, 
a  Minister  of  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  who  had  once  been  a  chief 
persecutor  of  this  very  people,  and  was  employed  to  pervert  them  by 
preaching ;  but  the  more  he  laboured  in  debate  the  weaker  he  found 
his  arguments,  and,  at  length,  won  over  by  their  prayers,  he  became 
a  partaker  of  their  faith,  and  sealed  the  confession  of  it  with  his  blood. 
He  sang  hymns  until  the  halter  deprived  him  of  life ;  and  then  the 
body  was  burnt  (A.D.  1557).     When  interrogated,  in  his  examination, 
concerning  the  number  of  his  brethren,  he  answered  that,  in  a  single 
congregation  at  Geneva,  he   had  seen   twenty-four   Ministers,  almost 
all   Waldenses;    and   wished    that   there    might    be    so    many   that 
faggots  would  fail  to  burn  them,  rather  than  that  teachers  should  be 
•wanting.     They  and  their  converts,  he   said,  multiplied  from  day  to 
day.     And,  at  the  stake,  he   addressed  the  spectators  with  an  affec- 
tionate earnestness  that  had  seldom  been  excelled,  acknowledged  his 
guilt  when  a  persecutor,  and   preached  Christ,  the  only  meritorious 
sacrifice   and    source  of   mercy.     Nicholas   Sartoris,  returning    from 
theological  study  at  Geneva,  where  he  had  been  maintained  at  public 


CALABRIAN  WALDENSES.  517 

expense,  in  preparation  for  ministerial  labour  in  the  Valleys,  was 
seized,  examined,  threatened,  and,  being  invincible  by  fear,  was  burnt 
alive,  in  the  episcopal  town  of  the  valley  of  Aosta,  notwithstanding 
the  earnest  intercession  of  the  canton  of  Bern  (May  4th,  1557). 

Many  thousand  Waldenses  were  established  in  Calabria.  Their 
forefathers,  driven  from  Pragela  two  centuries  before,  had  settled 
there ;  and  they  now  chiefly  possessed  some  villages,  and  even  walled 
towns,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cosenza.  The  revival  of  religion, 
too,  had  reached  them,  and,  in  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  they 
were  spreading  their  doctrine  through  the  state.  On  them,  therefore, 
the  Inquisition  fixed  its  eye,  and  determined  that  they  should  be 
extirpated.  Ghislieri,  then  Cardinal  Alessandrino,  and  afterwards 
Pius  V.,  undertook  to  superintend  the  work  of  extirpation,  and  sent 
two  subalterns,  Valerio  Malvicino  and  Alfonso  Urbino,  to  carry  the 
design  into  execution.  The  Monks  presented  themselves  in  one 
of  the  Waldensian  towns,  Santo  Sisto,  and,  with  an  air  of  gentleness 
and  profession  of  peaceable  intentions,  began  their  endeavours  to 
pervert,  and,  after  some  conferences,  they  added  exhortations  to  avoid 
the  punishment  denounced  on  those  who  obstinately  persist  in  error. 
They  then  appointed  a  time  for  mass,  and,  nsing  authority,  required 
all  to  attend.  But,  instead  of  coming  to  mass,  the  inhabitants 
walked  out  of  town,  and  left  the  Monks  to  officiate  alone.  Mortified 
at  this  desertion,  they  hastened  to  the  next  town,  La  Guardia,  caused 
the  gates  to  be  shut,  assembled  the  inhabitants,  told  them  that  their 
brethren  of  Santo  Sisto  had  all  conformed,  and  invited  them  to  follow 
their  example.  The  people  of  La  Guardia,  taken  by  surprise,  and 
not  uninfluenced  by  the  threats  of  the  Inquisitors,  yielded  to  the 
demand ;  but  ere  the  act  of  reconciliation  could  be  consummated, 
they  discovered  the  fraud,  renounced  their  act,  with  prayers  to  God 
for  pardon,  and  were  proceeding,  with  indignation,  alarm,  and  shame, 
to  join  their  brethren  of  Santo  Sisto  in  the  woods,  when  a  body  of 
soldiers  marched  into  the  town.  Whetting  their  appetite  for  carnage, 
they  shouted,  "  Kill !  Kill ! "  and,  after  butchering  a  great  number, 
carried  away  Stefano  Carlino,  with  sixty-nine  others,  to  Montalto,  to 
be  examined  by  the  Inquisitor  Panza,  a  Spaniard,  and  therefore  well 
instructed  in  the  dreadful  practice.  They  tortured  him  until  his 
bowels  gushed  out ;  but  he  would  not  charge  his  innocent  brethren 
with  practices  of  which  they  never  had  been  guilty.  Another, 
Verminel,  was  kept  on  the  gehenna,  as  they  called  it,  for  eight  hours  ; 
but  uttered  not  a  syllable  to  sustain  the  calumny  of  having  committed 
impurities  in  their  religious  assemblies.  Another,  Pietro  Marzone, 
was  stripped  naked,  beaten  through  the  streets  with  iron  rods,  and 
then  felled  to  the  ground,  and  killed  with  blows  of  torches.  Another, 
taken  to  the  top  of  a  tower,  was  offered  the  alternative  of  kissing  a 
crucifix,  or  being  instantly  precipitated.  Without  hesitation  he  chose 
the  latter.  As  they  were  leading  away  Bernardino  Conte  to  the 
stake,  some  one  forced  a  crucifix  into  his  hand  ;  but  he  flung  it 
away ;-  and  the  authorities,  supposing  that  so  scandalous  an  act 
should  be  visited  with  some  extraordinary  punishment,  took  him  from 
Montalto  to  Coseuza,  where  they  stripped  him  naked,  covered  him 


518  CHAPTER    VII. 

with  pitch,  and  burnt  him  to  death  before  the  people.  The  Inquisitor 
Panza,  deeming  the  terror  of  his  office  to  be  yet  incomplete,  silenced 
every  murmur  in  Montalto  by  help  of  common  butchers,  who  slaugh- 
tered eighty-eight  men  as  if  they  were  sheep,  and  then  cut  the  bodies 
into  quarters,  which  were  hung  on  stakes,  erected  at  measured  inter- 
vals along  thirty  miles  of  the  way  from  Montalto  to  Castel  Villaro,  as 
trophies  of  the  victory  over  Waldensian  heresy.  The  butchery  of 
those  men  was  thus  performed.  The  executioner  brought  them  out 
one  by  one,  covered  the  face  of  his  victim  with  a  napkin,  made  him 
kneel,  cut  his  throat  with  a  knife,  left  the  body  palpitating  on  the 
ground,  and  went  for  another,  his  arms  dripping  with  blood.  On  his 
face  he  bound  the  same  red  napkin,  and  dispatched  him  in  like 
manner.  A  hundred  grown-up  women  were  then  tortured,  and  after- 
wards put  to  death.  The  total  number  of  persons  imprisoned  in 
Calabria  was  stated  by  Ascano  Carracioli  to  be  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred, of  whom  it  is  not  likely  that  any  escaped  ;  but  had  their  throats 
cut,  were  sawn  asunder,  precipitated  from  towers  and  cliffs,  strangled, 
burnt  alive,  or  starved  to  death.  Then  it  was  that  a  Pastor  was 
starved  to  death  in  prison  at  Cosenza,  and  another  sent  to  Rome  and 
burnt  in  the  presence  of  the  Pope  and  Cardinals  (A.D.  1560). 

Returning  northward,  we  find  Piedmont  transferred  from  the  rule 
of  Francis  I.  to  that  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  Emanueie  Filiberto,  who 
recovered  his  patrimony  by  a  victory  while"  General-in-chief  of  the 
army  of  Philip  II.  No  sooner  had  he  regained  his  dukedom  than 
both  Philip  and  the  Pope  engaged  him  to  persecute  the  Waldenses, 
who  had  almost  attained  to  a  state  of  entire  religious  independence. 
One  Tommaso  Giacomello,  a  Dominican  and  Inquisitor,  was  sent  to 
Nice,  commissioned  to  keep  alive  the  zeal  of  the  new  Duke,  and  incite 
him  to  imitate  the  example  of  "  the  Catholic  King."  The  Nuncio 
aided  the  Inquisitor  at  court,  and  the  Friars  fanned  up  the  flame 
of  bigotry  by  their  sermons  to  the  populace.  Emanueie  did  not  yield 
readily  to  their  solicitations ;  and  his  Duchess,  who  favoured  the 
Reformation,  might  have  employed  some  better  influence,  but  not 
sufficient  to  counteract  the  power  of  the  Church.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  Valleys,*  after  calling  on  Him  who  has  the  hearts  of  Kings  in 
his  hand,  addressed  petitions  to  their  new  Sovereign  and  to  his 
Duchess,  professing  loyalty,  declaring  themselves  innocent  of  the 
crimes  vulgarly  attributed  to  them,  and  asking  for  protection  in  the 
exercise  of  Christian  liberty.  The  petitions  were  rejected.  Even 
while  their  deputies  were  at  Nice,  imploring  mercy,  soldiers  collected 
from  the  neighbouring  towns,  surprised  the  village  of  S.  Germane  at 
night,  and  drove  out  the  inhabitants.  The  poor  people  fled  to  the 
mountains,  a  company  of  twenty-five  excepted,  who  rallied  from  some 
scattered  cottages,  first  fell  on  their  knees,  and  sought  strength  in 
prayer,  and  then  attacked  the  invaders  so  courageously  that  they 

*  "  There  is  a  certain  valley  in  Piedmont,  near  Mount  Visol,  of  about  five  or  six 
leagues,  called  the  Valley  of  Lucerna.  With  this  joins  a  little  valley  called,  from  the 
Angrogua  which  waters  it,  the  Valley  of  Angrogna.  There  are  also  contiguous  two 
little  valleys  which  take  their  names  from  Perosa  and  S.  Martino." — Scipio  Leutulus, 
transcribed  by  Leger,  torn,  ii.,  p.  34. 


VALLEYS    OF    PIEDMONT.  -519 

fancied  themselves  encountered  by  a  great  force,  fled  panic-struck, 
leaving  many  dead  on  the  field,  and  in  crossing  a  river  lost  many 
more.  The  little  band,  who  had  only  expected  to  sell  their  lives 
dearly,  were  amazed  at  the  event,  and  their  Barbes  quoted  appropriate 
words  of  Jeremiah  :  "  Peradventure  he  will  be  enticed,  and  we 
shall  prevail  against  him,  and  we  shall  take  our  revenge  on  him.  But 
the  Lord  is  with  me  as  a  mighty  terrible  one  :  therefore  my  perse- 
cutors shall  stumble,  and  they  shall  not  prevail :  they  shall  be  greatly 
ashamed  ;  for  they  shall  not  prosper :  their  everlasting  confusion  shall 
never  be  forgotten." 

As  if  heretics  were  beneath  the  rights  of  humanity,  the  Duke  gave 
general  permission  to  invade  their  valleys,  and  destroy  the  inhabitants 
at  discretion.  Bigotry,  thirst  of  blood,  and  lust  of  spoil,  incessantly 
drew  on  them  the  incursions  of  brigands,  and  provided  many  a  saint 
with  opportunity  for  confessing  Christ  in  martyrdom.  Judges  united 
their  functions  with  marauders.  Marcellin,  a  Frenchman  by  birth, 
and  his  wife  Giovanna,  were  seized  at  Carignano,  and,  after  a  week's 
imprisonment,  condemned  to  be  burnt  alive,  and  honourably  under- 
went the  ordeal  of  their  faith.  "  Courage,  my  brother,  good  courage  ! 
we  shall  to-day  enjoy  the  happiness  of  heaven  together,"  said  the 
good  woman  to  her  husband,  as  they  were  walking  towards  the  spot 
where  their  earthly  union  was  to  be  dissolved,  and  a  higher  relation 
to  begin.  Giovanni  Cartignano  followed  them  to  glory  three  days 
afterwards,  by  the  same  fiery  path.  One  Jean,  a  native  of  France, 
was  dragged  from  S.  Germano  to  a  neighbouring  abbey,  and  burnt 
alive.  The  Minister  of  a  village  called  Meana  was  burnt  at  a  slow 
fire  in  the  town  of  Susa,  remaining  immovable  and  silent,  looking  up 
toward  heaven,  until  he  silently  breathed  out  his  happy  soul.  Innu- 
merable robberies,  murders,  and  burnings  kept  the  Valleys  in  per- 
petual alarm ;  and,  at  length,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  many  of  their 
Ministers,  the  poor  people  resolved  to  take  up  arms  in  self-defence, 
trusting  that  by  them,  as  by  their  brethren  of  S.  Germano,  God  would 
defend  the  right  ;  and  in  the  first  encounter  sixty  brigands  fell  under 
their  weapons. 

This  was  considered  to  be  rebellion,  and  Duke  Emanuele  took 
the  matter  into  his  own  hands.  First,  he  sent  two  noblemen,  Philip 
of  Savoy,  Lord  of  Racconigi,  and  Giorgio  Costa,  Count  della  Trinita, 
with  a  requisition  to  dismiss  their  Ministers,  and  acknowledge  the 
Pope ;  but  the  people  would  not  listen  to  so  iniquitous  an  order. 
Wherefore  the  Prince  marched  into  Piedmont  from  Nice  (November 
1st,  1560),  took  up  his  quarters  at  Vercelli,  and  sent  La  Trinita  with 
four  thousand  infantry  and  two  hundred  cavalry,  to  lay  the  Valleys 
waste  by  fire  and  sword.  The  army  entered  the  valley  of  Angrogna, 
confident  that  the  peasants  would  disappear  at  the  approach  of  an 
army ;  but  a  guard  of  fifty  slingers  defended  a  mountain-pass  against 
twelve  hundred  soldiers,  and,  being  reinforced  by  a  few  more,  made 
them  retreat  with  the  loss  of  seventy.  A  second  skirmish  ended  with 
similar  success,  and  the  invader  found  it  necessary  to  change  his 
measures.  He,  therefore,  had  recourse  to  intrigue,  and  employed 
certain  false  brethren  to  persuade  them  that,  if  they  would  but  lay 


520  CHAPTER    VII. 

down  arms,  and  send  deputies  to  the  Prince,  to  promise  obedi- 
ence and  beg  pardon,  they  might,  for  sixteen  thousand  crowns,  both 
redeem  themselves  from  punishment  of  rebellion,  and  obtain  liberty 
of  worship.  The  simple  peasantry,  fancying  that  the  interests  of  peace 
and  religion  might  thus  be  assured,  sent  deputies  to  Vercelli,  who 
were  thence  taken  to  a  monastery  and  kept  in  custody  for  two 
months,  as  hostages  for  the  payment  of  the  money ;  and  when 
half  the  sum  was  paid,  they  were  compelled  to  kneel  at  the  feet 
of  Emanuele  and  the  Pope's  Legate,  supplicate  them  to  take  pity  on 
the  people,  and  promise,  as  on  their  behalf,  that  they  would  be  ready 
to  do  whatever  the  Prince  and  the  Pontiff  might  command. 

A  command  was  forthwith  given  to  receive  the  mass  ;  but  the 
Waldenses,  who  had  not  empowered  their  deputies  to  consent  to  any 
such  terms,  refused  to  act  on  them.  Here,  then,  was  a  pretext  for  a 
second  invasion  ;  and  a  larger  force,  being  soon  collected,  inundated 
those  valleys.  Every  sort  of  outrage  that  a  savage  army  could  com- 
mit was  perpetrated  :  the  villages  were  deserted  and  burnt  down,  and 
the  population  driven  to  the  mountains,  without  houses,  provisions, 
or  arms.  But,  after  the  shock  had  passed,  they  gathered  fresh 
courage,  blocked  up  the  passes,  intrenched  themselves  in  munitions 
of  rocks,  and  prepared  to  resist  the  enemy.  The  troops  soon 
exhausted  their  ammunition,  wasting  it  on  impenetrable  crags,  behind 
which  parties  of  slingers  lay  securely,  and  answered  each  discharge  by 
a  shower  of  stones  that  did  certain  execution  ;  and  after  nearly  a 
thousand  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Church  had  lost  their  lives  in  her  hard 
service,  their  surviving  comrades  were  withdrawn,  and  presented 
themselves,  ragged,  hungry,  and  discontented,  before  the  Duke  and 
Legate  at  Vercelli.  Once  more  they  were  marched  back  to  new 
slaughter ;  but  the  Waldenses,  no  longer  blockaded  among  rocks, 
assembled  in  good  strength,  their  Barbes  offered  prayer  for  victory, 
and,  full  of  the  confidence  that  is  attendant  on  a  righteous  cause, 
they  assailed  the  advancing  columns,  besieged  a  fortress  which  the 
army  had  erected  at  Villaro,  hemmed  up  La  Trinita  and  his  host  one 
whole  day  together  in  a  position  where  they  were  helpless ;  defended 
themselves,  at  another  time,  against  a  body  of  seven  thousand  men, 
and  levelled  four  hundred  to  the  dust,  besides  several  Colonels  and 
Captains.  Then  La  Triuita  sent  for  artillery,  and  for  Spanish  troops  ;  * 
but  the  dispirited  and  unwilling  army  was  embarrassed  by  its  multi- 
tude, and  unequal  to  the  strategy  of  such  a  warfare.  God  was  against 
them.  Five  stout  Waldenses  could  put  a  thousand  of  their  enemies 
to  flight,  and  broken  columns  might  be  seen  reeling  away  from  the 
deep  ravines  to  find  safety  in  the  open  country. 

Then  the  Duchess  resumed  her  influence  over  her  vassalled  hus- 
band ;  and  the  Waldenses,  who  had  lately  dealt  with  him  on  more 
than  equal  ground,  sent  an  embassy  to  Turin,  consisting  of  a  few 
of  their  most  trusty  men,  and  Pastors,  poorly  clad  in  the  worn  garb 
of  peasants.  The  courtiers  received  them  scornfully  at  first  ;  but 
their  deportment,  equally  modest  and  assured,  their  knowledge  of 

*  The  King  of  France  also  furnished  a  contingent ;  and  seme  volunteers  from  France 
came  into  the  Alps  to  aiii  the  persecuted. 


ARTICLES    OF    CAPITULATION.  521 

affairs,  and  the  dignity  of  their  manners,  silenced  contempt  and 
awakened  deference  in  the  palace,  as  their  arms  had  cast  terror  on  the 
camp.  Chassincourt,  Gentleman-Usher  to  the  Duchess,  disguising  the 
emotion  that  he  felt,  accosted  one  of  them  in  such  a  style  as  this : 
"  With  what  face  can  you,  miserable  men,  appear  before  your  Prince  ? 
How  can  you  dare  to  treat  with  him  after  taking  arms  against  him  ? 
With  what  assurance  can  you  presume  to  differ  from  his  religion,  a 
religion  authorized  throughout  the  world  ?  You  to  contend  with  so 
great  a  Prince,  whose  councillors  are  Doctors !  You,  that  are  only 
poor  Pastors,  ignorant  of  everything,  and  that  after  all  your  follies 
have  nothing  to  hope  for  but  the  gibbet!"  The  eldest  of  them 
answered :  "  Sir,  we  have  confidence  in  appearing  before  our  Prince, 
because  his  goodness  invites  us.  Our  resistance  has  been  just,  because 
it  was  compelled ;  and  God  has  been  pleased  to  approve  it  by  his 
wonders.  It  was  not  because  of  the  loss  of  all  our  goods  that  we 
made  resistance,  but  because  it  was  attempted  to  oppress  our  consci- 
ences, and  extinguish  the  true  service  of  God  among  us.  We  have  seen 
our  Prince  execute  with  regret — as  we  charitably  believe — the  Pope's 
commands,  acting  on  the  motives  of  another  rather  than  on  his  own ; 
and  not  dispensing  justice  as  a  Sovereign,  but  as  a  lord  having  a 
Sovereign  over  him.  Therefore,  we  have  only  derogated  from  that 
sovereign  power  and  tyranny  which  the  enemy  of  God  usurps  over 
our  lord.  It  is  God,  the  Supreme  Power,  who  should  be  regarded  as 
above  all  powers  in  the  world  ;  and  our  vows  to  Him  dispense  with 
every  contrary  obligation.  As  for  the  simplicity  that  you  perceive  in 
us,  God  blesses  it,  because,  to  effect  great  things,  he  does  not  make 
use  of  human  grandeur :  the  meanest  instruments  have  often  been  most 
agreeable  to  Him.  Wise  enough  are  the  counsels  that  his  Spirit 
dictates :  bold  enough  the  hearts  that  He  warms :  stout  enough  the 
arms  that  He  strengthens.  We  are  ignorant,  and  pretend  to  no  other 
eloquence  than  prayer  and  faith.  And  as  for  the  death  with  which 
they  threaten  us,  the  good  faith  of  the  Prince  is  worth  more  to  him 
than  our  lives  ;  and,  at  any  rate,  he  who  has  the  fear  of  God  well  at 
heart,  has  no  fear  of  death."  Chassincourt  himself  related  this 
memorable  conversation  afterwards,  and  the  effect  of  it  appeared  in 
his  own  conversion  to  the  faith  of  the  Reformed. 

The  result  of  their  embassy,  under  the  divine  blessing,  was  an 
edict  (June  5th,  15C1),  or  articles  of  capitulation,  to  the  following 
effect : — Pardon  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Valleys,  whom  the  Duke 
received  under  his  safeguard  and  protection:  establishment  of  evan- 
gelical worship,  except  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  ducal  fort  that  was 
to  be  erected,  and  beyond  specified  boundaries :  exemption  from 
every  penalty  on  account  of  their  faith  :  equal  freedom  to  fugitives 
iu  other  provinces  until  they  should  have  returned  :  restitution  of 
confiscated  property  :  restoration  of  franchise  and  liberties  :  equal 
participation  in  the  benefits  of  justice  :  reservation  of  accustomed 
rights  to  the  Prince,  but  with  express  limitations  :  permission  to 
appoint  their  own  Ministers,  one  only  being  excepted  by  name : 
toleration  of  the  mass  :  remission  of  debt  from  the  Valleys  to  His 
Highness  :  liberation  of  Waldensian  prisoners  of  war :  free  commu- 

VOL.    III.  3    X 


522  CHAPTER    VII. 

nication  with  other  parts  of  the  duchy  :  an  ordinance  to  protect  them 
from  infraction  of  these  articles. 

But  the  Duke  never  ratified  them,  nor  were  they  legally  registered. 
Racconigi,  two  Ministers,  and  two  lay-deputies,  signed  the  document ; 
but  the  signature  of  suhjects  to  what  should  have  been  regarded  as  a 
sovereign  concession,  rather  than  as  a  compact  between  equal  parties, 
gave  great  offence ;  and  although  Emanuele  concurred  in  the  negoti- 
ation, he  not  unwillingly  broke  faith,  under  the  pretext  of  informality 
in  the  engagement,  and  even  after  he  had  caused  it  to  be  observed  for 
four  years. 

When  Pius  IV.  heard  of  this  concession,  he  was  exceeding  wroth. 
It  seemed  to  him  insufferable  that  an  Italian  Prince,  and  one  whom 
he  had  assisted  for  the  destruction  of  the  Waldenses,  should  permit 
them  to  live,  much  more  to  live  freely,  in  his  state  ;  and,  above  all,  he 
feared  that  the  example  of  tolerantism  given  by  a  lesser  Prince  would 
be  imitated  by  greater.  Bitterly  did  he  complain  in  the  Consistory, 
contrasting  the  weakness  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  with  the  unsparing 
rigour  of  the  Catholic  King  and  his  Ministers  in  Naples,  who  were 
slaughtering  the  Calabrian  Waldenses  at  the  same  time  that  Count 
George  was  ineffectually  attempting  the  same  work  in  the  Valleys. 
Peter  had  sent  him  up  a  Pastor  to  be  burnt  for  his  entertainment ; 
but  George,  less  zealous  or  less  fortunate,  had  not  transmitted  a 
single  trophy.  From  the  Consistory  he  turned  towards  Turin,  and 
commanded  the  Duke  to  justify  himself  at  Rome ;  but  the  affair  was 
hushed,  to  be  resumed  another  day.  In  Piedmont  the  Friars  were 
let  loose,  and  succeeded  in  persuading  the  multitude  that  their 
Sovereign  was  himself  a  heretic,  and  ought  to  lose  his  head  ;  until,  at 
last,  at  the  instance  of  the  Pope,  he  published  a  new  order  (June 
10th,  1565),  by  which  "all  the  subjects  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  who 
should  not  have  declared,  each  one  before  a  Magistrate,  that  he  would 
go  to  mass,  should  be  enjoined  to  quit  the  states  within  two  months 
following."  And  the  Magistrates  were  required  to  make  "an  exact 
list  of  all  who  did  not  obey  this  injunction,  and  to  send  it  promptly 
to  His  Highness,  in  order  to  the  execution  of  such  punishment  as  he 
might  think  fit  to  impose."  So  glaring  an  act  of  perfidy  aroused  the 
indignation  of  the  Protestant  Princes  in  Germany,  who  wrote  to  the 
Duke  on  behalf  of  his  persecuted  subjects  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Saxony, 
with  the  Elector  Palatine,  sent  an  envoy  to  Turin,  bearing  lively 
remonstrance,  and  urging  the  renewed  observance  of  the  articles 
of  1561.  The  Duke  gave  him  good  words  and  some  promises.  But 
.  the  Inquisitor  imprisoned  his  secretary.  Castrocaro,  Governor  of  the 
Valleys,  after  a  brief  relaxation  of  severity,  put  forth  other  oppressive 
orders,  any  breach  of  which  was  to  be  punished  with  death  and  con- 
fiscation ;  and  for  some  years  the  Duke  looked  on  while  the  rapacity 
and  bigotry  of  Castrocaro  crowded  the  prisons  of  his  district,  and 
depopulated  the  villages ;  and  the  good  Duchess  Margaret  only  now 
and  then  succeeded  in  effecting  some  slight  mitigation  of  their 
sufferings. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  provocation,  they  did  not  commit  any 
illegal  act,  but  contented  themselves  with  a  mutual  engagement  to 


WALDENSES    OF    SALUZZO.  523 

passive  resistance  (A.D.  1571)  ;  and  Charles  IX.  of  France,  being  at 
that  time  engaged  in  the  illusory  system  of  liberality  towards  the 
Reformed,  wrote  to  the  Duke  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  Valleys, 
and  procured  some  respite  for  them,  until,  on  the  intelligence  of  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  of  the  other  massacres  in  the 
French  provinces,  fearing  that  a  similar  onslaught  would  be  made  on 
them,  they  fled  again  to  the  mountains,  but  were  recalled  by  the 
assurances  of  His  Highness,  that  they  should  suffer  no  harm  ;  nor 
were  they  again  molested  until  the  death  of  Margaret.  And  even 
then  their  sufferings  were  light  in  comparison  with  those  of  former 
times.  And  Emanuele  may  have  been  influenced  by  a  desire  to  turn 
away  the  current  of  persecution  from  his  own  territory  when  he  soli- 
cited the  Pope  to  establish  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  St.  Maurice, 
incorporated  with  the  remains  of  the  ancient  Order  of  St.  Lazarus, 
the  Dukes  of  Savoy  being  always  the  Grand  Masters,  and  maintaining 
galleys  for  the  defence  of  the  Holy  See  against  pirates,  infidels,  (or 
Mussulmans,)  and  other  enemies  of  the  Church  (A.D.  15/2). 

In  the  marquisate  of  Saluzzo,  southward  of  the  Valleys,  the  \Val- 
denses  had  many  congregations,  who  shared  in  the  reproach  of  Christ. 
But  while  the  Dukes  of  Savoy  were  labouring  to  exterminate  evange- 
lical religion  from  their  dominions,  Saluzzo  was  subject  to  the  crown 
of  France,  and,  as  a  small  and  remote  province,  suffered  less  severely. 
A  courier  was,  indeed,  despatched  thither  by  Charles  IX.,  as  well  as 
into  the  other  provinces,  to  command  a  massacre  like  that  of  St. 
Bartholomew  ;  but  the  local  authorities  hesitated  to  fulfil  so  monstrous 
an  order.  He  again  sent  a  courier  to  countermand  the  execution,  and 
the  Christians  of  Saluzzo  were  spared.  But  when  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  received  the  marquisate  in  addition  to  Piedmont,  he  began  a 
system  of  combined  violence  and  persuasion  that  terminated  in  the 
utter  extirpation  of  those  churches,  by  a  decree  which  banished  every 
member  who  did  not  conform  to  the  Roman  religion,  after  two  months' 
•warning  (September  23d,  1G33). 

The  reader  shall  not  be  troubled  with  a  tale  of  Romish  politics,  as 
they  were  exemplified  in  the  proceedings  of  those  Jesuit  Missionaries 
and  Priest-ridden  Governors,  who  alternately  endeavoured  to  subdue 
these  oppressed  people  by  perversion  or  banishment,  from  the  dragon- 
nades  of  1560  to  those  of  1655,  which  drew  towards  them  the 
compassion  of  Europe.  To  speak  against  the  Missionaries,  or  even 
to  dissuade  their  brethren  from  going  to  hear  their  sermons,  was 
made  a  civil  offence,  punishable  with  death.  Many  were  put  to  death 
on  that  account  ;  and  by  an  abuse  of  criminal  jurisdiction,  innocent 
persons,  being  Waldenses,  were  frequently  sentenced  to  capital 
punishment  by  corrupt  Judges.  Yet  there  was  an  extraordinary 
abstinence  from  blood  in  the  Inquisitors,  who  appear  to  have  left  the 
field  to  the  Jesuits ;  and  the  name  of  but  one  victim,  during  all 
that  period,  is  preserved  by  the  historians.  This  was  Sebastiano 
Bassano,  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  who,  after  suffering  in  a  dungeon 
of  the  Inquisition  through  fifteen  months,  was  burnt  to  death  in  the 
Duke's  palace-yard  in  Turin,  singing  the  praises  of  God  to  the  last 
moment  (November  23d,  1623). 

3x2 


524  CHAPTER    VII. 

Every  event  of  politics  or  war,  every  incident,  the  most  trifling 
not  excepted, — the  quarrels  of  Kings  and  the  sports  of  children, — were 
taken  account  of  and  woven  into  a  tissue  of  accusation  to  justify  the 
vengeance  that,  either  suddenly,  or  by  premeditation,  was  poured  OH 
the  population  of  the  Valleys.  Lying  between  France  and  Italy,  con- 
taining those  Alpine  passes  that  had  afforded  entrance  to  the  hosts 
of  Hannibal,  and  were  equally  desired  for  purposes  of  invasion  or 
defence,  the  territory  was  often  claimed  by  hostile  Princes,  and  the 
allegiance  of  the  inhabitants  divided.  These  passes  were  kept  by  the 
Waldenses  during  an  insurrection  of  Piedmont  against  the  Duke,  and 
by  this  means  a  French  army  entered  the  duchy  and  restored  the 
government.  This  rendered  them  more  obnoxious  than  ever  to  the 
hatred  of  the  Romanists  who  had  taken  part  in  that  insurrection. 
Irritated  by  incessant  persecutions,  the  villagers  could  not  refrain 
from  manifesting  their  contempt  of  Popery ;  and,  amidst  their  rustic 
festivities,  sometimes  indulged  in  jests  that  might  have  been  better 
avoided,  but  were  too  childish  to  be  worthy  of  judicial  visitation. 
Their  most  serious  indiscretion  was  committed  in  the  demolition  of  a 
Capuchin  monastery  in  Villaro  (March,  1653).  The  Monks  had  pro- 
voked this  violence  by  the  most  tyrannical  conduct,  and  many  a 
neighbour  had  been  sacrificed  to  their  insolence ;  but  when  they 
appeared  as  fugitives  at  Turin,  and  related  that  their  religious  house 
and  church  were  burnt,  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  vowed  ven- 
geance. There  was  also  at  Turin,  besides  the  Inquisition,  a  "  Con- 
gregation for  the  Extirpation  of  Heretics,"  whose  appliances  were 
altogether  political,  and  whose  minute  information  enabled  them  to 
fabricate  charges  of  political  misconduct  against  the  Barbes.  Antonio 
Leger,*  a  man  of  great  learning  and  talent,  who  had  been  Chaplain 
of  the  Dutch  Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  but  had  returned  to  his 
country  after  the  greater  part  of  the  Pastors  had  been  carried  off  by 
pestilence,  to  re-organize  the  churches  exercised  a  kind  of  episcopal 
direction  over  them.  Italian  writers  accuse  him,  especially,  of  med- 
dling with  state-affairs ;  but,  even  if  it  were  so,  he  might  have  been 
compelled,  by  the  necessity  of  his  position,  to  interfere  on  behalf  of 
his  troubled  brethren  ;  and  Jesuits  are  the  last  people  in  the  world  to 
bring  such  an  accusation  with  good  grace.  The  Priests,  headed  by 
the  Pope,  incessantly  beset  the  government  with  solicitations  to 
enforce  edicts  of  banishment  suggested,  or  even  drawn  up,  by  the 
Turin  Congregation  ;  and  the  objects  of  their  persecution,  on  the 
other  hand,  made  frequent  applications  at  court  for  the  rescinding 
of  orders  that  were  contrary  to  the  Articles  of  1561,  and  to  repeated 
concessions  made  to  them  since  that  time.  Those  appeals  were 
rejected  ;  and  their  inevitable  delays  of  departure,  and  refusal  to  attend 
at  mass,  were  regarded  as  an  intolerable  contumacy.  Their  adversaries 
complained  that,  in  spite  of  an  edict  of  Carlo  Emanuele  I.,  dated  from 
Turin,  in  February,  1 602,  they  had  presumed  to  purchase  property 
of  Catholics,  preach,  exercise  the  rites  of  their  religion,  build  temples, 
even  demolish  those  of  the  Catholics,  and  open  schools  beyond  the 
prescribed  limits,  in  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  San  Martino,  and  Perosa. 

#  Uncle  of  the  historian,  Jean  Leger. 


THE    ORDER    OF    GASTALDO.  525 

They  complained  that  those  rebels,  when  required  to  demolish  the 
unlawful  temples,  had  refused,  and  exhibited  other  signs  of  contumacy. 
Their  honest  opposition  to  the  Jesuitical  efforts  at  perversion,  and 
their  conduct  towards  unfaithful  brethren,  were  called  persecution  ; 
and  they  charged  Leger  with  having  refused  the  eucharist  to  one 
Giuseppe  Gondino,  who  had,  contrary  to  the  Waldensian  discipline, 
sold  land  to  a  Catholic.  They  affirmed,  but  could  not  satisfactorily 
prove,  that,  on  Christmas-day,  1654,  an  ass  had  been  led  in  proces- 
sion in  the  village  of  La  Torre,  in  derision  of  the  Church  that  has 
often  done  the  same  thing,  and  still  includes  that  humble  brute 
amongst  the  blessed  by  means  of  her  lustrations. 

Possessed  of  the  idea  that  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  was  not 
patient  and  benevolent,  as  in  reality  it  was,  but  seditious  and  profane, 
and  that  Leger  was  the  incorrigible  leader  of  insurgents,  Carlo 
Emanuele  resolved  to  make  an  end  of  him  and  them  at  once.  He 
therefore  sent  one  Dr.  Andrea  Gastaldo,  Councillor,  Auditor,  and 
"  General  Conservator  of  the  Holy  Faith,"  to  Lucerna,  there  to  pub- 
lish an  order,  that  all  householders  of  the  Waldensian  religion  who 
resided  or  possessed  property  within  the  boundaries  of  Lucerna,  San 
Giovanni,  La  Torre,  Bibbiana,  Fenile,  Campiglione,  Bricherasco,  and 
San  Secondo,  should  quit  those  places  within  three  days,  and  go  to 
the  places  "  tolerated,"  which  were  Bobbio,  Villaro,  Angrogna,  flora, 
and  the  country  of  the  Bouetti.  This  he  was  to  enforce  by  the 
penalties  of  death  and  confiscation,  unless  those  heads  of  families 
would  make  it  appear,  within  twenty  days,  that  they  had  both 
embraced  the  Catholic  religion,  and  sold  their  property  to  Catholics. 
Gastaldo  further  commanded  mass  to  be  celebrated  in  the  places 
tolerated,  forbade  the  Waldenses  to  trouble  or  insult  the  Missionary 
fathers  or  their  servants  ;  and  threatened  every  one  with  death  who 
should  dare  to  interfere  with  others  disposed  to  become  Catholics. 
Every  mind  was  to  be  left  at  perfect  liberty!  (January  25th,  1655.) 

Regarding  the  decrees  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  as  laws,  the  last, 
however  contrary  to  decrees  preceding,  became  law,  and  the  order 
of  Gastaldo  was  therefore  strictly  legal,  but  barbarously  severe.  Mid- 
winter was  the  season  chosen,  as  usual,  for  the  banishment  of  an 
entire  population.  Families,  not  excepting  women,  sick  and  aged 
persons,  and  young  children,  were  to  be  driven  from  their  hearths, 
within  three  days,  to  places  which  were  almost  uninhabitable  through 
excessive  cold.  But  the  prescripts  prepared  to  suffer.  They  left 
their  dwellings.  The  stronger  ones  led  or  carried  the  infirm,  the 
little  children  hung  on  the  backs  of  weeping  mothers,  and  the  poor 
shivered  with  limbs  uncovered  to  the  blast,  as  they  endeavoured  to  make 
a  way  over  the  untrodden  snows.  But  the  region  was  impassable  : 
they  returned,  and  sent  deputies  to  Turin,  to  implore  pity,  and  plead 
the  grants  and  concessions  often  repeated  and  as  often  broken.  The 
deputies  were  there  challenged  to  show  credentials  which  they  did 
not  possess  ;  and,  because  not  accredited,  were  dismissed  without  an 
answer.  The  prescripts  had  also  sent  messengers  by  post  to  Switzer- 
land, and  hoped  for  succours  or  intercession  from  the  Protestant 
cantons.  Four  cantons  wrote  letters  intercessory  to  the  Duke  ;  but 


520  CHAPTER    VII. 

he  replied  that  his  subjects  of  the  Protestant  religion  had,  for  many 
years,  committed  excesses  that  could  not  be  pardoned, — abused 
favours,  violated  laws,  treated  the  Catholic  religion  with  indignity, 
and,  finally,  had  aggravated  their  disobedience  by  seeking  help  from 
foreigners.  The  Swiss  churches  exhorted  their  brethren  to  bear  per- 
secution patiently,  which,  indeed,  they  wished  to  do,  but  foresaw  the 
event,  and,  committing  their  cause  to  God,  determined  to  unite  their 
forces  for  defence.  The  Duke  would  not  abate  from  the  rigour  of  his 
commands ;  neither  could  they  consent  to  surrender  him  their  consci- 
ence. About  three  months  after  the  order  of  Gastaldo,  the  Marquis 
of  Pianezza  marched  five  hundred  regular  infantry,  some  militia  of  the 
country,  and  about  two  hundred  horse,  into  the  valley  of  Lucerna. 
Heavy  reinforcements  immediately  followed,  and  fifteen  thousand  men 
were  soon  under  his  command. 

He  first  occupied  San  Giovanni,  a  town  deserted  by  all  the  inhabit- 
ants, except  eight  or  ten  ;  and  the  fugitives,  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
the  mountain,  saw  them  pillage,  and  then  burn,  the  villages  adjacent. 
Fortified  in  La  Torre,  they  successfully  withstood  the  first  assault. 
The  ducal  troops  then  ravaged  Angrogna ;  but  the  inhabitants  had 
fled  with  the  provisions,  and  the  hungry  soldiers  grew  doubly  furious. 
The  Waldenses  occupied  the  heights,  while  the  troops  ranged  the  low- 
lauds  ;  and  as  Pianezza  commanded  the  invaders,  Janavel  and  Jayer 
headed  the  peasants  in  their  strongholds  on  the  mountain-crests 
of  Bricherasco,  San  Giovanni,  and  Angrogna.  The  Marquis  led  his 
men  to  assault  in  all  those  places  ;  and  for  three  days  the  battle 
raged.  The  mountaineers  surprised  the  veteran  troops  by  their 
valour,  and  the  Priests  no  less  wondered  at  their  patience  ;  while  old 
men,  women,  and  children  lay  in  the  snows  above  them,  and  the  dead 
and  wounded  covered  the  rocks  around.  To  turn  the  balance  of  war, 
a  body  of  French  soldiers  were  sent  to  the  help  of  Pianezza  on  the 
third  day :  for  he  had  gained  no  advantage  by  two  days'  fighting,  but 
lost  hundreds  of  men.  Still  the  combined  army  tugged  for  victory ; 
and  after  a  sanguinary  battle  in  the  plain  of  La  Torre,  routed  the 
Waldenses.  Yet  their  conquest  was  not  complete.  Janavel  and 
Jayer  rallied  often,  and  recovered  or  dismantled  posts  which  the 
enemy  had  won.  Then  they  both  fell,  the  former  wounded,  and  the 
latter  slain.  Blood,  famine,  and  desolation  overflowed  and  wasted 
everywhere.  The  invaders  gave  no  quarter  ;  and  the  invaded  only 
desired  to  die  with  a  good  conscience. 

Savoyan,  Spanish,  and  French  soldiers,  not  satisfied  with  having- 
beaten  men,  proceeded  to  murder  women  and  children.  They  tore 
babes  from  their  mothers'  arms,  and  dashed  them  on  the  rocks,  or 
quartered  them  with  their  swords.  They  dragged  the  aged  and  the 
sick  out  of  their  sheds,  cut  them  to  pieces,  or  flung  them  over  preci- 
pices. Women  were  violated,  or  subjected  to  shameful  torments  that 
the  pen  refuses  to  name,  much  less  to  describe.  Some  were  impaled, 
and  their  bodies  thus  exposed  on  the  cross-ways  to  the  horror 
of  beholders  ;  some  were  mutilated  and  killed  by  the  explosion  of 
gunpowder  crammed  into  their  mouths ;  soldiers  amused  themselves 
by  tossing  about  limbs  just  severed  from  their  trunks,  and  quivering 


MASSACRE    IN    THE    VALLEYS.  527 

with  half-extinguished  life  ;  pregnant  women  were  ripped  open,  and 
babes  that  had  never  breathed  were  stuck  on  the  points  of  halberts. 
Terrible  and  unutterable  deaths  were  these  of  fathers,  mothers,  sons, 
daughters,  husbands,  wives,  and  infants  perishing  while  yet  unborn, 
in  sight  of  wives,  husbands,  daughters,  sons,  mothers,  and  fathers, 
maddened  or  stupefied  with  horror.  Then,  like  hounds,  not  yet  sated 
with  the  chase,  others  hunted  among  the  rocks,  and  tracked  over  the 
fields  of  snow  that  erewhile  had  not  been  trodden  by  foot  of  man,  to 
find  the  more  vigorous  who  had  escaped  from  the  brutality  of  their 
fellows,  and  brought  back  and  murdered  as  many  as  they  found.  Nor 
did  they  spare  the  bodies  of  the  dead  ;  but,  pressed  with  hunger,  while 
mad  with  hate,  it  is  attested  that  they  cooked  human  flesh,  gorged 
themselves  therewith  to  nausea,  and  sickened  with  remorse.  Flames 
of  burning  villages  lit  up  the  dells ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  some  strange 
volcanic  fire  had  broken  out  of  the  earth.  Priests  and  Monks  baited 
the  flames,  and  threw  the  carcases  of  the  dead  into  the  ashes  of  their 
former  habitations,  leaving  not  one  cottage  unconsumed  in  several 
of  the  communities.  The  Irish  soldiers  and  those  of  Piedmont  were, 
of  all  others,  the  most  rabid ;  and  Pianezza,  raging  like  a  master- 
fiend,  galloped  over  the  reeking  soil  to  quicken  their  murderous  dili- 
gence when  wakening  humanity  began  to  plead  within  them.  Some 
few,  horrified  at  finding  themselves  engaged  in  such  a  service, 
deserted  ;  and  one  of  them,  the  Sieur  du  Petit  Bourg,  first  Captain 
of  the  regiment  of  Grancey,  made  a  written  attestation  of  having 
surrendered  his  office  in  disgust. 

The  murderers  might  have  thought  that  the  obscurity  of  the  situ- 
ation, the  meanness  of  the  victims,  and  the  confusion  of  those  days 
of  horror,  would  hide  much  of  their  abominations  from  the  world. 
But  the  history  of  persecution  is  nowhere  more  minutely  vivid.  Jean 
Leger,  Moderator  of  the  churches,  revisited  the  Valleys  on  the  restora- 
tion of  peace,  went  from  community  to  community,  and,  everywhere 
detaining  the  people  after  public  worship,  caused  sworn  Notaries  to 
receive  the  depositions  of  survivers,  and  preserved  them,  duly  certi- 
fied, to  be  made  use  of  when  required.  "  But  why,"  he  asks,  "  so 
great  formality  of  depositions  and  of  records  ?  For  if  it  is  true  that 
the  blood  of  Abel  cried  to  heaven  against  the  cruelty  of  his  brother, 
the  blood  of  so  many  thousand  innocents — with  which  we  ourselves 
saw  the  land  still  red,  immediately  after  the  murderers  had  achieved 
their  tasks^  and  had  withdrawn — cries  yet  loud  enough  to  be  heard, 
even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Bodies  of  young  females  that  we  still 
found  naked,  impaled  and  exposed  on  the  highways  ;  quarters 
of  children  that  we  found  scattered  on  the  ground,  and  their  brains 
yet  sticking  to  the  rocks  ;  the  carcases  of  men  without  legs,  arms, 
noses,  or  ears  ;  heads  that  were  found  cut  off  ;*  and  those  which  we 
saw  hanging  on  trees,  with  the  chest  laid  open,  and  emptied  of  heart, 
liver,  and  lungs ;  the  skins  of  persons  who  had  been  roasted  alive, 
and  that  we  saw  stretched  on  the  window- gratings  of  the  palace 
of  Lucerna : — in  short,  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  dreadful  objects, 

*  "  Avec  leur  membres  viril  entre  los  ilenta." 


528  CHAPTER    VII. 

such  as  *  the  shamefully  mutilated  bodies  of  women  and  children, 
and  innumerable  spectacles  of  the  same  kind,  must  be  acknowledged  as 
proofs  sufficiently  convincing.  Let  poor  husbands  who  have  just  now 
lost  their  wives  and  children ;  let  women  and  children  who  remain 
widowed  and  fatherless,  be  witnesses.  Let  the  community  of  Rora 
answer  for  the  butchery  committed  there  ;  for  it  is  almost  left  without 
inhabitant.  Let  the  village  of  Taillaret  answer,  where  we  saw  the 
unburied  bodies,  or  parts  of  bodies,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  women 
or  children  putrefying  on  the  ground." 

By  many  times  repeated  and  solemn  acts,  the  entire  population  had 
confessed  Christ,  and  chosen  to  suffer  for  his  sake ;  but  amidst  the 
confusion  of  that  military  massacre  opportunity  was  not  afforded  for 
the  final  testimony  of  martyrdom  to  be  heard,  with  but  two  exceptions. 

Jean  Paillas,f  a  poor  man  of  the  community  of  La  Torre,  after 
having  been  beaten  by  some  soldiers,  and  ill-treated  by  the  Monks 
of  the  convent,  who  endeavoured  to  force  him  to  their  altar,  was 
delivered  to  a  hangman,  by  express  order  of  the  Marquis  of  Pianezza, 
and  brought  into  his  presence.  There  was  a  ladder  set  up  against  a 
tree,  and  he  was  required  to  renounce  his  heresy,  with  promise  of 
pardon,  exemption  from  imposts,  the  advancement  of  his  children,  the 
favour  of  Pianezza  and  their  Royal  Highnesses,  and  a  handsome  sum 
of  money  wherewith  to  begin  life,  or  else  to  mount  the  ladder  and  be 
hung  on  the  tree.  They  represented  the  torments  that  his  wife  and 
eleven  children  would  have  to  undergo  after  his  death,  if  he  were 
obstinate.  But,  as  for  their  offers,  he  told  them  that  he  counted  the 
crown  of  life  that  he  should  receive  in  heaven  to  be  far  more  precious 
than  wealth  and  life  ;  and  as  for  his  wife  and  children,  he  desired  no 
greater  grace  for  them  than  that  they  might  all  follow  in  his  steps, 
and  die  together  with  him.  The  Monks  were  enraged,  and  helped  the 
hangman  to  launch  him  into  eternity ;  and  he  submitted  himself  to 
their  hands  with  placid  resignation.  A  few  days  after  this  martyr- 
dom, Paulo  Clemente  di  Rossani,  Elder  and  Deacon  of  the  church 
of  La  Torre,  was  seized  by  the  same  soldiers  and  Monks,  and  taken 
to  the  place  where  Paillas  had  suffered.  The  body  was  hanging  on  the 
tree  ;  and,  with  that  object  in  view,  the  Monks  addressed  him  a  long 
discourse,  by  every  motive  of  hope  and  fear  exhorting  him  to  submit 
to  Holy  Church.  But  this  man  of  God,  whose  unspotted  life,  with 
fervent  piety  and  zeal,  had  gained  him  the  reverence  of  all  the  people 
of  the  Valleys,  after  hearing  all  they  had  to  say,  answered  tkus :  "To 
all  your  promises  I  reply,  '  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan !'  And  as  for 
your  menaces,  I  fear  them  not  ;  for  you  can  only  kill  my  body.  But 
I  do  fear  Him  who  could  send  both  my  body  and  my  soul  to  hell,  but 
will  surely  receive  me  into  His  kingdom,  and  call  you  to  account  for 
the  innocent  blood  shed  by  your  false  zeal." 

Eighty-three  years  had  passed  away  in  general  persecution  from  the 
massacre  of  the  Huguenots  in  France  on  St.  Bartholomew's  day  to 
that  of  the  AValdenses,  and,  in  spite  of  such  manifestations  of  Rornish 

*  "  Les  femmes  et  les  Giles   qu'on   trouvoit  eventrees  par  la  force  de  la  poiulre  •  lea 
venires  qu'on  trouvoit  farcis  des  pierrps  ;  les  corps  que  se  trouvoient  sans  maimiiellel." 
t  This  name  is  given  in  the  French  orthography  ot  Leger, 


INTERCESSION    OF    PROTESTANTS.  529 

power  and  fury,  -with  the  strenuous  appliance  of  all  the  means  of 
repression  which  that  apostasy  had  at  its  disposal,  the  church  of  God 
had  risen  into  a  relative  position  of  considerable  power  ;  and  there  were 
Protestant  states  and  Princes  whose  indignation  was  more  than  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  could  venture  to  despise.  It  was  on  a  Sunday  (April 
29th,  1655)  that  the  tidings  of  this  massacre  reached  Zurich  ;  and  the 
members  of  the  Council  instantly  ran  together  to  ask  each  other  what 
it  became  their  duty  to  do  in  so  mournful  an  emergency.  They 
resolved  to  appoint  an  early  day  for  humiliation  and  prayer,  to  make 
a  general  collection  for  the  relief  of  their  fugitive  and  houseless 
brethren,  and  to  communicate  with  the  States-General  of  Protestant 
Switzerland,  in  order  to  further  measures.  The  Council  reminded 
their  confederates  of  Bern,  Basel,  Schaffhausen,  and  Appenzell,  that 
besides  praying  for  them  to  the  Father  of  mercies,  means  ought  to  be 
employed  for  alleviating  their  sufferings  by  alms,  and  for  "pacifying 
their  Prince  towards  them,  or,  at  least,  for  obtaining  for  them  liberty 
of  transmigration  "  to  some  other  country.  And  so  prompt  was  their 
action,  that  within  five  days  more  Gabriel  Weiss,  Captain-General 
of  Bern,  was  on  his  way  as  their  deputy  to  the  Duke ;  and,  on  his 
arrival  at  Eivoli,  where  Carlo  Emanuele  held  his  court,  obtained  an 
audience,  and  presented  a  letter  of  intercession  to  His  Royal  Highness, 
carefully  assuring  him  that  the  sufferers  had  made  no  complaint  to 
themselves,  but  that  communion  of  faith  and  Christian  pity  moved 
them  to  intercede,  and  to  pray  the  Duke,  as  an  ancient  ally  of  Swit- 
zerland, to  favour  his  subjects  who  were  of  their  religion,  and  gra- 
ciously to  continue  to  them  the  concessions  granted  by  his  prede- 
cessors. The  Duke,  and  Madame  Royale,  his  mother,  heard  the 
verbal  remonstrances  of  Weiss ;  and,  at  last,  Madame  condescended  to 
say,  "  That  although  they  were  not  obliged  to  give  any  account 
of  their  actions  to  any  Prince  in  the  world,  yet,  nevertheless,  out 
of  the  respect  they  bare  to  that  amity  which  they  had  contracted  with 
his  masters,  the  cantons,  they  had  ordered  the  Marquis  of  Pianezza  to 
acquaint  him  with  the  truth  of  these  affairs."  Pianezza,  leader  of  the 
dragonnade,  told  a  long  tale,  to  criminate  the  sufferers,  endeavoured 
to  justify,  or  to  deny,  his  proceedings  in  the  Valleys,  and  protested, 
again  and  again,  that  he  never  had  the  least  design  to  impose  on  the 
conscience  of  the  Waldenses,  or  interfere  with  their  religion,  and  that 
the  reports  of  a  massacre  which  had  been  circulated  were  a  mere 
fabrication.  This  denial  of  so  public  a  fact  could  not  be  sustained  ; 
but  the  efforts  of  the  Swiss  deputy  during  an  anxious  negotiation  were 
utterly  ineffectual  to  obtain  any  act  of  mercy. 

Oliver  Cromwell  was  at  this  time  head  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  and,  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  massacre,  he  put  forth 
all  his  energy  and  influence  on  behalf  of  the  remnant  of  the  Wal- 
denses. Samuel  Morland,  Esq.,  received  orders  (May  23d)  to  prepare 
himself  to  carry  a  message  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  to  entreat  him  to 
recall  the  merciless  edict  of  Gastaldo,  and  restore  his  distressed 
subjects  to  their  liberties  and  habitations.  And  he  was  directed  to 
apply  to  the  King  of  France  in  his  way  through  that  country,  and 
solicit  his  concurrence  in  intercession  with  the  Duke.  Mr.  Morland 

VOL.    III.  3    Y 


530  CHAPTER    VII. 

quitted  London  without  delay,  and,  making  the  utmost  possible  speed, 
received  from  Louis  XIV.  a  written  disclaimer  of  any  participation  in, 
the  doings  of  Carlo  Emanuele,  although  French  soldiers  had  been 
employed  in  the  deed  of  blood.  He  soon  made  his  appearance  at 
Rivoli,  where  the  power  of  England,  and  the  reputation  of  Cromwell, 
secured  him  the  most  courteous  reception  with  which  Savoy  could 
honour  an  Ambassador,  and  Carlo  Emanuele  and  his  mother  found 
themselves  compelled  to  receive  this  most  unwelcome  visiter. 
Attended  by  the  Master  of  Ceremonies,  the  English  Envoy  pro- 
ceeded, in  the  Duke's  own  carriage,  to  Rivoli  on  the  day  appointed 
for  the  audience,  and  read  their  Highnesses,  in  presence  of  all  the 
court,  a  stern  lecture,  in  Latin,  then  the  common  language  of  courts, 
to  the  following  effect  : — "  May  it  please  Your  Serene  and  Royal 
Highness  :  Oliver,  the  most  Serene  Lord  Protector  of  the  Republic 
of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  has  sent  me  to  Your  Royal  High- 
ness, to  whom  he  desires  hearty  salutation,  with  long  life  and  reign, 
and  great  prosperity,  amidst  the  applauses  and  prayers  of  your  people, 
&c.,  &c.  As  for  myself,  although  I  am  a  young  man,  and,  as  I 
confess,  have  not  mature  experience  in  affairs,  yet  it  pleased  my  most 
serene  and  gracious  master,  being  much  devoted  to  Your  Royal  High- 
ness, and  a  great  lover  of  the  Italian  name,  to  send  me  to  negotiate 
matters  of  great  importance, — for  so  must  those  be  called  which 
involve  the  safety  and  the  hope  of  so  many  distressed  people.  Their 
hope  rests  in  this, — that  by  their  entire  fidelity,  obedience,  and  most 
humble  prayers,  they  may  placate  and  soothe  your  spirit,  which  is 
irritated  against  them.  In  behalf  of  these  afflicted  people,  whose 
cause  pity  itself  may  now  appear  to  plead,  even  the  most  Serene 
Protector  of  England  comes  to  be  the  intercessor,  and,  with  the 
utmost  earnestness,  prays  and  beseeches  Your  Royal  Highness,  that 
you  will  deign  to  extend  your  mercy  to  these  your  poor  and  most 
outcast  subjects  :  to  those,  I  mean,  who,  inhabiting  the  skirts  of  the 
Alps  and  certain  valleys  within  your  dominions,  have  given  their 
names  to  the  religion  of  Protestants.  For  he  has  heard — may  no 
man  say  that  it  was  done  at  the  pleasure  of  Your  Royal  Highness  ! — 
that  those  most  miserable  people,  in  part  cruelly  murdered  by  your 
forces,  and  in  part  violently  expelled  and  driven  from  their  hearths 
and  from  their  country,  are  thus  without  home  or  shelter,  stripped 
of  everything,  and  destitute  of  all  relief,  -wandering,  with  their  wives 
and  little  ones,  in  wild  and  uninhabitable  places,  and  perishing  on  the 
snowy  mountains.  And,  in  those  dreadful  days,  what  kind  of  cruelty 
did  not  your  soldiers  dare  to  perpetrate  ?  Houses  everywhere  in 
flames  !  shattered  limbs !  the  ground  reeking  with  blood !  violated 
and  expiring  virgins!*  men,  a  hundred  years  of  age,  infirm  and  bed- 
ridden, burnt  to  ashes  where  they  lay !  babes  dashed  to  pieces  against 
the  rocks,  or  their  throats  cut,  or  their  brains  taken  out,  and,  with 
more  than  Cyclopean  barbarism,  boiled  and  eaten  by  the  murderers  ! 
But  enough  of  this.  Much,  very  much  more,  might  I  say,  but  for 
horror  I  cannot.  If  all  Neros  of  all  times  and  ages  could  rise  up 
from  the  dead  again, — be  it  spoken  without  offence  to  Your  Highness, 

*  "  Virgiues,  post  stupra  differto  lapillis  ac  ruderibus  utero,  misere  efflarunt  aniuias." 


SUCCOUR    FROM    ENGLAND.  531 

for  we  cannot  imagine  that  the  blame  of  such  deeds  can  be  imputed 
to  you, — this  would  put  them  to  the  blush.  For  they  would  find 
that  they  had  invented  nothing  that,  in  comparison  with  these  enor- 
mities, was  not  gentle  and  humane.  Meanwhile  the  angels  of  heaven 
shudder.  Men  are  amazed.  Heaven  itself  seems  to  be  stunned  with 
the  cries  of  the  dying,  while  the  soil  visibly  blushes  with  the  blood 
of  the  innocent.  0,  thou  most  high  God,  exact  not  the  vengeance 
due  to  such  atrocious  villanies !  O  Christ,  may  thy  blood  wash  away 
the  stains  of  this  blood !"  The  Envoy  paused,  his  auditors  endea- 
voured to  harden  their  faces  against  shame,  and  he  concluded  his 
address  in  a  few  brief  sentences,  referring  them,  for  a  more  perfect 
understanding  of  his  mission,  to  a  letter  from  Cromwell,  of  which  he 
was  the  bearer. 

Carlo  Emanuele  then  took  the  letter,  and  Madame,  unable  to  hide 
her  dissatisfaction,  anticipated  the  answer  by  impatiently  saying,  that 
she  could  not  but  extremely  applaud  the  singular  charity  and  goodness 
of  His  Highness,  the  Lord  Protector,  towards  their  subjects,  whose 
condition  would  seem  to  have  been  represented  to  him  as  so  very 
lamentable.  But  she  marvelled  exceedingly  that  the  malice  of  men 
should  carry  them  so  far  as  to  represent  in  such  horrid  colours  the 
parental  and  tender  discipline  which  they  had  seen  fit  to  exercise  over 
their  insolent  and  rebellious  subjects,  and  to  render  them  thereby 
odious  to  all  neighbouring  Princes  and  states,  and  especially  to  so 
great  and  powerful  a  Prince  as  the  Lord  Protector.  She  doubted  not 
that,  when  perfectly  informed,  Cromwell  would  be  so  satisfied  with 
the  Duke's  proceedings,  that  he  would  withdraw  all  countenance  from 
his  disobedient  subjects  :  but,  for  His  Highness'  sake,  they  would 
freely  pardon  the  rebels,  and  even  accord  them  such  privileges  and 
graces  as  would  give  him  sufficient  evidence  of  the  regard  they  had 
to  his  person  and  mediation.  And  the  Duke  afterwards  wrote  to 
Cromwell  to  the  same  effect. 

No  effort  was  spared  to  disguise  the  truth  to  Mr.  Morland ;  but  his 
investigations,  both  at  Turin  and  in  the  Valleys,  confirmed  the  worst 
reports,  and  his  "  History  of  the  Evangelical  Churches  of  the  Valleys 
of  Piemonte "  is  now  the  standard  source  of  information  on  this 
subject  in  the  English  language.  And  the  Protestants  of  England, 
not  satisfied  with  intercession  at  the  court  of  Turin,  nor  thinking 
that  their  duty  was  all  done  in  the  offering  up  of  prayer  to  the  God 
of  heaven,  sent  over  their  alms  to  the  destitute,  who,  on  returning  to 
their  native  valleys,  found  it  necessary  to  build  new  houses  and  to 
begin  their  ordinary  occupations  as  if  they  had  been  settlers  in  a 
desert  country.  Collections  were  made,  under  public  authority, 
through  England  and  Wales ;  and  the  first  entry  on  the  "  Abbreviate 
of  that  Accompt "  is  in  these  words :  "  Given  by  His  Highness  in 
particular,  ^€2,000."  The  total  sum  was  ^638,097.  7s.  3d.,  and  Com- 
missioners were  appointed  for  its  public  and  faithful  distribution. 
This  interference  of  England,  together  with  the  Protestant  states 
of  Sweden,  Denmark,  Holland,  and  Switzerland,  induced  the  Duke 
of  Savoy  to  grant  a  patent  of  grace  and  pardon  to  the  surviving 
Waldenses  ;  but  he  did  not  choose  to  acknowledge  that  he  had  been 

3  Y  2 


532  CHAPTER    VII. 

moved  thereto  by  the  intercession  of  heretics,  and  therefore  attributed 
the  honour  of  this  involuntary  clemency  to  the  King  of  France  and  to 
his  mother.  Clemency,  however,  being  thus  forced,  could  not  long 
endure.  The  fulfilment  of  the  concessions  of  1655  was  both  imper- 
fect and  brief.  In  less  than  eight  years  afterwards  the  evangelical 
inhabitants  of  the  Valleys  were  again  constrained  to  abandon  their 
habitations,  because  threatened  with  a  second  massacre,  and  to  take 
up  arms  in  self-defence.  Subjected  to  confiscation  and  to  exile 
whenever  their  enemies  could  find  any  pretext  for  attack,  they  still 
maintained  their  ground,  until  1686,  when  Louis  XIV.  of  France, 
having  revoked  the  edict  of  Nantes,  banished  the  Ministers,  torn 
down  the  temples,  dispersed  the  schools,  and  suppressed  the  public 
worship  of  the  Reformed,  also  required  Vittorio  Amedeo,  Duke  of 
Savoy,  to  expel  them  from  Piedmont.  He  feared  that  the  Protestants 
of  the  Delphinate,  then  fleeing  from  the  prisons  and  galleys  of  France, 
would  find  an  asylum  in  that  state,  and  that  thus  a  hostile  people 
would  multiply  in  his  neighbourhood.  The  instances  of  so  powerful 
a  King  were  not  to  be  resisted  ;  the  Ministers  of  Savoy  feebly  remon- 
strated that  the  peaceful  and  industrious  Waldenses  had  given  no 
offence  to  their  Sovereign  or  their  neighbours,  and  ventured  to  repre- 
sent that  an  edict,  already  published,  prohibiting  the  entrance  of 
refugees  from  France  into  Piedmont  should  be  enough  to  satisfy 
Louis.  Vittorio  thought  himself  obliged  to  comply  with  the  bar- 
barous requisition,  and  ordered  that  the  Waldensian  worship  should 
be  suppressed,  the  Barbes  banished,  and  the  churches  taken  down. 
The  edict  was  enforced  by  the  sword,  and,  after  making  an  ineffectual, 
yet  sanguinary,  resistance,  the  entire  population  was  driven  into 
Switzerland.  An  intrepid  band  of  eight  hundred  men  did,  indeed, 
re-enter  Savoy  sword  in  hand,  after  a  banishment  of  three  years,  and 
recover  a  dwelling  for  themselves  ;  but  those  Valleys  were  scarcely 
again  heard  to  resound  with  the  hymns  which  had  been  sung  by  elder 
generations.  The  united  forces  of  France  and  Savoy  had  expelled 
eighteen  thousand  persons  ;  and  when  a  favourable  edict  (A.D.  1694) 
encouraged  the  persecuted  race  to  rally  around  the  graves  of  their 
fathers,  no  more  than  four  thousand  of  them  could  be  found  there. 
From  Oliver  Cromwell  to  George  III.,  the  Sovereigns  and  people 
of  England  contributed  some  trifling  alms  towards  the  support  of  a 
few  Ministers  and  schoolmasters  ;  even  Napoleon  Buonaparte  respected 
the  remnant  of  so  brave  a  people;  and,  in  the  year  1848,  Charles 
Albert  honoured  them  with  permission  to  re-establish  their  simple 
worship  in  his  dominions.  There  are  still  vestiges  of  that  apostolic 
church  subsisting  in  the  Alps  ;  but  Rome  has  verified  the  descriptiou 
of  an  inspired  writer  in  regard  to  them,  by  wearing  out  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High.  No  political  intervention,  no  remittances  of  tem- 
poral bounty,  no  historic  pride,  no  patriotic  enthusiasm,  will  suffice  to 
rear  up  again  those  altars,  and  to  rekindle  the  fires  of  an  extinct 
devotion.  We,  therefore,  rejoice  to  know  that  prayer  has  been  long 
offered  up  by  British  and  other  evangelical  Christians  for  the  children 
of  those  old  confessors,  and  that  the  Gospel  is  again  preached  among 
them.  The  Wesleyan-Methodist  Missionary  Society  takes  part  with 


SLAVONIA.  533 

others  in  sending  them  living  messengers,  who  bear  glad  tidings  of 
peace,  and  whose  ministry  has  not  been  left  without  a  blessing.  The 
Reformation  was  suppressed  in  Italy,  as  we  have  seen,  excepting  only 
those  churches  of  the  Alps,  which  were  reduced  thus  low,  but  never 
could  be  extirpated.  And  although  earnest  and  spiritual  religion 
passed  away  from  among  them,  as  was  to  be  expected  after  the  public 
ministrations  of  the  word  of  God  and  the  watchful  discipline  of  earlier 
times  had  ceased,  there  has  been  a  constant  deposit  of  the  doctrine 
of  evangelical  Christianity  and  of  right  principles  preserved,  without 
doubt,  to  be  revived  for  the  benefit  of  coming  generations.* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  SLAVONIAN  Churches ;  chiefly  those  in  Poland,  Prussia,  Bohemia,  and  Moravia, 
from  the  Date  of  the  Augustan  Confession  to  the  Prostration  of  Evangelical 
Religion  and  civil  Liberty  in  Poland  by  the  Jesuits  towards  the  Close  of  the 
eighteenth  Century, 

BOHEMIA,  Moravia,  Poland,  and  a  few  lesser  states,  included 
under  the  general  designation  of  Slavonia,  with  the  neighbouring 
kingdom  of  Hungary,  are  now  to  be  the  field  of  our  history. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Zahera,  administrator  of  the  Calixtine 
Consistory  at  Prague,  and  persecutor  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren, 
whom  once  he  had  professed  to  favour,  excited  political  disturbances, 
while  pretending  to  persecute  the  "  Picards,"  as  the  Brethren  were 
called,  was  detected,  banished  by  Ferdinand  I.,  and,  after  a  few  years 
of  ignominious  wandering,  died  miserably  in  Franconia.f  Perhaps 
the  disgrace  of  Zahera  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  recall  of  the 
Brethren  whom  he  had  exiled  ;  and  the  year  of  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg  (A.D.  1530)  was  to  them  a  year  of  partial  restitution  and 
religious  freedom  in  Bohemia,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  Ferdi- 
nand to  the  Reformed  everywhere  else,  as  to  them  also,  a  few  years 
afterwards.  And  that,  at  best,  their  respite  from  persecution  can 
only  be  described  as  partial,  appears  from  the  fact  that  a  nobleman, 
George  the  Hermit,  was  imprisoned  for  religion  in  the  castle  of 
Prague  (A.D.  1532),  whence  he  wrote  letters  of  exhortation  to  his 
brethren,  which  were  afterwards  published.  During  that  short  respite 
they  ventured  to  continue  their  correspondence  with  Luther  and  the 
Lutherans,  and  received  marks  of  brotherly  esteem  from  the  leader 
of  the  German  Reformation,  who  declared  that,  on  examining  their 
doctrine,  and  the  discipline  observed  in  their  church,  and  hearing 
of  their  godly  conversation,  his  mistrust  had  vanished,  and  that  he 
acknowledged  them  as  brethren.  The  Margrave  George  received  a 
confession  of  their  faith,  which  was  published  at  Wittemberg  (A.D. 

*  Dr.  M'Crie,  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy;  Gerdesii  Specimen  Italia 
Reformats ;  L'Histoire  Generate  des  Eglises  Vaudoises,  par  Jean  Leger  ;  History 
of  the  Evangelical  Churches  of  the  Valleys  of  Piemonte,  by  Samuel  Morland,  Esq. 
These,  with  a  multitude  of  incidental  authorities,  are  the  sources  of  information  in  thia 
chapter. 

t  Page  108,  supra. 


534  CHAPTER    VIII. 

1533),  with  a  commendatory  preface  by  Luther  ;  and  the  correspond- 
ence between  Bohemia  and  Saxony  became  frequent. 

But  the  persecution  which  assailed  all  evangelical  Christians, 
even  when  under  legal  toleration,  pursued  the  Brethren  in  Bohemia, 
and  constrained  them  to  send  another  confession  to  their  own 
Sovereign,  attested  by  the  signatures  of  twelve  Barons  and  thirty-three 
Knights,  and  delivered  into  his  hands  at  Vienna  by  Baron  William 
Krzinezky  and  Dr.  Henry  Domausitz,  who  at  the  same  time  presented 
to  His  Majesty  a  petition  for  pity  and  protection.  The  Clergy,  they 
complained,  unjustly  accused  them  of  the  errors  vulgarly  attributed 
to  the  Picards,  thirsted  for  their  blood,  and  taught  the  people  that 
Picards  ought  not  to  go  unpunished,  and  that  it  was  less  sinful  to 
slaughter  a  Picard  than  to  kill  a  dog.  Yet  their  numbers  multiplied, 
and  they  soon  became  better  known  and  beloved  throughout  the 
younger  churches  of  revived  Christendom.  Ferdinand,  cruel  and 
bigoted,  could  not  spare  them  altogether  from  the  persecution  he 
inflicted  on  the  Lutherans  in  Austria ;  and  when  he  also  oppressed 
the  Utraquists,  or  Calixtines,  with  vexatious  edicts, — one  of  which 
was  addressed  to  the  Council  of  Zittau  (A.D.  1538),  commanding  the 
eucharist  to  be  administered  in  one  kind  only, — he  made  no  exception 
in  their  favour,  and  their  petition  lay  unanswered. 

In  Poland  the  religious  innovation,  perhaps  not  yet  amounting  to 
evangelical  reform,  continued  to  advance ;  and  in  Bohemia  one 
martyr,  Catherine  Zalaszowska,  a  woman  eighty  years  of  age,  was 
burnt  alive  in  Prague  (A.D.  1539).  Paul  III.,  far  more  earnest  in 
resisting  the  Gospel  than  in  reforming  his  court,*  sent  a  brief  to  the 
King  and  to  the  Prelates  of  Poland  (June  24th,  1542),  urging  them 
to  be  more  earnest  in  staying  the  progress  of  this  hated  doctrine. 
He  reminded  the  Bishops  that,  in  favour  to  the  King,  he  had  alle- 
viated the  burden  of  their  tribute  to  the  Apostolic  See,  and  therefore 
expected  an  equivalent  return  in  the  extirpation  of  its  enemies  ;  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Gnesen,  as  Primate  of  Poland,  exhorted  his  bre- 
thren in  provincial  Synod  to  take  measures  for  pi'eventing  further 
secessions  from  their  Church,  for  the  number  of  seceders  had  become 
formidable  ;  the  ignorance  of  the  Clergy  was  acknowledged  with  shame, 
and  the  Synod  lamented  that,  from  the  fewness  of  their  number,  many 
churches  were  forsaken.  By  that  Synod,  as  by  some  that  preceded  and 
others  that  followed,  severe  measures  of  persecution  were  demanded 
of  the  King,  or  enjoined  on  the  faithful ;  but  the  evangelical  principle 
gained  strength,  as  well  amongst  the  clergy  as  the  laity.  While  the 
Polish  Priests  were  consulting  for  the  maintenance  of  their  order, 
John  Augusta,  Senior,  or  Bishop,  of  the  Brethren,  was  in  conference 
with  Luther,  at  Wittemberg,  concerning  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and, 
with  his  valediction  (A.D.  1542),  received  this  sentence  of  recognition 
and  encouragement : — "  You  are  the  Apostle  of  the  Slavonians,  as  I 
and  my  colleagues  will  be  of  the  Germans."  The  Bohemian  Seniors 
and  their  brethren  well  discharged  the  duties  of  that  apostleship,  and 
shared  in  the  honour  of  suffering  persecution  for  their  Master's  sake  ; 

*  He  just  afterwards  commissioned  two  Cardinals  to  execute  a  decree  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  tte  court  of  Rome  (July  14tL) ;  but  they  never  proceeded  to  the  work. 


GAM  RAT,    PRIMATE    OF    POLAND.  535 

for  Ferdinand  no  longer  contented  himself  with  minatory  edicts,  but 
closed  the  churches  and  imprisoned  the  Ministers  (A.D.  1544).  He 
also  banished  several  from  Austria,  and  used  his  imperial  authority  to 
prevent  them  from  finding  refuge  in  the  lesser  states.  A  Synod 
of  Hungarian  Bishops  followed  up  the  malevolent  exertions  of  their 
brethren  in  Poland  and  Bohemia  with  clamour  for  the  banishment 
of  heretics, — for  in  that  measure  the  Church  of  Rome  was  universally 
agreed, — although  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  the  Prelates  of 
Hungary  displayed  some  participation  in  the  national  temper  of  inde- 
pendence, by  complaining  that  their  Austrian  King  had  impoverished 
the  Clergy,  and  by  joining  in  the  demand  for  an  (Ecumenical  Council, 
to  be  assembled  by  Caesar,  if  the  Pope  should  fail  to  satisfy  the 
general  demand  for  ecclesiastical  reformation  (A.D.  1545).* 

Yet  the  Church  was  not  quite  ready  to  accomplish  her  Slavonian 
crusade.  The  King  of  Poland,  Sigismund  I.,  notwithstanding  the 
instances  of  the  Pope,  had  not  yet  swept  away  every  trace  of  heresy, 
and  even  the  Clergy  were  taking  an  impression  from  the  novel 
doctrine.  Synods  were  not  implicitly  obeyed,  nor  were  royal  orders 
either  pronounced  or  executed  with  sufficient  vigour  ;  and  the  hope 
of  Rome,  therefore,  fell  back  on  that  body  of  reserve  which  she  calls 
out  when  superior  agencies  have  disappointed  her  expectation, — the 
mob.  Gamrat,  Archbishop  of  Gnesen  and  Bishop  of  Cracow,  was  a 
man  of  notoriously  profligate  habits,  but  liberal  to  the  poor,  even  to 
profusion,  and  had  once  been  greatly  favoured  by  Queen  Bona,  a 
dissolute  woman,  of  Spanish  extraction,  and  entirely  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Spanish  Court.  As  the  Primate  of  Poland,  and  as  a 
popular  Ecclesiastic,  he  was  the  fit  person  to  stir  up  the  multitude, 
and  by  that  means  attempted  to  raise  a  tempest  of  fanaticism. f 

On  the  eve  of  a  festival,  and  before  proceeding  to  church  for  even- 
ing prayers,  Archbishop  Gamrat  was  sitting  alone  in  his  chamber, 
when  a  nobleman,  a  former  companion  of  his  in  lewd  convivialities, 
but  who  had  long  been  dead,  came  in  and  sat  beside  him.  The  Arch- 
bishop was  horror-struck  at  this  visitation  from  the  dead,  speechless  and 
trembling,  until  the  spectre  somewhat  diminished  his  alarm  by  begin- 
ning a  familiar  conversation.  "Art  thou  alive,  then  ?"  said  Gamrat. 
"I  thought  thou  hadst  been  dead  ;  but  where  is  thy  abode?"  "  I 
live,"  replied  the  ghost,  "  and  I  lead  a  far  happier  life  than  you  do." 
"  Can  it  be  possible,"  rejoined  the  Prelate,  "  that  thou  who,  to  my 
knowledge,  didst  depart  from  this  life  laden  with  crimes,  and  a  victim 
to  thy  vices,  shouldest  now  be  dwelling  with  the  blessed  ?  I  cannot 
believe  it."  "  But  you  may  believe  it,"  said  the  defunct :  "just 
hearken.  When  quite  a  young  man,  I  was  in  Germany,  and  fell  in 
there  with  a  person  who,  with  sacrilegious  lips,  reviled  the  most  holy 
mother  of  God.  Impatient  of  such  wickedness,  I  gave  him  a  blow, 
and  he,  drawing  his  sword,  challenged  me  to  fight.  I  drew  mine,  we 
fought,  the  profane  wretch  fell,  and  I  escaped  without  a  wound. 
Fearing  capital  punishment  for  homicide,  I  fled,  and  soon  forgot  the 
matter  altogether  ;  but  when  my  last  hour  came,  and  my  soul  was 

*  The  Council  of  Trent  held  its  first  session  on  December  13th  of  the  same  year. 
t  Our  authority  is  Raynaldus,  an.  1545,  no.  62. 


536  CHAPTER    VIII. 

just  about  to  leave  the  body,  infernal  hosts  beset  me,  ready  to  carry 
me  away,  and  hope  seemed  to  be  utterly  vanished.  Then  suddenly  a 
new  light  dawned  around  me.  The  Queen  of  heaven,  attended  by 
companies  of  angels,  hastened  to  my  help,  and  the  infernal  monsters 
fled,  howling  and  blaspheming  as  they  went.  She,  with  a  kind 
countenance,  fixed  on  me  her  eyes  of  mercy,  and  spake  thus :  '  My 
soldier,  defender  of  my  honour,  shalt  thou  perish  ?  O  no  ! '  Then, 
turning  towards  her  Son,  she  said,  '  Behold  the  womb  that  bare  thee, 
and  the  paps  that  gave  thee  suck.  In  these  arms  that  have  often 
embraced  thee,  I  will  hold  this  my  soldier,  and  do  thou  drop  on  him 
some  of  that  blood  which  thou  hast  derived  from  me.  Then  will  I 
cause  him  to  shed  fruitful  tears,  sufficiently  abundant  to  wash  away 
all  his  sins.'  She  had  said ;  and  I  instantly  felt  within  me  a  hatred 
of  all  my  past  life,  I  was  agitated  with  sighs,  tears  gushed  out  of  my 
eyes,  I  felt  that  I  had  offended  my  most  excellent  Father  ;  and  then, 
as  my  most  holy  Patroness  inclined  her  head,  I  felt  an  intense  love 
burning  in  my  bosom,  yet  I  could  not  give  it  utterance,  for  the  dis- 
ease had  taken  away  my  speech  ;  and  thus,  the  most  chaste  Virgin 
supporting  me  in  my  last  moments,  I  expired.  My  soul  was  released 
from  the  body,  and  carried  by  angels  into  heaven ;  and  there,  not  by 
my  own  merits, — for  they  are  very  slight,  if  any, — but  through  the 
divine  mercy,  procured  for  me  by  my  Patroness,  I  have  obtained 
eternal  happiness,  and  live  indeed.  Thence  I  am  now  sent  to  thee, 
to  warn  thee  of  thy  last  moments.  Thou  wouldest  have  long  ago 
deserved,  because  of  ingratitude  for  so  many  benefits,  to  die  a  hard 
death,  like  the  rich  glutton  ;  but  thy  bounties  to  the  poor,  those 
daily  meals  which  thou  hast  given  to  beggars,  those  garments  with 
which  thou  hast  clad  the  naked  members  of  Christ,  forbid  that  after 
these  merits  the  justice  of  God  should  rage  against  thee.  But  know 
that  six  months  hence — so  far  the  kind  Father  indulges  thee — thou 
shalt  die.  Then  be  liberal,  and  consider  what  thou  shouldest  do 
meanwhile  :  for  there  is  yet  space  for  pardon,  if,  instructed  by  my 
example,  thou  dost  not  doubt."  With  these  words  he  vanished. 
The  Bishop  burst  into  tears,  and  did  not  appear  in  public  that  day ; 
but  remained  alone  longer  than  usual,  and  did  not,  until  late,  disclose 
what  he  had  seen  to  persons  in  whom  he  could  confide.  The  six 
months  he  spent  like  a  true  penitent,  expiated  his  sins  by  all  the 
sacraments,  and  this  year  departed  in  good  hope  of  everlasting  life. 

Of  course  this  message  from  beyond  the  tomb  was  related  from 
the  pulpits  ;  and  although  the  Son  of  Mary  had  forbidden  his  disci- 
ples to  draw  the  sword  in  his  defence,  the  superior  authority  of  his 
"  most  holy  mother "  was  aUeged  to  offer  everlasting  life  to  every 
ruffian  who  should  enlist  himself  into  the  hosts  of  Mary,  and  murder 
heretics  wherever  he  could  find  them.  This  doctrine,  as  we  shall  see, 
was,  to  some  extent,  received  by  the  laity,  yet  never  so  cordially  in 
Poland  as  in  France  and  Belgium.  Armies  were  marshalled  in  Ger- 
many under  the  blessings  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  Pope  once  more 
endeavoured  to  stimulate  all  his  children  by  a  Bull  (July  loth,  1546), 
exhorting  the  faithful  to  prepare  themselves  by  fasting,  prayer,  and 
sacraments,  to  receive  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  war  that  was  to  be 


BOHEMIAN    BRETHREN    PERSECUTED.  537 

waged  on  those  rebels  who  obstinately  despised  all  law,  in  order  to 
defend  His  holy  name,  extirpate  heresy,  and  restore  peace  to  the 
Church. 

From  Bohemia  Paul  soon  heard  a  response.  The  Bohemian  Bre- 
thren were  well-wishers  of  the  league  of  Smalcald,  a  confederacy 
which  the  German  Protestants  were  compelled  to  form  in  self-defence. 
The  Council  of  Prague,  therefore,  and  the  administrators  of  both  the 
Romish  and  Calixtine  dioceses,  unitedly  appealed  to  Ferdinand  for 
the  extirpation  of  the  "  Picards."  The  Chapter  of  Prague,  also, 
petitioned  the  King  for  a  renewal  of  the  former  persecuting  edicts,  for 
the  nomination  of  a  more  zealous  Archbishop,  who  would  enforce 
their  execution,  for  suppression  of  the  Romish  college,  wherein  most 
of  the  Professors  leant  towards  Lutheranism,  for  exclusion  of  Luther- 
.  ans  from  the  magistracy,  for  prohibition  of  Lutheran  books,  and  for 
many  similar  measures.  In  compliance  with  these  solicitations  Fer- 
dinand willingly  issued  a  decree  (October  4th)  of  the  kind  desired ; 
and  this  decree  was  executed  in  a  severe  persecution  of  the  Brethren. 
Many  were  forthwith  driven  out  of  the  country,  and  their  property 
confiscated.  Many  were  imprisoned.  Among  the  prisoners  was  John. 
Augusta,  their  oldest  Bishop.  His  daily  allowance  of  bread  and 
water  was  barely  sufficient  to  sustain  life :  he  was  often  scourged,  and 
thrice  tortured  on  the  rack,  to  extort  confession  of  guilt  imputed  to 
his  brethren.  His  fortitude,  however,  was  indomitable  ;  and  it  is 
said  that,  in  answer  to  his  fervent  prayers,  even  some  of  the  tor- 
mentors relented,  and  became  convinced  of  the  truth  of  his  religion. 
But  he  was  confined  for  sixteen  years,  until  the  death  of  the  King. 
George  Israel,  his  successor  in  the  episcopacy,  was  also  imprisoned, 
and  similarly  treated,  and  a  heavy  ransom  demanded  for  his  freedom. 
He  could  not  pay  the  ransom,  nor  would  he  consent  to  its  payment 
by  his  flock,  who  offered  to  purchase  his  release.  "  It  is  enough  for 
me  to  know,"  said  he,  "  that  I  have  been  once  and  fully  ransomed  by 
the  blood  of  my  Saviour  Jesus  Christ :  it  is  unnecessary  to  be  ran- 
somed a  second  time  with  silver  or  gold ;  therefore,  keep  your  money, 
it  will  be  of  use  to  you  in  your  approaching  exile."  However,  he 
escaped  without  the  payment  of  money,  by  dressing  himself  like  a 
clerk,  with  a  pen  behind  his  ear  and  an  ink-horn  in  his  hand,  and 
walking  out  of  the  castle  of  Prague  in  broad  day-light,  unnoticed  by 
the  guards.  Protected  by  the  gracious  providence  of  God,  he  travelled 
safely  into  Prussia,  and  eventually  became  the  Apostle  of  Poland. 

Many  of  the  churches  of  the  Brethren,  whose  Ministers  were  either 
banished  or  in  prison,  were  closed ;  and  the  circumstance  that  any 
remained  open  shows  that  their  influence  must  have  been  powerful. 
Many  Barons  and  other  proprietors  of  land,  having  jurisdiction  on 
their  feudal  estates,  allowed  them  to  live  there  unmolested ;  and  not 
even  the  Romish  Clergy  were  unanimous  in  persecution.  One  Priest, 
preaching  in  his  village  pulpit,  referred  to  them  in  such  terms  as 
these  : — "  The  words  of  Christ  to  his  disciples,  '  They  shall  put  you 
out  of  the  synagogues,  and  they  will  speak  all  manner  of  evil  against 
you  falsely,  for  my  sake,'  must  be  fulfilled  in  these  days  also.  Not 
in  the  Papists,  who  suffer  nothing  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  but  rather 

VOL.   in.  3  z 


538  CHAPTER    VIII. 

persecute  his  real  worshippers.  Not  in  the  Calixtines,  who  once, 
perhaps,  suffered  some  little  for  his  name.  But  these  words  must  be 
understood  of  the  Picards,  brethren  who  are  falsely  so  called,  and 
have  suffered  severely  for  the  truth."  The  authorities  of  his  Church 
bade  him  recant  next  day  ;  but  he  affirmed  still  that  they  were  the 
true  church,  distinguished  by  their  faith  and  charity,  and  no  threat- 
ening could  make  him  change.  Some  fled  into  Morn  via,  and  others 
concealed  themselves  by  day,  and  went  out  to  meet  their  brethren  at 
night.  The  common  people  were  discouraged,  and  many  of  them 
complied  with  an  edict  which  commanded  them  to  return  to  the 
Romish  Church,  under  penalty  of  banishment,  within  six  weeks.  A 
large  body,  however,  conducted  by  their  Bishop,  Matthias  Syon,  whom 
they  called  "  the  leader  of  the  people  of  God,"  emigrated  to  Poland, 
and  were  welcomed  there  by  some  of  the  nobility.  But  the  Bishop 
of  Posen,  however,  obtained  a  royal  edict  which  expelled  them  thence 
after  a  sojourn  of  ten  weeks.  From  Poland  many  of  them  travelled 
into  Prussia,  and  found  protection  under  Duke  Albert,  who  appointed 
five  Ministers  to  examine  them,  and  was  satisfied  that  they  agreed,  in 
all  things  essential,  with  the  Confession  of  Augsburg.  An  edict 
(March  19th,  1549)  empowered  them  to  settle  in  the  kingdom,  with 
full  civil  rights,  retaining  their  own  ecclesiastical  constitution ;  and 
they  distributed  themselves  in  the  towns  of  Marienwerder,  Neiden- 
burg,  Garden,  Hohenstein,  Gilgenburg,  Soldau,  and  Konigsberg.  On 
the  death  of  Duke  Albert,  however,  persecution  revived,  and  the 
intolerance  of  Lutherans  forced  them  to  quit  Prussia  and  retire  to 
Moravia,  whence  comes  their  name  "  Moravians." 

The  fires  had  not  yet  been  kindled  in  Poland ;  but  the  Primate  and 
Clergy  were  violent  in  instigating  the  government,  and  stirring  up  the 
population,  against  heretics,  and  exhibited  an  encyclical  letter  of  the 
Pope  to  animate  the  public  zeal.  And  as  many,  even  of  the  Bishops, 
were  suspected  of  heresy,  a  set  of  interrogatories  were  prepared,  to 
test  the  doubtful.  They  were  such  as  these  :  "  Dost  thou  believe  in 
the  efficacy  of  holy  water,  invocation  of  saints,  and  consecration  of 
herbs?  Dost  thou  believe  in  purgatoi'y,  Pope,  mass,  fastings,  vows, 
and  celibacy  ? "  From  Bohemia  again  another  multitude  of  exiles 
sought  refuge  in  strange  lands,  and  among  them  \vent  two  hundred 
more  Ministers,  banished  by  the  King  (A.D.  1554). 

And  here  we  must  linger,  for  a  few  moments,  over  a  movement 
which  gives  its  peculiar  character  to  the  history  of  that  part  of 
reformed  Europe.  It  was  an  effort,  not  unsuccessful  for  the  time, 
after  evangelical  unity,  in  order  that  the  church  of  Christ,  no  longer 
weakened  by  divisions,  might  find  new  strength,  in  the  union  of 
charity,  to  resist  the  persecutor,  or  to  evangelize  the  world.  Three 
anti-Romish  communions  existed  simultaneously  in  Poland, — the 
Lutheran,  or  Protestant  ;  the  Helvetian,  or  Reformed  ;  and  that  of 
the  Bohemian  Brethren.  The  last  of  these,  driven  from  their  country 
under  the  decree  of  Ferdinand  I.,  were  many  of  them  encouraged  by 
the  hospitality  of  the  Poles  to  continue  there  ;  and  others  joined 
them,  notwithstanding  the  royal  decree  which  denied  them  refuge, 
and,  being  protected  on  the  estates  of  some  of  the  nobles,  they  estab- 


AGREEMENT    OF    SENDOMIR.  539 

lisbed  congregations,  and  enjoyed  some  degree  of  prosperity.  George 
Israel,  although  his  life  was  in  peril  from  assassins  hired  by  the  Bishop 
of  Posen,  laboured  with  apostolic  diligence,  and  found  powerful 
support.  Far  from  aiming  at  ascendancy  over  brethren  of  any  other 
name,  he  invited  (A.D.  1553)  Felix  Cruciger,  Superintendent  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  Little  Poland,  and  another  of  their  Ministers, 
named  Stancari,  to  act  conjointly  with  him,  in  order  to  effect  a  union 
of  both  churches.  Their  conferences  did  not  suffice  to  effect  the 
union ;  but  they  did  tend  to  promote  the  principle  on  which  such  a 
union  should  repose.  The  Synod  of  Slomniki  (November  25th,  1554) 
entertained  the  subject ;  that  of  Chrencice  declared  its  judgment  that 
the  proposed  union  was  possible  (March  24th,  1555)  ;  and  that  of 
Gnievkof  removed  many  obstacles  which  had  hindered  its  accomplish- 
ment. Then  the  Synod  of  Kozminek  spent  a  full  week  in  comparing 
the  doctrines  and  constitutions  of  their  respective  churches  (from 
August  24th,  to  September  2d,  1555).  The  Bohemian  Brethren  next, 
by  their  representatives,  presented  a  confession  of  faith,  with  the 
form  of  their  hierarchy  and  discipline,  to  the  Helvetian  Church  ;  and, 
after  a  careful  scrutiny,  it  was  pronounced  strictly  accordant  with  the 
Gospel  and  with  the  practice  of  the  early  church.  The  Helvetian  and 
Bohemian  churches  thus  entered  into  a  spiritual  communion,  yet 
without  confounding  the  hierarchy  or  disturbing  the  discipline  of 
either,  and  reciprocally  acknowledged  each  other's  ordinations.  This 
was  the  first  achievement  of  Catholicism  in  evangelical  Christendom, 
that  sank  sectional  denominations  under  the  single  name  of  Christ ; 
and  it  was  the  result  of  antichristian  persecution.  Peter  Martyr, 
Sturm,  Pontanus,  and  other  large-hearted  Reformers,  wrote  letters 
of  congratulation  to  the  united  churches. 

The  Lutherans  variously  regarded  this  event ;  some  with  admira- 
tion, and  others  with  mistrust.  A  Synod  of  the  united  confessions  at 
Wlodislaw  (A.D.  1557)  made  them  the  first  overture,  by  inviting  them 
to  a  conference  ;  but  three  years  more  passed  away, — while  persecution 
wasted  the  more  western  churches  of  Europe,  and  still  hovered  around 
them,  watching  to  destroy, — before  two  Lutheran  Pastors  were  deputed 
to  attend  a  Synod  of  their  brethren  at  Xions  (A.D.  156'0),  and  listen 
to  arguments  for  peace.  And,  in  the  same  year,  a  Bohemian  Synod 
at  Posen  placed  on  record  the  following  admirable  declaration  : — 
"  While  the  ecclesiastical  order  which  we  adopt  is  as  stated  above,  (in 
the  acts,)  yet,  finding  ourselves  intermixed  with  other  churches,  we 
ought  to  cherish  love  towards  them,  although  they  possess  not  a 
similar  order.  If  they  only  have  the  word  of  God,  they  are  to  be 
acknowledged  as  brethren  :  we  should  join  with  them  in  praising 
God,  and  should  cultivate  fraternal  fellowship  with  them,  even  though 
there  be  some  diversity,  in  case  the  foundation  of  salvation  is  held 
intact,  and  no  idolatry  is  admitted."  Bigoted  Lutherans  then  joined 
Sociuians  in  warring  against  unity, — for  the  advocates  of  a  safe  and 
Christian  union  had  declared  against  that  heresy  which,  beyond  all 
others,  would  undermine,  if  it  were  possible,  the  foundation  of  our 
hope, — and  the  desired  agreement  was  long  deferred.  The  Bohemians 
were  even  accused  of  heresv  and  intolerance,  and,  at  the  Lutheran 

"  3  z  2 


540  CHAPTER    VIII. 

Synod  of  Posen  (A.D.  1567),  submitted  to  answer  a  set  of  questions 
drawn  up  by  their  adversaries,  with  the  intent  to  discredit  their 
confession  ;  but  the  divines  of  Wittemberg  being  appealed  to  as 
arbitrators  in  the  cause,  the  Bohemian  confession  of  faith  was  declared 
to  be  in  harmony  with  that  of  Augsburg,  and  deputations  of  the 
Brethren  were  invited  to  attend  at  Lutheran  Synods  at  Posen  and  at 
Vilna,  to  prepare  for  a  more  solemn  conference  at  Sendomir,  where 
the  three  confessions  were  to  be  fully  represented  (April  9th  to  14th, 
1570).  After  much  debate,  raised  by  the  more  rigid  adherents  of 
their  respective  forms,  the  long-desired  object  was  attained  in  the 
"  Agreement  of  Sendomir,"  an  act  of  "  mutual  consent  in  the  chief 
articles  of  the  Christian  religion,  between  the  churches  of  Greater  and 
Lesser  Poland,  Russia,  Lithuania,  and  Samogitia."  Each  communion 
retaining  its  own  confession,  ritual,  and  discipline,  the  three  con- 
fessions furnished  a  common  ground  of  essential  verities,  broad 
enough  to  sustain  the  whole  in  a  conventional  union  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  charity.  "  And,  at  the  same  time,  they  sacredly  promised 
one  another,  that  unanimously,  and  according  to  the  word  of  God, 
they  would  defend  this  mutual  consent  in  the  true  and  pure  religion 
of  Christ  against  Papists,  against  sectarians,  (chiefly  Socinians,)  and 
against  all  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  truth."  After  over- 
coming some  considerable  difficulty  as  to  the  manner  of  speaking 
concerning  the  eucharist,  wherein  the  Saxons  and  Bohemians  chiefly 
differed,  they  agreed  to  "  bury  in  deepest  silence  all  quarrels,  distrac- 
tions, and  disputes  by  which  the  course  of  the  Gospel  had  been 
hindered,  to  the  grief  of  good  men,  and  to  the  dishonour  of  Christi- 
anity ;  obliging  themselves  to  be  careful  for  public  peace  and  tran- 
quillity, to  render  each  other  mutual  charity,  and  to  labour  together  for 
the  edification  of  the  church,  and  for  the  good  of  all  the  brethren.  They 
further  engaged  to  promote  this  union  by  inviting  and  persuading 
others  to  join  therein,  and,  by  frequent  hearing  of  the  word  of  God, 
participation  of  the  sacraments,  and  other  accustomed  means,  to  pro- 
mote vital  piety.  Finally,  they  obliged  themselves  to  be  unmindful 
of  their  private  interests,  as  becomes  true  Ministers  of  God,  and  only 
to  promote  and  spread  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  their  Saviour,  and 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  both  by  word  and  deed."  This  was  the 
celebrated  Consensus  Sendomiriensis,  which  endured  through  the 
shocks  of  twenty-five  years,  when  the  bitterness  of  theological  dis- 
putation tarnished  the  honour  of  the  new-born  church  of  Christ, 
disunited  brethren,  and  gave  the  enemies  of  Christianity  a  fatal 
advantage  which  they  have  not  yet  ceased  to  use.*  The  stern 
Lutherans  became  uneasy  in  the  effort  to  exercise  a  charity  they  had 
not  yet  learned,  and  eventually  receded  from  the  compact ;  but,  after 
a  short  interval,  the  members  of  the  Helvetian  confession  in  Poland, 
or  many  of  them,  again  united  with  the  Bohemians,  and  from  the 
Synods  of  Ostrorog,  in  1620  and  1629,  the  two  communions  became 

*  This  must  not  be  understood  as  an  indiscriminate  censure  on  the  Lutherans. 
The  habit  of  resistance  acquired  in  struggling  against  Popery  indisposed  them 
from  that  liberality  of  mind  which  now  needs,  with  many  of  ourselves,  the  check  of  a 
sterner  jealousy  for  the  truth. 


VR1EST    STARVED    TO    DEATH.  541 

one,  under  the  designation  which  had  sometimes  been  taken  by  the 
Bohemian  fathers,  Unit  as  Fratrum. 

After  the  emigration  from  Bohemia  in  1548,  the  force  of  persecu- 
tion in  that  country  appears  to  have  abated  ;  and  as  long  as  the 
nobles  retained  their  liberties,  the  Brethren  found  protection  on  their 
estates.  This  refuge  was  eventually  taken  from  them  ;  and  we  shall 
have  to  mark  the  downfal  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  together, 
under  the  tyranny  of  the  Emperor  Ferdinand,  King  of  Bohemia.  But 
the  stream  of  suffering  now  flows  through  Poland.*  We  cannot 
fathom  it ;  but  a  few  examples  will  serve  as  marks  to  show  its  progress. 

The  Governor  and  the  Vicar  of  a  town  -f  in  the  province  of  Kurow 
united  in  teaching  the  inhabitants  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  gra- 
dually succeeded  in  abolishing  the  superstitious  practices  of  Komanism. 
The  Bishop  of  Cracow,  on  hearing  of  the  moral  revolution  which  had 
come  to  pass  there,  summoned  them  both  to  appear  before  himself  at 
Lublin.  The  Governor  did  not  obey  the  summons  ;  but  the  Vicar, 
Nicholas,  honoured  the  mandate  of  his  diocesan,  and  presented  him- 
self to  undergo  examination.  The  Bishop  employed  both  menaces 
and  allurements,  but  Nicholas  maintained  his  ground ;  and  the  sen- 
tence was  not  yet  pronounced,  when  he  had  permission  to  occupy  a 
pulpit  and  address  the  people,  the  Prelate  hoping  that  he  might  use 
that  opportunity  to  unsay  his  former  teaching,  and  leave  a  triumph 
to  the  Church  without  being  deterred  by  the  shame  of  a  penitential 
abjuration.  Bishop,  Priests,  courtiers,  citizens,  and  rustics  were 
mingled  in  a  densely  crowded  congregation,  and  he  calmly  exhorted 
them  all  to  accept  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  and  renounce  the 
Popish  error  and  idolatry.  From  the  pulpit  he  was  conducted  to  a 
dungeon,  not  to  be  racked  nor  burned,  but  to  die  for  want  of  nourish- 
ment. When  life  was  nearly  extinct,  a  servant  of  the  keeper  of  the 
castle  came  into  the  cell,  and,  perceiving  that  he  still  breathed,  killed 
him  by  the  stroke  of  a  bar.  It  was  found  that  he  had  eaten  a  book 
which  he  had  taken  with  him  to  beguile  the  solitude  (A.D.  1533). 

George  Israel,  a  venerable  Bishop  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  had 
collected  a  congregation  in  Posen  (Posnania)  in  the  year  1551,  which 
he  visited  frequently,  coming  over  in  disguise  from  Prussia.  The 
assemblies  were  not  very  numerous ;  and  that  the  sound  of  their 
hymns  or  the  voice  of  the  preacher  might  not  be  heard  on  the  out- 
side, they  were  used  to  stuff  the  windows  with  pillows,  while  faithful 
porters  prevented  the  entrance  of  unknown  persons  at  the  door.  The 
Bishop  of  Posen,  Benedict  Isbinski,  aware  of  his  visits  to  the  city, 
employed  a  gang  of  forty  men  to  waylay  and  murder  him  ;  but, 
although  he  knew  the  danger,  fear  hindered  him  not,  and,  trusting  in 
divine  Providence,  he  persevered  in  tending  the  flock  which  God  had 
given  him.  Variously  attired,  he  went  from  house  to  house;  and 
sometimes  appearing  as  a  coachman,  sometimes  as  a  cook,  or  as  a 
tradesman,  he  found  admission,  and  was  welcomed  by  the  master 
of  the  dwelling  as  his  Bishop  :  while  the  murderers  in  the  street  had 

*  Ancient  Poland.     The  reader  will  find  some  places  named  aa  Polish  which  he  ia 
now  accustomed  to  regard  as  altogether  Russian  or  Prussian, 
t  Zbansciorwn,  Regenvolscius. 


542  CHAPTER    VIII. 

seen  him  enter  without  the  least  suspicion  that  it  was  George  Israel. 
On  the  decease  of  Bishop  Isbiuski,  Andrew  Czarnkowski  succeeded  to 
the  mitre,  and,  stimulated  by  his  Canons,  resolved  to  distinguish 
himself  from  his  predecessor  by  some  bolder  deed.  First,  then,  he 
summoned  to  his  bar  a  citizen,  George  Gricer,  in  whose  house  a  congre- 
gation met,  and  accused  him  of  having  forsaken  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith  which  the  kingdom  of  Poland  had  lately  received,*  adhered  to 
a  certain  sect  of  Picards  whom  the  Church  condemned,  and,  refusing 
the  lawful  rites,  followed  abominable  customs,  and  held  conventicles 
in  his  own  house  and  the  houses  of  other  citizens,  in  the  city  and  out 
of  it,  by  day  and  by  night,  partaken  of  the  eucharist  in  both  kinds, 
and  persuaded  others  to  partake  of  it,  and  sent  his  children  to  be 
taught  by  a  certain  Picard  in  his  neighbourhood.  Here  was  to  be,  at 
once,  a  trial  of  the  question  of  liberty  of  conscience  in  Posen  ;  and 
Gricer  desired  a  week  to  consider  of  his  answers.  But  the  Bishop 
saw  reason  not  to  call  him  up  again.  Still  he  persisted  in  displaying 
authority,  and  ventured  to  convict  of  heresy  James,  a  druggist,  and 
Seraphine,  a  tailor,  because  they  refused  to  acknowledge  the  Pope  as 
head  of  the  Church,  and  delivered  them  over  to  the  civil  Magistrate 
to  be  burnt.  But  when  the  druggist  and  the  tailor  were  brought  into 
the  civil  court,  Luke,  Count  of  Gorka,  and  Palatine  of  Posen,  Stanis- 
laus, Count  of  Ostrorog,  and  some  other  nobles,  interfered,  and 
discharged  the  prisoners,  who  were  not  troubled  again  on  that 
account. 

A  short  time  afterwards,  Czarnkowski  made  another  effort  to  sub- 
due heresy  in  Posen,  in  the  person  of  Paul,  a  tailor,  whom  he  cited 
into  his  presence,  and  proceeded  to  examine  according  to  the  techni- 
calities of  canon  law.  The  tailor  paid  no  regard  to  the  formalities 
of  language,  but  plainly  confessed  the  true  catholic  faith  ;  and  pro- 
tested that  he  would  not  renounce  that  faith  until  convinced  otherwise 
by  the  word  of  God.  After  a  long  conversation  the  Bishop  sent  him 
to  prison,  but  released  him  on  bail  at  the  end  of  ten  days,  not  daring 
to  deal  with  a  layman  as  his  brother  of  Kurow  had  dealt  with  the 
Priest.  A  term  of  fourteen  days  was  set  for  his  appearance  in  the 
Bishop's  court  again,  when  Count  Ostrorog,  and  several  other  noble- 
men, and  a  strong  party  of  servants,  being  in  all  upwards  of  a  hun- 
dred, well  mounted,  rode  into  the  village  where  the  Prelate  lived,  and 
where  the  court  was  to  be  held.  Czarnkowski,  informed  of  the  ap- 
proaching cavalcade,  wrote  an  edict  against  Paul,  as  if  he  had  been  a 
heretic  already  condemned,  and  this  done,  coolly  walked  out  to  meet 
the  nobles,  and  invited  them  into  his  palace,  with  the  utmost  possible 
civility.  Having  accepted  his  invitation,  they  began  to  inquire  con- 
cerning the  case  of  Paul  the  tailor,  and  were  surprised  at  being  told 
that  he  had  been  summoned  for  a  much  earlier  hour  that  day,  and 
that  his  case  was  settled.  They  demanded  a  sight  of  the  articles  on 
which  he  had  been  convicted  of  heresy.  The  Bishop  produced  none. 
They  expressed  their  indignation  that  a  man  had  been  condemned  for 
heresy  without  proof.  "  Magnificent  Lords  !"  said  he,  "  I  wonder 
exceedingly  that  you  expostulate  with  me  at  this  rate,  as  if  I  had 

*  Five  or  six  hundred  years  before. 


CZARNKOWSKI,    BISHOP    OF    POSEN.  543 

inflicted  some  injury  on  a  person  of  your  own  order.  Is  it  possible 
that  you  have  undertaken  to  patronise  a  man  that  is  a  plebeian,  and  a 
tailor,  too  ?"  Count  Ostrorog,  unable  to  bridle  his  anger  any  longer, 
told  the  haughty  Priest  that  the  object  of  their  concern  was  not  Paul 
the  tailor,  but  Paul  the  citizen  ;  that  what  he  then  wished  to  perpe- 
trate on  a  tailor  he  might,  if  suffered,  perpetrate  the  next  day  on  a 
nobleman  ;  and  that  if  such  judgments  were  permitted,  he  alone  being 
witness,  prosecutor,  and  judge,  and  all  this  in  a  corner,  not  before  the 
public,  no  one  was  safe,  and  the  noblemen  then  standing  at  his  side 
might  be  thrown  into  the  fire  without  remedy.  And  if  that  tailor 
were  a  heretic,  he,  Ostrorog,  according  to  the  Bishop's  judgment, 
would  be  a  heretic  also.  "  God  forbid  !  my  Lord  Ostrorog,"  replied 
Czarnkowski,  gently :  "  we  know  how  it  behoves  us  to  conduct  ourselves 
towards  your  Lordship  :  do  not  think  so  hardly  of  us."  But  Ostrorog 
was  actually  a  member  of  the  "Unity  of  Brethren  ;"  and  when  the 
Bishop  entreated  him  to  wash  his  hands  and  be  seated  at  table,  he 
spurned  the  invitation.  "  If  I  were  to  eat  bread  with  such  a  Judge, 
I  should  fear  that  it  would  poison  me.  I  will  not."  And  he  left  the 
room,  entered  his  carriage,  and  rode  home.  The  others  followed  him, 
and  found  that  he  had  taken  up  Paul  the  tailor  by  the  way,  and 
seated  him  at  his  own  table,  where  they  all  dined  together.  And 
forthwith  the  Count  opened  his  house  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
(May  1st,  1553),  not  with  padded  windows,  but  with  open  doors, 
and  made  a  public  confession  of  the  Gospel,  the  venerable  George 
Israel  being  preacher.  Yet  once  more  Czarnkowski  summoned  the 
tailor,  and  formally  condemned  him  as  a  heretic  ;  but  could  proceed  no 
further,  it  being  impossible  to  withstand  the  indignation  of  the  nobles 
(May  21st,  1554). 

The  nobles  and  the  prelates  of  Poland  were  now  in  a  state  of  hos- 
tility towards  each  other ;  and  their  quarrel  gave  rise  to  some  most 
important  events  in  the  history  of  Poland.  Affairs  of  religious 
discipline  and  civil  jurisdiction  were  incessantly  confounded ;  and,  at 
last,  the  King  had  been  compelled,  with  assent  of  the  majority  of  the 
Diet,  to  declare  that  the  cognizance  of  causes  of  religion,  and  deci- 
sion concerning  new  doctrines,  should  pertain  to  the  Bishops  only  : 
but  that  it  should  by  no  means  belong  to  them  to  pass  any  sentence 
touching  honour  or  life  ;  and  that  from  that  time  (A.D.  1552)  the 
penal  jurisdiction  of  Bishops  in  causes  of  innovation  in  religion  had 
utterly  ceased.  The  Bishops  protested,  but  without  avail :  the 
doctrine  of  the  Reformation  found  acceptance  in  all  parts  of  Poland  ; 
and  many  Clergymen  of  all  degrees,  casting  off  the  celibacy  imposed 
on  them,  openly  married,  and  were  supported  in  so  doing  both  by  the 
nobles  and  the  people.  The  Priests,  therefore,  besought  the  Pope  to 
send  a  Legate  into  Poland,  if  haply  he  might  confirm  the  wavering 
obedience  to  the  Roman  See  ;  and  further  prayed  him  that  the  Legate 
might  continue  there  in  the  character  of  Nuncio,*  as  in  Spain, 
France,  and  elsewhere,  constantly  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  the 

*  A  Legate,  Legatus  a  la/ere,  is  an  Envoy  Plenipotentiary  of  the  Pope.  A  Nuncio, 
Nnntiun,  is  a  resident  representative,  not  invested  with  those  full  powers  which  His 
Holiness  only  grants  for  great  emergencies. 


544  CHAPTER    VIII. 

Roman  See.  Paul  IV.  readily  acceded  to  so  welcome  a  request ;  and 
Lodovico  Lippomano,  Bishop  of  Verona,  a  learned  Venetian,  was  the 
first  Nuncio  in  Poland  (A.D.  1556)  ;  and,  on  his  arrival,  convened  a 
Synod  to  consider  wheat  could  be  done  to  save  that  kingdom  from 
being  drawn  into  the  vortex  which  had  absorbed  a  great  part  of 
Germany,  and  from  which  England  seemed,  but  only  seemed,  to  have 
been  just  recovered.  For  a  moment,  too,  they  appeared  likely  to 
have  some  success ;  for,  by  virtue  of  laws  against  heresy  not  yet 
repealed,  they  obtained  authority  to  close  the  church  at  Ostrorog. 
That  church,  however,  was  soon  re-opened ;  and  then  the  Lutherans, 
taking  fresh  courage,  erected  one  also  for  themselves.  The  King, 
hesitating  between  the  opposing  influences  of  clergy  and  laity,  was 
appealed  to  by  both.  The  latter  claimed  protection,  and  the  former 
demanded  fealty  to  the  Church.  This  importunity  was  enforced  by  a 
brief  from  the  Pontiff  to  the  King  of  Poland,  wherein  he  complained 
that  in  four  of  the  chief  cities  of  his  dominions,  Dantzic,  Elbing, 
Thorn,  and  Marienburg,  the  communion  had  been  publicly  given  to 
the  people  in  both  kinds,  contrary  to  the  practice  of  the  Church ; 
and  that  divine  service  had  been  performed  there  in  the  vulgar  tongue, 
which  ought  to  be  so  much  the  more  severely  punished,  as  it  was 
done  in  contradiction  to  the  order  of  the  King  himself,  published  in 
an  assembly  in  presence  of  the  Bishop  of  Verona,  Apostolic  Nuncio, 
and  was  injurious  to  royal  majesty,  as  well  as  to  the  Holy  See.  He 
therefore  exhorted,  admonished,  and  prayed  him  to  use  his  ordinary 
prudence  to  repress  those  disorders  which  tended  to  overthrow  the 
Catholic  religion  in  his  kingdom,  with  utter  destruction  of  his  autho- 
rity, and  abolition  of  the  holy  customs  of  the  Church.  He  called  on 
him  to  proceed  against  all  those  evils  before  they  should  gather 
strength,  and  the  scandal  grow  yet  greater ;  to  compel  the  observance 
of  the  laws  he  had  himself  established,  and  punish  with  the  utmost 
severity  those  who  broke  them.  Stanislaus  Hosius,  Bishop  of  Wannia, 
employed  his  pen  in  defence  of  the  declining  faith,  a  practical  confes- 
sion that  force  could  no  longer  be  trusted  for  its  maintenance.  Com- 
munion under  both  species,  he  endeavoured  to  demonstrate,  was  an 
innovation.  Heretical  impostors  had  deceived  the  people,  promising 
to  give  them  the  blood  of  Christ  in  their  communion,  whereas  that 
which  they  gave  was  no  more  than  common  wine ;  and  the  bread 
only  such  as  was  eaten  at  their  tables  ;  and  the  Church  of  Rome  was 
slandered  by  those  who  said  that  the  blood  of  the  Saviour  was  not 
given  to  the  faithful  in  the  host,  his  true  body,  since  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  cannot  be  dissevered.  But  neither  brief  nor  book 
could  turn  back  the  stream  of  innovation.  The  sons  of  Polish  fami- 
lies, taught  in  German  universities,  returned  to  their  country,  imbued 
with  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  :  but  the  Socini  and  Ochino 
from  Italy,  with  others  of  the  same  caste,  also  disseminated  their 
heresy,  which  was  readily  adopted  by  the  multitudes  whose  Protest- 
antism consisted  rather  in  enmity  against  the  priesthood  than  in 
regard  to  Christianity  ;  and  Socinianism,  mingled  with  politics,  spoiled 
the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  in  Poland.  Yet  the  Bohemian  Brethren 
shone  as  lights  in  a  dark  place,  and  upheld  the  standard  of  evangelical 


THOMAS    OF    POL.OZK.  545 

religion  when  others  were  casting  it  away.  And  for  the  time,  the 
Bishops  were  deprived  of  the  power  to  inflict  judicial  penalties  on 
nonconformists. 

An  intolerant  priesthood  is  ingenious  enough  to  persecute,  even 
unto  death,  without  very  obvious  violation  of  the  law,  and  without 
instant  detection  ;  and  the  following  note  of  Count  Valerian  Krasinski 
may  be  presumed  to  convey  an  intimation  of  facts  that  have  no  his- 
toric record  :  "  Martinus  Krowicki,  whom  we  have  mentioned  as  having 
been  persecuted  for  his  marriage,  wrote  the  following  Polish  lines, 
replete  with  the  most  terrible  accusation  against  the  bloody  persecu- 
tions of  the  Roman  Clergy  in  Poland:"  (the  lines  follow,  and  are 
translated  thus  :)  " '  If  the  dungeons  of  Cracow  could  speak,  if  the 
tortures  of  Lipowiec  dared  to  talk,  every  body  would  know  how  peo- 
ple were  starved,  beaten,  and  tormented  in  a  pagan  manner.  Ye  shall 
have  to  answer  to  God  for  the  death  of  the  Priest  Michel ;  but 
although  you  will  burn  all  his  books,  you  shall  never  destroy  the 
divine  truth,  which  proves  that  ye  are  Scribes,  Pharisees,  and  con- 
demned people.'  It  is  impossible  to  know  who  was  the  Priest  Michel 
alluded  to  in  these  lines,  and  what  kind  of  death  he  suffered."  * 

Leaving  Poland  for  the  present,  we  find  a  Slavonian  martyr  in 
that  remote  region  which  is  now  marked  on  our  maps  as  the  north- 
west division  of  Russia  in  Europe.  Three  Monks,  wearing  the  habit 
and  observing  the  rites  of  the  Greek  Church,  came  to  Vitebsk,  which 
was  even  at  that  time  a  populous  and  noted  city.  Their  names  were 
Theodosius,  Artemius,  and  Thomas.  Possessing  no  other  language 
than  their  vernacular,  nor  any  greater  learning  than  that  of  the 
humbler  members  of  their  order  of  "  Black  Monks,"  they  called  the 
inhabitants  to  repentance,  condemned  the  worship  of  idols,  caused 
images  to  be  broken  and  removed,  first  from  private  houses,  and  then 
from  the  public  edifices ;  and  exhorted  the  multitude  to  pray  to  God 
alone,  through  the  intercession  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  aid  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  according  to  His  word.  Their  fidelity  and  zeal 
provoked  the  Greek  Priests,  who  incited  the  more  superstitious  of  the 
people  to  assail  them,  and  they  were  compelled  to  flee  for  life  into 
Lithuania,  where  they  could  preach  with  greater  freedom  (A.D.  1551). 
Theodosius,  being  then  eighty  years  of  age,  soon  died.  Artemius 
found  refuge  with  a  friendly  nobleman.  Thomas,  the  most  eloquent 
of  the  three,  and  best  instructed  in  the  holy  Scriptures,  devoted  him- 
self to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  casting  off  the  Monkish  habit ; 
and  after  a  few  years,  when  the  Gospel  began  to  spread  in  Polozk,  a 
town  near  Vitebsk,  he  went  thither  to  instruct  the  inquirers  and  form, 
them  into  a  church.  After  he  had  spent  several  years  in  this  import- 
ant service,  Polozk  was  attacked  by  John  Basilides,  Grand  Duke 
of  Muscovy  (February  13th,  1563),  who  took  the  place,  and  treated 
the  inhabitants  with  great  severity.  The  Reformed  Pastor,  Thomas, 
became  the  object  of  his  bitterest  hatred ;  for  he  was  known  to  have 
renounced  the  Duke's  religion,  and  had  become  eminent  for  persevering 
diligence  in  bringing  over  multitudes  to  faith  in  Christ.  The  Don  being 
then  frozen,  he  had  him  taken  on  the  ice  and  killed  by  blows  of  a 

*  Sketch  of  the  Reformation  in  Poland,  vol.  i.,  p.  177- 
VOL.    III.  4    A 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


cudgel  on  his  head,  and  caused  his  body  to  be  thrown  into  the  river 
through  an  opening  broken  in  the  ice.  But  his  works  followed  him 
into  the  realms  of  glory.  The  men  of  Vitebsk  never  forgot  the  ser- 
mons of  the  three  Monks  ;  but,  weary  of  idolatry,  invited  Ministers 
of  the  word  of  God  from  Lithuania  and  Poland,  who  went  at  their 
request,  preached  Christ  without  hinderance,  and  erected  a  church  in 
one  of  the  chief  places  of  the  city,  where  a  numerous  congregation 
regularly  assembled  to  hear  the  word  of  life,  and  unite  in  all  the 
solemnities  of  worship.  And  from  that  time  Polozk,  a  royal  city, 
gave  welcome  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  became  the  home  of  a  truly 
evangelical  church. 

In  Bohemia,  meanwhile,  the  same  good  work  flourished  with  the 
United  Brethren,  whom,  therefore,  the  world  hated  ;  and  again  the 
cloud  of  persecution  lowered.  The  Emperor  Maximilian  II.  had 
given  them  permission  to  open  their  churches  for  public  worship,  and 
they  were  rejoicing  in  the  privilege,  when  Joachim  von  Neuhaus,  Chan- 
cellor of  Bohemia,  instigated  by  the  Priests,  set  out  from  Prague  to 
Vienna  with  the  draft  of  an  edict  for  closing  them  again,  and  renew- 
ing the  severest  measures  of  repression.  Maximilian  allowed  himself 
to  be  persuaded  that  the  public  peace  required  such  an  edict,  and 
with  considerable  reluctance  gave  it  the  imperial  signature.  Elated 
with  success,  Joachim  mounted  his  chariot  to  return  with  the  instru- 
ment of  tyranny,  and  was  crossing  the  Danube  with  it,  when  the  frail 
bridge  gave  way  under  the  weight  of  his  equipage,  and  he  and  a  great 
part  of  his  train  were  drowned.  A  young  nobleman,  swimming  his 
horse  across  the  river,  saw  the  Chancellor  rise  to  the  surface,  caught 
him  by  his  gold  chain,  and  kept  the  body  from  sinking,  until  some 
fishermen  rowed  to  the  spot,  and  took  it  into  their  boat.  But  life  was 
extinct.  The  box  containing  the  edict  which,  if  executed,  would  have 
caused  the  violent  death  of  many  thousands,  was  never  found.  The 
Emperor  refused  to  renew  the  document  which  Heaven  had  cancelled  ; 
and  the  nobleman,  sharing  in  the  conviction,  but  more  deeply,  that 
the  hand  of  God  had  smitten  the  persecutor  of  His  people,  forthwith 
joined  the  Unity  of  Brethren  (A.D.  1565).  Their  enemies  were  more 
successful  in  Prussia,  where,  after  the  death  of  Duke  Albert  and  his 
Duchess  on  the  same  day  (March  20th,  1568),  they  obtained  from 
the  new  Duke  a  prohibition  to  the  Brethren  there  from  hearing  Bohe- 
mian preachers,  and  a  command  to  subscribe  a  set  of  Romanized 
articles  of  faith.  Unable  to  submit,  most  of  them  went  to  Poland 
(A.D.  1574)  ;  but  a  few  remained,  and  held  communion  secretly. 

The  affairs  of  the  Brethren  and  other  Protestants  in  Poland  now 
demand  our  mournful  attention. 

Sigismund  Augustus,  King  of  Poland,  died  on  the  Tth  of  July, 
1572,  without  issue.  The  Polish  monarchy  was  elective  ;  but,  as  it 
had  become  usual  to  confer  the  crown  on  the  heir  of  the  deceased 
Sovereign,  the  nation  seldom  exercised  its  right  uninfluenced  by  the 
consideration  of  inheritance.  It  now  became  necessary  to  do  so,  and 
there  were  no  fewer  than  five  candidates  for  the  throne,  or,  at  least, 
five  proposals.  The  Papal  Nuncio,  Cardinal  Commendone,  most 
strenuously  laboured  by  all  methods,  open  and  secret,  honest  and  dis- 


DUKE    OF    ANJOO    KING    OF    POLAND.  547 

honest,  to  obtain  a  zealot  or  a  creature  of  the  Church  ;  or,  by  divid- 
ing the  Protestants,  prevent  the  election  of  one  who  would  be  likely 
to  show  them  favour.  However,  after  negotiation  with  the  court 
of  Paris,  whence  a  splendid  embassy  was  sent  into  Poland,  the  Diet 
of  election  chose  Henry  de  Valois,  Duke  of  Anjou. 

Previously  to  this  election,  the  states  of  Poland  assembled  at 
Warsaw  passed  (January  6th,  1573)  an  "act  of  confederation,"  which 
gave  perfect  equality  of  rights  and  privileges  to  persons  of  all  Chris- 
tian denominations  in  the  kingdom.  It  went  even  beyond  the  estab- 
lishment of  civil  equality,  by  abolishing  the  obligation  of  patrons  to 
bestow  benefices  exclusively  on  Clerks  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  act, 
however,  was  disfigured  by  an  article  which  gave  land-owners  full  autho- 
rity over  their  subjects  in  matters  of  religion  ;  but  allowance  must  be 
made  in  estimating  such  enactments  for  the  strength  of  feudalism  in 
Polish  society,  and  for  the  imperfect  notions  of  the  time  in  regard  to 
personal  freedom  and  responsibility.  The  Priests  themselves,  be  it 
observed,  proposed  this  measure,  finding  it  expedient,  at  that  juncture, 
to  make  an  extraordinary  show  of  liberality,  thereby  to  disarm  the 
opposition  of  their  inveterate  antagonists, — the  nobles, — and  provide 
themselves  with  a  larger  share  of  present  influence  in  the  election  and 
management  of  a  King.  Karnkowski,  Bishop  of  Cujavia,  drew  up 
the  equitable  articles,  and  Krasinski,  Bishop  of  Cracow  and  Vice- 
Chaucellor  of  Poland,  gave  his  signature  ;  but  the  Cardinal  Commen- 
done  feared  the  consequences  of  even  a  temporary  concession,  and 
opposed  it  from  the  first.  The  majority  of  the  Bishops  followed  him, 
and  withheld  their  signatures.  Before  the  death  of  Sigismund,  the 
Duke  of  Aujou  had  been  privately  mentioned  as  a  future  candidate 
for  the  crown  ;  and  non-official  correspondence  between  the  royal 
family  of  France  and  the  nobles  of  Poland  had  begun.  At  that  time 
the  Reformed  were  thought  to  be  in  power  at  Paris  ;  and  the  Duke, 
with  his  accomplices  in  the  scheme  that  found  its  consummation  on 
St.  Bartholomew's  day,  was  regarded  as  their  friend.  Their  Polish 
brethren,  under  this  illusion,  favoured  his  election  to  the  throne  ;  but 
the  intelligence  of  that  massacre  taught  them  the  necessity  of  the  most 
lively  caution  ;  and  when  the  day  for  election  came,  they  would  have 
voted  for  a  native  Pole,  could  one  have  been  found  willing  to  face  the 
opposition  of  party  jealousies.  On  an  early  day,  the  Nuncio  Com- 
mendone  presumed  to  present  himself  in  the  assemblage  at  Warsaw, 
and  advise  the  rejection  of  any  candidate  not  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  But  this  effrontery  called  forth  severe  rebuke ;  and,  in 
spite  of  all  his  tenacity,  he  was  ordered  to  leave  Warsaw,  with  other 
foreign  Ambassadors,  before  the  day  of  election.  The  Protestants, 
finding  themselves  obliged  to  consent  to  the  choice  of  the  French 
Duke,  resolved  to  exact  ample  security  for  their  religious  rights,  and 
proposed  conditions  favourable,  not  only  to  themselves  at  home,  but 
to  the  remnant  of  their  brethren  in  France  ;  and  the  French  Ambas- 
sadors, Montluc  and  Lansac,  rather  than  see  their  master  rejected  at 
the  last  hour,  consented  to  the  inclusion  of  those  conditions  in  the 
treaty,  and  signed  them  on  his  behalf.  "  By  these  conditions,  signed 
at  Plock  on  the  4th  of  May,  1573,  the  King  of  France  was  to  grant  a 

4  A  2 


548  CHAPTER    VIII. 

complete  amnesty  to  the  Protestants  of  that  country,  as  well  as  perfect 
liberty  of  religious  exercise.  All  who  wished  to  leave  the  country 
were  at  liberty  to  sell  their  properties,  or  to  receive  their  incomes, 
provided  they  did  not  retire  into  the  dominions  of  the  enemies 
of  France  ;  whilst  those  who  had  emigrated  could  return  to  their 
homes.  All  proceedings  against  persons  accused  of  the  conspiracy 
of  Paris  were  to  be  cancelled.  Those  who  had  been  condemned  were 
to  be  restored  to  honour  and  property ;  and  a  compensation  was  to 
be  given  to  the  children  of  those  who  had  been  murdered.  Every 
Protestant  who  was  condemned  to  exile,  or  obliged  to  flee,  was  to  be 
restored  to  his  properties,  dignities,  &c.  The  King  was  to  assign,  in 
every  province,  towns  where  the  Protestants  might  freely  exercise 
their  religion."  To  us  who  can  review  the  course  of  deceit  habitually 
pursued  by  the  court  of  Paris,  it  will  not  appear  strange  that  the 
Ambassadors  accepted  a  stipulation  which  they  could  not  have  believed 
the  Duke  of  Anjou  would  fulfil. 

Now  began  the  labours  of  the  Romanists  to  nullify  this  compact. 
The  Archbishop  of  Gnesen,  who,  as  Primate,  in  pursuance  of  an  ancient 
custom,  governed  Poland  during  the  interregnum,  proclaimed  Henry 
King-elect  (May  9th)  ;  but  in  his  proclamation  omitted  all  mention 
of  religious  and  political  liberty  ;  and  the  Protestants,  therefore,  assem- 
bled at  Grochow,  a  place  about  two  miles  from  Warsaw,  with  a  con- 
siderable armed  force,  and  proclaimed  their  opposition  to  the  newly- 
elected  Monarch  until  the  constitutional  liberties  of  Poland  should  be 
secured.  By  this  timely  demonstration  the  Cardinal  and  his  party 
were  induced  to  give  way,  and  with  a  portentous  facility  agreed  to  the 
demand  of  the  Protestants,  who  further  stipulated  with  the  represent- 
atives of  Henry,  that,  should  he  break  those  promises,  his  right  to 
occupy  the  throne  would  cease.  An  embassy  of  noblemen  then  went 
to  Paris  to  salute  Anjou  as  King  of  Poland.  They  astonished  the 
Parisians  by  the  magnificence  of  their  trains,  and  each  Ambassador 
outshone  his  retinue  by  brilliancy  of  diplomatic  qualifications.  There 
was  not  one  of  the  twelve  who  could  not  speak  Latin,  so  efficient  had 
been  their  education  in  Germany  as  well  as  in  their  own  country. 
Many  spoke  German  and  Italian  also  ;  and  some  conversed  in  French 
•with  so  great  purity  that  they  might  have  been  taken  for  natives. 
Thuanus,  who  was  present,  acknowledged  that  the  French  courtiers 
•were  shamefully  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  accomplished 
strangers. 

At  their  approach  the  military  persecution  of  the  Protestants  had 
been  relaxed,  and  no  pains  were  spared  to  persuade  them  that  a  day 
of  mercy  was  at  hand.  But  the  conditions  accepted  at  Warsaw  were 
not  ratified  in  the  Louvre  ;  and  the  Protestant  members  of  the  embassy 
found  themselves  deserted  by  their  colleagues,  and  unable  to  obtain 
anything  for  the  French  Reformed  beyond  formal  and  evasive  pro- 
mises. They  told  Charles  IX.  plainly,  that  they  would  not  have 
offered  the  crown  to  his  brother  unless  they  had  been  induced  to  hope 
that,  in  consideration  of  the  gift,  he  would  have  ceased  from  making 
war  upon  his  subjects  on  account  of  their  religion.  "With  us,"  said 
they,  "  public  peace  and  common  tranquillity  have  been  preserved, 


THE    PAPISTS    ADVISE    PERJURY.  549 

because  our  Kings  have  given  every  one  liberty  of  conscience.  We 
have  drawn  up  articles  containing  easy  measures  of  pacification  already 
sworn  by  express  words  in  the  name  and  on  the  faith  of  your  Majesty. 
But  with  extreme  regret  we  see  that  the  promises  and  articles  that 
\vere  sworn  to,  have  not  been  kept  towards  those  of  our  religion."  * 

But  while  Charles  heard  these  and  many  such  remonstrances,  other 
counsels  were  laid  up  in  his  bosom.  Hosius,  the  Legate  in  Poland, 
had  pronounced  the  act  of  confederation  a  criminal  conspiracy  against 
God,  and  declared  that  it  ought  to  be  abolished  by  the  new  King.  He 
earnestly  advised  the  Archbishop  of  Gnesen,  and  others,  to  prevent 
Henry  from  confirming  by  his  coronation-oath  the  religious  liberties 
of  Poland.  And  after  Henry  had  taken  the  oath,  he  recommended 
him  to  break  it ;  and  maintained,  that  for  breaking  an  oath  given  to 
heretics  not  even  absolution  was  required.  And  while  Henry  was  ou 
his  way  to  take  possession  of  the  throne,  he  sent  a  confidential  mes- 
senger to  meet  him  with  a  letter  (October  19th,  1573),  in  which  he 
advised  him  not  to  "  follow  the  example  of  Herod,  but  rather  that  of 
David,  who,  to  his  greatest  praise,  kept  not  what  he  had  thoughtlessly 
sworn.  It  mattered  not  in  the  present  case  about  a  single  Nabal, 
but  about  thousands  of  souls  who  would  be  delivered  into  the  power 
of  the  devil."  f  His  Confessor  was  directed  to  instruct  him  in  his 
duty  to  break  his  engagement  and  renounce  his  oath;  and  the  Polish 
Priests,  despite  their  former  acquiescence  in  the  act  of  confederation, 
were  heard  declaiming  against  it  in  the  churches,  and  foretelling  that 
it  would  be  a  cause  of  revolts  in  Poland  like  those  of  the  peasants  in 
Westphalia.  The  Popish  nobles  of  one  palatinate  were  so  enraged, 
that  they  sent  a  delegate  to  France  to  pray  their  new  King  not  to 
confirm  the  grant  of  liberty  of  conscience.  One  Bishop  Solikowski 
interposed  a  counsel  which,  if  not  less  guilty,  was  more  cunning.  He 
advised  Henry  to  submit  to  the  necessity  of  the  occasion,  to  promise  and 
swear  whatever  was  demanded,  so  as  to  prevent  a  civil  war ;  but,  when 
once  possessed  of  the  throne,  to  use  every  means  to  crush  heresy, 
which  his  absolute  power  might  enable  him  to  do  without  any  very 
violent  effort.  Henry  was  wise  enough  to  refuse  an  audience  to 
the  delegate,  and  deny  the  validity  of  a  protest  sent  him  by  the 
Archbishop. 

Konarski,  representing  the  Archbishop,  persisted  in  his  intention 
to  present  the  protest  of  his  principal,  which  he  did  when  Henry  was 
surrounded  by  the  embassy  and  the  French  court,  to  receive  the 
diploma  of  election  in  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  (September  10th). 
This  roused  Zborowski,  one  of  the  Protestant  Ambassadors,  who  said 
aloud  to  Montluc,  "  Had  you  not  accepted,  in  the  name  of  the  Duke, 
the  conditions  of  religious  liberty,  our  opposition  would  have  pre- 
vented this  Duke  from  being  elected  our  Monarch."  Henry  seemed 
astonished  ;  and  therefore  he  repeated  the  declaration,  and  added : 
"  If  you  do  not  confirm  these  conditions,  you  will  not  be  King." 
But  he  would  not  miss  the  crown,  and  therefore  gave  the  oath ;  but 
after  having  sworn,  he  granted  the  Bishop  a  written  testimony  to  his 

*  Krasinski,  vol.  ii.,  p.  30.  t  Ibid.,  p.  31 . 


550  CHAPTER    VIII. 

protestation,  that  liberty  of  religious  confessions  was  not  to  injure  the 
authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

This  ceremony  having  been  performed,  Henry  left  Paris,  and  tra- 
velled slowly  towards  his  future  kingdom.  Graziani,  Secretary 
of  Cardinal  Commendone,  met  him  in  Saxony,  and  hastened  to 
instruct  him  concerning  his  duty  towards  his  new  subjects.  He  told 
him  that  the  Kings  of  Poland  were  absolute  masters  of  the  life  and 
death  of  all  their  subjects  :  that  to  them  alone  all  appeals  were  made 
by  Magistrates  of  towns  and  provinces :  that  they  alone  interpreted 
the  laws  and  the  constitution  :  that  the  Senate  could  do  no  more  than 
advise,  the  royal  decisions  being  absolute.  From  them  alone,  he  said, 
wealth,  dignity,  and  honours  flowed.  Affairs  of  state  and  arrange- 
ments of  finance  depended  entirely  on  their  sovereign  pleasure.  The 
choice  of  Magistrates  would,  therefore,  be  wholly  with  Henry ;  yet  in 
making  it  great  caution  would  be  necessary,  as  fidelity  could  only  be 
expected  from  Catholics.  Some  would  advise  him  to  conciliate 
heretics  by  favours  and  rewards  ;  but  that  advice  was  neither  safe  nor 
faithful,  since  nations  must  deserve  favours  by  submission,  not  wrest 
them  from  Kings  by  compulsion.  As  for  those  heretics,  he  needed 
not  to  fear  their  resentment ;  for  they  were  weak,  without  leaders,  and 
without  forces  ;  and  if  they  saw  that  Catholicism  was  the  only  path 
to  royal  favour,  they  would  surely  take  it.  After  this  tenor,  and  at 
great  length,  Graziani  undertook  to  teach  his  young  King  ;  and  he 
also  tells  us  that  he  advised  him  to  keep  up  the  martial  spirit  of  the 
nation  by  engaging  in  a  war  with  the  Czar  of  Muscovy,  not  so  much, 
as  he  acknowledges,  from  any  motive  of  national  utility,  as  because 
a  state  of  war  would  be  less  favourable  to  the  indulgence  of  specu- 
lations on  the  mysteries  of  religion.  So  elevated  was  the  devotion 
of  this  officious  Priest ! 

On  the  arrival  of  Henry  in  Poland  (January  25th,  1574),  the 
country  was  agitated  with  fear.  The  perfidious  notions  of  Hosius,  the 
Archbishop,  and  the  higher  Clergy,  now  adopted  by  the  body  of  the 
priesthood,  were  known  to  every  one  ;  and  not  only  the  Protestants,  but 
every  true  Pole,  dreaded  the  reign  of  a  King  who  had  already  partici- 
pated in  the  French  massacres,  and  now  appeared  to  be  given  over  to 
Romish  influences.  The  hour  of  coronation  drew  near,  but  the  form 
of  the  coronation-oath  was  not  yet  settled.  A  few  Protestant  grandees, 
therefore,  went  to  his  closet  on  the  morning  of  that  solemnity,  and 
besought  him  to  confirm  what  he  had  sworn  in  Paris.  Henry  gave 
them  no  more  than  a  vague  assurance  that  he  would  guarantee  the 
honour  and  properties  of  the  Protestants.  Thence  they  proceeded  to 
the  church.  The  ceremonial  of  benediction  and  coronation  advanced, 
but  no  oath  to  Protestants  was  taken  ;  and  just  when  the  crown  was 
about  to  be  placed  upon  the  head  of  the  stranger,  Firley,  Grand 
Marshal  of  Poland,  interrupted  his  coronation,  by  declaring  that 
unless  the  oath  already  taken  was  again  pronounced,  he  would  not 
permit  it  to  proceed.  Dembinski,  the  Grand  Chancellor,  also  a  Pro- 
testant, joined  the  Marshal,  and  they  approached  the  Duke  who  was 
kneeling  on  the  steps  of  the  altar,  and  presented  him  a  scroll  contain- 
ing the  oath  he  had  sworn  in  Paris.  The  Duke  arose,  terrified  ;  the 


DUKE    OF    TRANSYLVANIA    KING    OP    POLAND.  551 

by-standers,  too,  were  mute  ;  and  Firley,  taking  the  crown  of  Poland 
in  his  hand,  said  in  a  loud  voice,  "Si  non  jurabis,  non  regnabis." 
"  If  thou  wilt  not  swear,  thou  shalt  not  be  King."  Patriotism,  reli- 
gion, honour,  and  conscience,  ranged  on  the  same  side,  were  not  to 
be  resisted ;  and,  after  some  hurried  parley,  the  Duke  of  Anjou 
reluctantly  swore  that  the  Protestants  of  Poland  should  be  free.  Then 
he  became  their  Sovereign. 

But  it  could  not  be  expected  that  an  oath  so  extorted  would  be 
kept.  The  influence  of  the  leading  Protestants  thenceforth  visibly 
declined  at  court ;  and  the  noble-hearted  Chancellor  soon  died,  not 
without  suspicion  of  poison.  As  for  King  Henry,  he  found  that  in 
the  anointing  of  that  day  there  had  been  no  blessing.  His  miserable 
brother  Charles  IX.  died,  and,  on  receiving  tidings  of  the  vacation 
of  the  hereditary  throne,  he  precipitately  returned  to  France  (June, 
1574),  leaving  his  alien  subjects  disgusted  with  his  profligacy,  which 
had  become  unbounded.  A  national  Diet  assembled  at  Stenzyca  after- 
wards declared  the  throne  of  Poland  vacant  (May  22d,  15/5),  and 
confirmed  the  religious  liberties  of  all  communions,  the  Socinian 
excepted,  according  to  the  act  of  confederation. 

Stephen  Battory,  Duke  of  Transylvania,  a  native  of  Hungary,  was 
eventually  elected  to  the  throne.  He  was  a  Protestant,  and  the  hopes 
of  the  Protestants  ran  high  when  his  election  was  assured.  But  with 
the  deputation  who  announced  to  him  his  almost  unexpected  eleva- 
tion, and  who  were  almost  all  an ti- Romanists,  the  Priest  Solikowski 
also  proceeded  to  his  residence,  and,  in  spite  of  their  vigilance, 
obtained  a  secret  interview  with  him  at  night,  and  persuaded  him  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  retain  his  newly-acquired  royalty,  of  which 
one  condition  was  marriage  with  a  bigoted  Princess,  Anna,  sister 
of  Sigismund  Augustus,  unless  he  would  conform  to  Rome.  He  suf- 
fered himself  to  be  persuaded  ;  and  the  next  day  astonished  and  dis- 
appointed his  friends  by  going  to  mass.  And  the  event  showed  them 
that  whatever  may  be  introduced  into  a  country,  or  established  there, 
by  political  means,  the  Gospel  cannot.  In  deference  to  the  powerful 
party  who  demanded  religious  liberty,  Stephen  Battory  professedly 
upheld  the  law  which  gave  it ;  but  he  patronized  the  Jesuits,  and  thus 
nullified  whatever  benefits  might  have  resulted  from  his  heartless 
impartiality. 

The  Romish  Clergy  and  the  nobility  of  Poland  were  consequently 
thrown  into  real,  if  not  formal,  hostility  to  each  other ;  and  the  mul- 
titude was  divided  in  adherence  to  the  adverse  parties.  Wherever  the 
Jesuits  were  established,  they  ruled  the  mob,  and,  notwithstanding 
law,  the  Protestants  were  sufferers. 

Those  tumultuary  persecutions  began  at  Cracow,  during  the  inter- 
regnum between  Henry  and  Stephen  Battory.  The  preachers  had 
inculcated  the  maxim  of  Constance,  recently  avowed  by  Hosius,  and 
applauded  by  the  Court  of  Rome,  that  no  faith  was  to  be  kept  with 
heretics.  On  a  Sunday,  while  the  members  of  the  Reformed  Church 
were  assembled  at  worship,  a  mob,  headed  by  students  from  the 
University,  surrounded  the  sacred  edifice,  and  attacked  it  on  all  sides. 
The  men  within  repelled  the  assailants,  and  they  retired  for  the  time. 


552  CHAPTER    VHI. 

But  on  the  Tuesday  following  (October  12th,  1574),  they  again  col- 
lected in  greater  force,  broke  into  the  building,  which  they  ransacked, 
and  carried  off  money  and  valuables  belonging  to  the  church,  and 
other  treasure  deposited  there  by  the  nobles,  to  the  amount  of  fifty 
thousand  ducats.  The  Romanists  were  not  strong  enough  to  obtain 
complete  impunity,  and  five  of  their  agents  from  among  the  lowest 
populace  suffered  capital  punishment  ;  but  the  leaders  of  the  outrage 
escaped.  A  few  months  afterwards  the  mob  went  to  the  Protestant 
burial-ground,  tore  down  the  wall  surrounding  it,  opened  the  more 
recent  graves,  exhumed  the  bodies  and  treated  them  with  savage 
indignity.  The  corpse  of  Myszkowski,  late  Palatine  of  Cracow,  was 
an  object  of  peculiar  insult ;  but  the  outrage  passed  without  notice  by 
the  magistracy  of  the  city.  While  these  things  took  place  at  Cracow, 
Hosius  held  a  Synod  at  Warmia,  and  there  heretics  were  declared  unfit 
to  possess  landed  property.  The  Synod  prohibited  mixed  marriages, 
sponsorship  of  Romanists  at  Protestant  baptisms,  the  use  of  books 
not  confirmed  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  even  familiar  salutations 
between  Priests  and  evangelical  Ministers.  They  also  devised  methods 
for  the  recovery  of  tithes  from  Protestant  land-owners,  and  for  the 
seizure  cf  churches  which  had  passed  over  to  Protestantism,  together 
with  the  converts.  A  few  law-suits  were  decided  in  their  favour  : 
but  by  the  reaction  of  better  principle,  the  course  of  legislation 
became  adverse  to  their  demands  ;  a  national  Diet  (A.D.  15/7)  de- 
prived the  Clergy  of  their  jurisdiction  and  unconstitutional  immunities; 
and  other  Diets  reversed  those  judgments  of  tribunals  which  had  been 
given  in  their  favour. 

Glorying  in  insubordination  to  legal  authorities,  the  Jesuits  repeated 
their  excesses  at  Cracow.  At  one  time  they  attacked  several  Pro- 
testant Clergymen  ;  at  another  they  broke  again  into  the  burial- 
ground,  and  destroyed  many  monuments.  Then  the  rabble  rushed 
into  the  houses  of  unoffending  citizens  in  the  suburb  of  Kleparz,  and 
treated  them  with  brutal  indignity.  A  mandate  from  Stephen  Battory 
required  the  authorities  to  repress  such  outbreaks ;  but  the  Jesuits 
laughed  at  King  and  Magistrates,  and  took  the  next  occasion  to  dis- 
play their  zeal.  The  funeral  of  a  Protestant  matron  was  on  its  way 
towards  the  place  of  interment.  A  party  of  Jesuit  students  and  their 
followers,  that  were  ready  awaiting  at  the  church  of  All  Saints,  rushed 
on  the  procession,  pulled  the  corpse  out  of  the  coffin,  stripped  it 
naked,  stabbed  it  with  knives  until  the  blood  flowed  as  from  a  living 
body,  dragged  it  through  the  streets  with  cords,  and  threw  it  into  the 
Vistula.  Notwithstanding  the  recent  decree,  no  one  interfered,  nor 
did  any  one  enforce  punishment  afterwards. 

Terror-stricken  and  unprotected,  the  worshippers  of  God  in  Cracow 
seem  to  have  held  communion  and  offered  prayer  with  fear,  lest  any 
outward  manifestation  should  have  exposed  them  to  the  fury  of  the 
Jesuits ;  and  the  government  endeavoured  to  preserve  peace  by  means 
of  a  strong  garrison  in  the  castle.  In  Vilna  the  churches  of  the 
Helvetian  and  Augustan  confessions  were  both  subjected  to  similar 
barbarities.  First  of  all,  an  attack  was  made  on  the  press.  By  com- 
mand of  the  Bishop,  an  entire  stock  of  books  was  taken  by  force  from 


PERSECUTION    IN    CRACOW.  553 

the  house  of  the  printer  ;  and  then,  to  prevent  him  from  producing 
others,  the  Jesuits  bribed  his  servant  to  steal  the  type  and  bring  it 
to  tham.  That  service  being  rendered  to  the  Church,  and  the  heretical 
printer  ruined,  he  left  the  city,  and  the  press  troubled  Jesuitry  no 
more.  Protestant  funerals  were  forbidden  to  pass  through  the  prin- 
cipal streets ;  and,  even  when  taking  obscure  ways,  the  mourners  were 
hooted  and  pelted  by  the  mob.  And  two  Ministers  returning  from 
an  interment  were  nearly  stoned  to  death  (A.D.  1581).  The  King 
endeavoured  to  protect  his  persecuted  subjects  by  an  edict  addressed 
to  the  Governor  of  Vilna ;  but  that  show  of  authority  produced  no 
effect :  the  multitude  obeyed  the  Jesuits  rather  than  the  laws,  and  the 
same  state  of  things  continued  without  mitigation. 

We  do  not  read  that  these  proceedings  were  ever  disowned  or  dis- 
couraged by  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  ;  but  jnst  the  contrary.  A 
Synod  at  Gnesen  in  1589  condemned  the  confederation  of  1573,  and 
presumed  to  pass  a  resolution  to  prohibit  the  opening  of  Protestant 
churches  and  schools.  And  passing  beyond  little  domestic  regulations, 
they  undertook  to  require  that  only  zealous  adherents  to  the  See 
of  Rome  should  be  elected  to  the  throne  of  Poland ;  and  that  Arch- 
bishops should  not  dare  to  proclaim  the  election  of  a  candidate  whose 
devotion  to  that  See  might  be  doubtful.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  Legate  Cardinal  Aldobrandino,  then  in  Poland,  busily  negotiating 
with  the  King,  Sigismund  III.,  and  the  Emperor,  stimulated  the 
Synod  to  these  conclusions  :  and  on  his  return  to  Rome,  Sixtus  V.  con- 
firmed them  by  a  Bull  which  declared  the  supporters  of  a  heretic 
Monarch  excommunicate,  and  incapable,  as  well  as  their  descendants, 
of  ecclesiastical  dignities  ;  prohibited  Bishops  from  showing  any 
favour  to  heretics,  even  in  worldly  relations ;  and  decreed  excommu- 
nication of  all  who  should  have  participated  in  any  act  contrary  to 
the  authority  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Pope.  Such  a  warrant  was 
never  issued  without  effect ;  and  accordingly  the  Cracow  Jesuits  again 
bestirred  themselves,  collected  a  mob,  as  usual,  attacked  the  same 
church  which  they  had  formerly  pillaged,  and  burnt  it  to  the  ground. 
Sigismund  permitted  a  deputation  of  Protestants  to  lay  their  com- 
plaint at  his  feet,  but  reproved  them  for  having  dared  to  meet  together 
in  order  to  solicit  legal  protection,  and  concert  measures  of  constitu- 
tional defence  ;  and,  although  he  gave  them  permission  to  rebuild  the 
church,  allowed  the  Jesuits  to  pursue  a  course  of  intimidation  which 
prevented  that  being  done,  and  forced  the  worshippers  to  congregate 
in  the  neighbouring  village  of  Alexandrowitze.  From  the  building 
the  fury  of  the  assailants  reached  the  members  of  the  congregation; 
and  the  house  of  one  of  them,  John  Kolay,  a  principal  citizen,  was 
broken  into  and  plundered  (May  7th,  1593).  The  municipality 
itself  now  appealed  to  the  King  ;  but  Sigismund  did  not  condescend  to 
answer  them  ;  and  the  rioters  escaped,  boasting  of  the  tacit  approba- 
tion of  their  Sovereign.  At  Posen,  the  Jesuits  sent  students  to  burn 
down  the  church  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren  ;  but  the  mob  refused  to 
help  them ;  and  the  Diet  of  Warsaw,  foreseeing  greater  disturbances, 
enacted  a  law  which  secured  peace  to  the  Brethren  for  a  few  years. 
Yet  no  force  of  law  nor  sense  of  decency  could  restrain  the  Jesuits 

VOL.    III.  4    B 


554  CHAPTER    VIII. 

of  Cracow.  Again  they  broke  into  the  cemetery  under  cover  of  dark- 
ness, exhumed  the  body  of  Sophia  Morovna,  a  young  lady  who  had 
died  just  before  the  day  fixed  for  her  marriage,  stripped  it  naked,  and 
hung  it  by  its  heels  on  the  wall.  But  these  are  only  specimens  of  the 
general  conduct  of  the  Jesuits  in  Poland,  and  of  the  slow  and  weari- 
some persecution  which  refrained  from  murder,  but  often  made  life 
burdensome,  if  the  sufferer  were  not  sustained  by  that  powerful  faith 
which  overcomes  the  world.  About  the  same  time  that  Sophia 
Morovna  died,  the  Dominicans  of  Lublin  starved  to  death  in  prison  a 
Protestant  Pastor,  named  Martin,  who  had  fallen  into  their  hands. 

During  these  persecutions  in  Poland,  there  were  many  instances 
of  banishment  for  Christ's  sake  in  Moravia,  and  compulsory  recanta- 
tions and  penances  without  number.  In  Bohemia,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Emperors  Maximilian  and  Rudolph,  the  churches  of  the 
Brethren  had  rest,  with  some  brief  interruptions,  until  at  length  a 
succession  of  vexations  provoked  them  to  rebellion.  Twenty-seven 
Protestant  noblemen  were  then  executed,  and  a  general  persecution 
followed  (A.D.  1624).  The  Ministers  were  banished  ;  and,  having 
found  a  miserable  abode  in  caves  and  dens  in  the  mountains,  visited 
their  congregations  at  night.  Some  of  these,  being  detected,  were  put 
to  death.  Many  thousands  of  sincerely  pious  persons  followed  their 
Ministers  into  exile. 

The  strategy  of  this  military  Church  of  Rome  mainly  consists  in 
observing  the  political  constitution  and  social  state  of  every  country, 
with  the  relative  position  of  domestic  parties,  or  factions,  and  its 
foreign  relations,  following  them  through  all  their  changes,  and 
adapting  her  own  agencies  and  movements  to  every  variety  of  circum- 
stance. Thus,  in  Poland,  she  did  not  employ  crusade,  as  in  the  old 
Albigensian  provinces  of  France,  because  there  was  not  a  populace  at 
hand  ready  to  obey  the  impulse  of  pure  fanaticism,  nor  Princes  like 
Simon  de  Montfort,  almost  as  ignorant  as  their  subjects,  and  no  less 
fanatical.  She  did  not  use  the  Inquisition,  as  in  Spain,  because 
experience  had  shown  the  Inquisition  to  be  impracticable,  except 
where  the  spirit  of  a  people  is  broken,  or  where  those  in  authority 
are  entirely  subservient  to  the  priesthood.  Such  were  not  the 
grandees  of  Poland.  She  did  not  employ  judicial  forms,  as  in 
England,  where  lordly  Prelates  and  ignoble  county  Sheriffs  com- 
manded and  obeyed.  There  was  no  such  apparatus  at  hand  amongst 
the  Slavonians,  except  in  a  few  towns.  She  did  not  at  once 
send  a  regular  army  to  enforce  obedience,  as  in  the  Netherlands, 
because  the  field  was  too  wide,  and  the  opposition  too  powerful,  as 
yet ;  but  she  took  part  in  the  politics  of  Germany  and  Europe,  and 
prepared  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  which  we  must  notice  presently.  She 
did  not  attempt  to  dragoon  the  population  of  Poland,  nor  even  the 
evangelical  portion  of  it ;  for  the  Polish  Christians  were  not  unarmed, 
like  the  Waldensians  of  the  sub-alpine  valleys ;  but,  finding  an 
elective  monarchy,  she  meddled  in  the  choice  of  King, — the  Kings 
of  her  party  possessing  foreign  strength  for  the  coercion  of  their 
subjects, — and  then  she  sent  them  wicked  counsellors  to  allure  them 
into  a  more  intense  despotism,  and,  by  means  of  Nuncios,  Bishops, 


FRANCESCO    DI    FRANCO.  555 

and  Jesuits,  made  up  a  strong  political  party  in  the  state,  which 
threw  its  weight  into  the  scale  whenever  a  preponderating  force  was 
needed  to  bring  low  the  advocates  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The 
followers  of  Domingo  de  Guzman  were  the  chosen  corps  when  heretics 
were  to  be  killed,  for  they  were  just  the  men  to  execute  a  razzia  ; 
but  the  family  of  Ignacio  de  Loyola  were  most  fit  for  service  when 
Protestants  were  to  be  perverted,  outwitted,  or  betrayed.  If  the 
reader  can  recall  these  facts,  and  verify  them  by  the  evidence  of 
history,  he  may  advance  a  step  further,  and  mark  the  inflexible  unity 
of  purpose  displayed  by  Rome  in  attempting  the  "  conquest "  of 
England,  after  centuries  of  humiliation  ;  but  we  must  now  return  to 
the  affairs  of  Poland. 

It  was  not  practicable  to  proceed  judicially,  except  in  some  rare 
case  :  a  layman  could  not  be  imprisoned  for  adherence  to  one  of  the 
three  confessions,  although  now  and  then  a  Priest  might  be  starved 
to  death  in  an  episcopal  dungeon,  for  the  terror  of  wavering  brethren, 
and  there  was  a  formidable  party  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom  that 
would  have  resisted  any  attempt  to  burn  one  of  their  countrymen  in 
public.  Under  one  pretext,  however,  life  might  be  taken,  and  that 
would  occur  if  any  open  contempt  were  shown  to  the  Roman  idolatry. 
Perhaps  the  political  temper  of  the  Polish  Protestants  prevented  those 
generous  bursts  of  holy  zeal  which  so  frequently  appeared  elsewhere. 
But  we  have  one  instance  of  the  kind,  in  a  foreigner. 

Francesco  di  Franco,  born  and  educated  in  Italy,  accompanied  his 
father  into  Poland  while  yet  a  youth.  His  father,  although  an  Italian, 
became  Governor  of  a  Polish  town,  and  the  family  was  remarkable  for 
devotion  to  the  ancient  superstition.  Francesco  had  heard  so  many 
horrid  reports  of  heretics  while  in  Italy,  that  he  fancied  them  to  be 
monsters  ;  but  in  visiting  Cracow  he  observed  that  the  manners  of 
the  Evangelicals  were  altogether  different  from  the  descriptions  he 
had  received,  and  nearer  observation  served  to  convince  him  of  the 
integrity  of  their  principles,  and  the  excellence  of  their  doctrine. 
Then  he  detected  the  errors  of  his  early  teachers,  and  became  con- 
verted to  the  faith  of  Christ.  Having  undergone  this  change  of 
heart,  he  went  back  to  Italy,  and,  being  unable  to  conceal  the 
heavenly  gift  which  God  had  made  him,  was  accused  of  heresy,  and 
thrown  into  a  common  prison.  Some  fellow-prisoners  managed  to 
open  a  way  of  egress  for  themselves  ;  he  followed,  eluded  pursuit,  and 
returned  to  Poland,  eventually  settled  in  Vilna,  and  was  there 
employed  as  agent  or  attorney  for  some  Lithuanian  noblemen.  In 
that  city  he  soon  became  conspicuous,  not  only  for  constant  attend- 
ance at  divine  worship,  but  for  uprightness,  zeal,  and  sanctity  of  life, 
labouring  to  bring  others  to  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  devoting 
himself,  with  singular  earnestness,  to  the  conversion  of  Italians. 
From  such  a  description  of  the  man  we  might  suppose  that  his  enjoy- 
ment of  religion  should  have  been  undisturbed  ;  but  some  unrecorded 
circumstance  led  him  to  reflect  on  his  flight  from  the  Italian  prison, 
and  to  fear  that  he  had  sinned  in  not  submitting  to  suffer  bonds,  or 
death,  for  Christ's  sake.  With  a  deepening  conviction  that  he  ought 
so  to  suffer,  he  thought  himself  obliged  to  undergo  some  affliction,  or 

4   B  2 


556  CHAPTER    VIII. 

even  to  offer  himself  for  martyrdom,  in  testimony  of  his  faithfulness 
to  Christ.     Often,  in   conversation  with   his  brethren,  he  would  say, 
"  I  must  go  and  suffer  in  the  name  of  God."     And  the  presage  was 
soon   fulfilled.     For  on  the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi  (A.D.  1611),  as 
the  Evangelicals   assembled   to  offer  up  their  purer  worship,  and  the 
Minister,  after  prayers,  addressed   the  congregation  on  the  story  of 
the  golden  image  of  the  King  of  Babylon,  as  recorded  in  the  book 
of  Daniel,  it  appeared  to  him  that  an  equally  clear  testimony  should 
be  brought  against   the  modern  Babylon.     On  his  way  homeward, 
after  sermon,  he  found  Vilna  in  a  state  of  holiday  confusion  ;  the 
streets  were  crowded  with  people,   waiting  to  see  the  accustomed 
procession  of  the  host ;  but  several  of  his  Italian  brethren  with  whom 
he  chiefly  associated  listened  attentively  to  his  fervent  exhortations  to 
withdraw  themselves   from  taking   any  part  in   that  idolatry.     The 
procession  was  slowly  moving  through  the  city,  and  the  people  were 
kneeling  in  the  attitude  of  prayer  as  it  passed  between  their  ranks 
towards  a  spacious  theatre,  fitted  up  in  an  open  space  for  the  Bishop 
to  say  mass  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude  many  times  greater  than 
the  cathedral  could  contain.     Into  this  theatre,  or  circus,  Francesco 
ran,  and,  ascending  the  elevation  prepared  for  a  far  different  use, 
raised  his  voice,  and  summoned  the  attention  of  the  crowd.     "  What 
are   you   going  to  do  ?     Do  you  fancy  that  you  can  thus  render 
worship  to  Almighty  God  ?     Nay  !     You  are  committing  gross  and 
horrible  idolatry.     That  bread  which  they  are  carrying  about  is  not 
God,  as  they  falsely  tell  you,  but  a  mere  idol,  which  cannot  move  out 
of  its  place  unless  it  be  carried.     Christ  our  God  is  to  be  sought  in 
heaven,  where   he   is   now  sitting   at   the  right   hand  of  God  the 
Father."     The  zealots  of  the  day  rushed  on  him,  overwhelmed  him 
with  blows,  and  dragged  him  away  to  prison.    The  amusements  of  the 
festival  proceeded  :  a  few  days  elapsed,  and  he  was  brought  before 
the  Bishop,  with  some  chief  men  of  the  city,  and  interrogated  as  to 
his  intention.     Had  he  been  employed  by  the  heretics,  they  asked,  to 
commit  that  crime  ?     Did  he  intend  to  kill  the  Queen  ? — the  Prince 
royal  ? — the  Bishop  ?     To  all  these   questions  he  answered  boldly. 
No  one,  he  replied,  had  employed  him  :  but  he  had  been  moved  by  a 
godly  zeal  and  an  urgent  conscience ;  for  he  could  no  longer  bear  to 
see  the  honour  due  to  our  Saviour  given  to  a  dumb  idol.     And  as  for 
wishing  to  kill  any  one,  he  told  them  that  it  became  not  those  who 
professed  themselves  Christians  to  shed  the  blood  of  any  man,  much 
less  of  Magistrates.     Blood,  however,  had  been  shed  abundantly  by 
Papists  in  France,  England,  the  Netherlands,  and  many  other  coun- 
tries, as  he  had  learned  from  history.     After  answering  their  ques- 
tions, he  exhorted  the  Bishop  to  renounce  idolatry,  to  encourage  the 
preaching  of  the  pure  word  of  God,  and  no  longer  to  suffer  the  poor 
people   to  be  deluded   by  human   inventions.     And   then    he   made 
confession  of  Gospel  doctrine  with  so  great  zeal  and  constancy,  that 
the  Bishop  commanded  his  servants  and  the  spectators  to  withdraw. 
These,  when  they  had  left  the  place,  went  about  Yilna  declaring  that 
they  had  never  before  heard  a  man  speak  out  of  the  holy  Scriptures 
with  such  clearness  and  confidence  concerning  the  things  of  God. 


JESUIT    OUTRAGES    IN    POLAND.  557 

After  another  interval  of  a  few  days  he  was  again  brought  into  the 
presence  of  the  same  Judges,  and  examined  by  torture.  But  amidst 
the  horrible  agonies  of  torture  he  held  fast  the  faith,  and  professed  it 
•with  a  sublimity  of  language  which  bespoke  an  inspiration  of  wisdom 
and  strength  from  God.  "  The  sufferings  of  this  present  time,"  said 
he,  "are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be 
revealed  in  us."  Many  Evangelical  noblemen  interceded  for  his 
deliverance ;  but  the  Bishop  would  not  miss  the  opportunity  for 
vengeance  afforded  by  so  notorious  an  overt  act.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Priests  plied  him  with  offers  of  mercy,  if  he  would  recant ;  but 
he  told  them  that  he  was  ready  to  testify  to  the  heavenly  truth,  and, 
if  necessary,  seal  his  witness  with  his  life.  One  thing  only  he  asked, 
that  he  might  be  put  to  death  in  public,  and  by  day-light.  The 
nobles,  also,  when  it  became  evident  that  he  could  not  be  saved  from 
martyrdom,  made  the  same  request.  But  the  petition  was  rejected. 
He  was  executed  privately  at  night,  within  the  castle  (June  30th, 
1611).  When  brought  thither  he  only  pronounced  a  prayer:  "O 
Lord,  to  thee  I  commit  my  soul,  my  body  to  whom  thou  wilt." 
Lacerated  as  he  was  with  the  torture,  the  hangman  stripped  him, 
bound  him  on  a  board  with  cords,  made  an  incision  under  his  lower 
jaw,  and  rooted  out  his  tongue,  then  killed  him  by  breaking  his 
neck,  and  quartered  the  body.  The  quarters  were  exhibited  on  stakes 
outside  the  city  for  one  day,  and  then  buried  by  a  pious  nobleman. 
But  this  nobleman  was  compelled  to  have  them  dug  up  again  ;  and 
they  were  again  exposed  outside  the  gates.  At  last  he  directed  some 
of  his  servants  to  remove  them  secretly,  and  bury  them  in  the  depth 
of  a  forest,  where  the  persecutors  could  not  find  them. 

Not  satisfied  with  a  single  victim,  the  young  Jesuits  were  let  loose 
on  the  day  following  the  martyrdom  of  Francesco.  Meeting  in  the 
town  of  Troki,  three  miles  from  Vilna,  under  some  pretext  of  devo- 
tion, they  formed  their  plan  ;  and,  returning  to  the  city,  attacked  the 
house  of  a  nobleman,  whom  they  hated  for  his  piety,  and,  after 
spending  an  hour  ineffectually  in  attempting  to  break  into  it,  went  to 
a  Reformed  church,  and  there  effected  an  entrance  by  breaking 
through  the  wall.  One  Minister,  Balthasar  Crosnieviski,  a  Doctor 
of  Divinity,  they  carried  to  the  top  of  the  building,  threw  him  to  the 
ground,  and  killed  him.  Another,  Martin  Tertullian,  they  killed  in 
the  same  manner.  A  third,  Joachim  Vendland,  Minister  of  the 
German  church,  they  almost  beat  to  death,  and  were  throwing  him 
into  a  fire,  when  his  wife  saved  him  by  a  convulsive  effort,  and  the 
wretches,  disturbed  also  by  the  piercing  cries  of  one  of  his  children, 
walked  away.  The  libraries  of  the  church  and  of  the  Ministers, 
altogether  a  splendid  collection,  they  partly  burnt,  and  partly  carried 
off.  Not  yet  content,  they  broke  up  all  the  furniture,  and  finished 
their  day's  work  by  burning  down  the  church,  the  school,  and  the 
houses  of  the  Ministers  and  teachers.  The  Jesuit  fathers,  more  than 
half  afraid  that  their  pupils  had  gone  too  far,  published  their  own 
account  of  the  affair ;  endeavouring  to  make  it  appear  that  the  rabble 
of  the  city  had  been  the  aggressors,  but  that  the  Evangelicals  were 
chiefly  to  blame  for  provocation  given,  and  that  they  should  be 


558  CHAPTER    VIII. 

restrained  by  the  supreme  Magistrate,  and  prohibited  from  the  exer- 
cise of  their  religion  ;  since  it  was  less  dangerous,  they  said,  to  live 
with  Jews  or  Tartars  than  with  them,  who  did  greater  damage  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  than  the  Moslem  or  the  Jew,  although  denying 
Christ,  could  possibly  inflict.  But  their  paper  excited  such  disgust, 
that  they  thought  it  prudent  to  stop  the  issue,  and  recall  the  copies 
that  had  been  put  into  circulation.  Jesuit  outrages  incessantly 
occurred  from  this  time  until  Protestantism  was  corrupted  by  the 
Socinian  heresy,  or  worn  away  by  intrigue  and  persecution.  Those 
outrages  have  been  sufficiently  described. 

We  cannot  follow  the  progress  of  the  thirty  years'  religious  war  ; 
but  it  falls  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  describe  its  rise.  The 
Emperor  Rudolph  II.  granted  letters  patent  to  the  Evangelical  com- 
munions in  Bohemia  for  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.  No 
document  could  be  more  explicit  than  this  imperial  charter  (A.D. 
1609).  The  three  states,  or  communions,  Helvetian,  German,  and 
Bohemian,  agreeing  in  one  confession  which  had  been  presented  to 
Maximilian  II.,  and  was  now  again  recognised  as  an  authentic  defini- 
tion of  their  common  Christian  faith,  were  to  be  permitted,  without 
hinderance  or  oppression,  to  exercise  their  religion.  They  were 
declared  by  the  Emperor  to  be,  as  they  always  had  been,  faithful  and 
obedient  subjects,  worthy  to  be  taken  under  his  gracious  protection, 
as  King  of  Bohemia,  and  to  participate  in  all  regulations,  rights,  and 
liberties  of  the  kingdom.  The  states  sub  und  were  to  live  in  peace 
with  the  states  sub  utrdque, — the  communicants  in  one  kind  with  the 
communicants  in  both, — not  oppressing  nor  despising  one  another, 
but  were  bound  to  the  observance  of  mutual  peace  and  justice  by 
penalties  prescribed  in  the  established  law  of  the  land  ;  and  the 
Evangelicals  were  expressly  released  from  the  restrictions  of  the  com- 
pactates,  as  well  as  from  those  of  every  other  intolerant  enactment 
which  was  annulled  by  this  charter.  And  with  regard  to  the  erection 
of  churches,  their  freedom  was  to  be  complete.  In  view  of  subse- 
quent events  we  must  mark  the  very  words  :  "  Moreover,  if  either 
of  the  united  states  of  this  kingdom  sub  utrdque  desire  to  build  other 
churches  or  places  of  worship  in  cities,  boroughs,  and  villages,  or 
even  schools  for  the  education  of  the  young,  besides  those  churches 
or  places  of  worship  which  they  already  possess,  and  which  were 
heretofore  granted  to  them,  in  which  they  are  to  continue  in  peace 
and  quiet  possession  ;  they  shall  at  all  times  and  in  every  way  be 
permitted  to  do  so,  whether  Lords  or  Knights,  whether  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Prague,  or  those  of  the  mining-towns  and  other  places, 
collectively  or  individually,  without  hinderance  from  any  man." 
"  And  no  party  shall  prescribe  to  the  other  in  matters  of  religion,  nor 
forbid  the  burial  of  the  dead  in  churches  or  churchyards,  or  the 
ringing  of  bells."  The  charter  also  prohibited  compulsory  proselytism 
from  one  church  to  another,  either  by  force  or  subtlety,  by  clerical  or 
lay  persons.  No  decrees  of  a  contrary  kind  were  at  any  time  to  be 
issued  by  succeeding  Sovereigns,  or,  if  issued,  were  to  be  of  no  force, 
and  not  to  be  obeyed.  "  And  if  any  one,  whoever  he  be,  whether 
clerical  or  secular,  shall  dare  to  violate  this  charter,  we,  \\ith  our  heirs 


JESUIT    EDUCATION.  559 

and  future  Kings  of  Bohemia,  as  also  with  the  states  of  the  kingdom, 
hold  such  an  one  as  a  violator  of  the  welfare,  and  a  breaker  of  the 
peace,  of  the  community,  and  deem  it  our  duty  to  protect  and  defend 
the  states  against  him,  as  it  is  definitely  laid  down  in  the  article 
on  the  protection  of  the  country,  its  orders  and  rights."  And  to 
guarantee  the  exact  fulfilment  of  this  grant  of  religious  liberty,  the 
three  states  were  empowered  to  nominate  Defenders,  chosen  in  equal 
number  from  each  state  ;  and  the  Emperor  engaged,*  for  himself  and 
his  successors,  to  appoint  the  Defenders  so  nominated  within  two 
weeks  from  the  receipt  of  the  lists.  Or,  failing  the  royal  appoint- 
ment, they  were  to  act  as  defenders  and  protectors,  nevertheless,  and 
receive  their  instructions  from  the  states  alone.  Thus  stood  the  law 
of  Bohemia  from  that  time ;  and,  according  to  the  spirit  of  legislation 
then  prevalent,  the  obligation  to  obey  the  Sovereign  would  be  set  aside 
by  any  abuse  of  royal  power. 

The  object  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  thenceforth,  was  to  annul  that  law. 
From  Rudolph  the  empire  passed  to  Matthias, — and  Bohemia  with 
it ;  and  Matthias,  adopting  Duke  Ferdinand  of  Styria  as  his  successor, 
called  on  the  Bohemians  to  receive  Ferdinand  as  their  King.  Accord- 
ing to  the  constitution  of  Bohemia,  the  King  should  have  been  freely 
elected,  not  received  ;  and  although  the  sub  unu,  or  Romanists,  joy- 
fully received  him,  the  sub  utrdque,  or  Evangelicals,  at  first  resisted. 
However,  their  repugnance  was  artfully  overcome ;  and  Ferdinand  not 
only  promised  them  that  he  would  preserve  the  religious  liberties 
granted  by  Rudolph,  but  swore  to  do  so  at  his  coronation,  secretly 
swearing  to  the  Jesuits  in  the  sacristy  that  he  would  not  keep  the  oath 
with  heretics.  He  was  a  mere  pupil  of  the  Jesuits.  They  had  taught 
him  that  no  Catholic  authority  could  conscientiously  leave  heretics  un- 
molested ;  that  banishment,  confiscation,  and  death  were  praiseworthy 
when  inflicted  on  enemies  of  the  Church ;  that  free  choice  in  religion 
was  a  sin  against  God,  and  the  root  of  all  evil.  In  his  boyhood  the 
Jesuit  masters  had  taught  him  that  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  ought  to 
be  killed  with  the  sword,  banished  and  oppressed,  burnt  with  fire, 
sulphur,  and  pitch,  drowned  in  water,  impoverished,  exhausted, 
hunted  down,  deprived  of  their  estates,  annihilated,  rooted  out,  and 
persecuted  to  death  by  every  imaginable  kind  of  excessive  torture  and 
pain.  He  was  abettor,  if  not  member,  of  a  league,  a  holy  league,  a 
daily  increasing  league,  at  one  time  consisting  of  more  than  eighty 
thousand  Jesuits,  to  spare  neither  pains,  trouble,  nor  artifice,  as  long 
as  one  of  them  should  remain,  to  destroy  the  religion,  people,  and 
country  of  the  Reformed.  They  had  vowed  that  no  power,  not  even 
that  of  angels  from  heaven,  should  prevent  them. 

As  for  Ferdinand  himself,  when  only  twenty  years  of  age,  on 
ascending  the  throne  of  Styria,  he  made  pilgrimage  to  Loretto,  and 
there  vowed  to  God  and  the  Virgin  Mary  that  he  would  expel  all  sects 
and  their  doctrine  from  Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Carniola,  were  it  even 
at  the  hazard  of  his  life.  And  that  promise  he  kept,  as  far  as  in  him 
lay.  That  vow  he  repeated  when  in  his  forty-third  year,  being  then 
Emperor,  and  King  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary ;  and  such  vows  he 
*  Not  as  Emperor,  but  as  King  of  Bohemia. 


560  CHAPTER    VIII. 

frequently  repeated.  Ten  years  before  his  accession  to  the  throne 
of  Bohemia  he  had  issued  an  edict  against  all  schismatic  leaders, 
preachers,  writers,  and  schoolmasters,  that  were  found  in  all  places 
of  his  hereditary  principality,  and  declared  his  firm  decision  to  allow 
none  other  than  the  Catholic  faith  to  be  professed  in  states  committed 
to  his  care  by  God,  and  to  "overturn  and  abolish  everything  else 
contrary  to  it  with  his  utmost  power:" — substantially,  and  almost  to 
a  letter,  the  oath  now  taken  by  every  Popish  Bishop.*  He  had 
offered,  and  no  doubt  had  given,  large  rewards  in  money  for  the 
apprehension  of  Christians,  as  if  they  had  been  felons. 

The  Archbishop  Lohelius  crowned  him  at  Prague,  where  he  made 
the  two  conflicting  oaths  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  had  left  that  city  to  be 
proclaimed  in  Moravia,  the  Archbishop  with  his  Clergy  began  to 
concert  measures  for  the  annihilation  of  religious  liberty.  Their 
brethren  in  Moravia  did'  the  same.  But  at  Prague  they  made  their 
bolder  and  earlier  efforts.  There  it  was  that  the  Jesuits  declaimed 
from  the  pulpits  against  the  Evangelicals  in  insolent  and  irritating 
language.  They  even  spoke  contemptuously  of  the  deceased  Emperor, 
Rudolph,  and  threatened  that  matters  should  not  long  continue  in 
the  state  in  which  he  had  left  them.  A  severe  censorship  silenced 
the  Evangelical  press  ;  but  the  Jesuits  printed  and  circulated  what- 
ever they  pleased,  without  the  slightest  restriction.  They  also  endea- 
voured to  corrupt  the  Evangelical  Clergy,  and  to  get  Papists  appointed 
as  churchwardens  ;  but  those  attempts  were  generally  frustrated. 
The  church  of  John  Huss  had  been  restored  to  the  Bohemian  Brethren 
in  1609  ;  but,  the  Minister  dying  in  1617,  the  Papists  endeavoured  to 
get  possession  of  the  building.  Against  this  demand  the  Professors 
of  the  University  interposed  their  legal  claim,  and  prevented  the 
robbery  from  taking  place.  Public  offices  were  transferred  into  the 
hands  of  Papists,  always  with  preference  of  the  most  zealous ;  and 
these  persons  followed  a  system  of  vexatious  persecution,  hindering 
baptisms  and  burials,  and  instituting  frivolous  and  oppressive  prose- 
cutions under  the  most  trifling  pretences. 

Their  right  to  erect  churches  was  also  disputed ;  but  the  states 
of  the  Bohemian  confession  justly  contended  that  they  were  as  free  as 
the  Romanists  to  provide  themselves  with  edifices  wherein  to  worship 
God.  The  inhabitants  of  Klostergrab,  a  town  subject  to  the  Arch- 
bishop, had  built  a  church  ;  but  the  Archbishop  procured  a  pro- 
hibitory edict  from  the  aged  and  weak  Emperor,  Matthias,  and  then 
took  workmen,  and  saw  them  break  the  building  down.  The  Evan- 
gelicals of  Braunau  also  built  a  church.  The  Archbishop  of  that 
place,  an  inveterate  persecutor,  had  forbidden  the  erection ;  but  the 
walls  rose  in  spite  of  him.  He,  too,  appealed  to  Matthias,  who 
interdicted  the  work,  saying  that  no  permission  to  build  churches  was 
contained  iu  the  charter  of  Rudolph,  a  document  which  it  was  then 
found  convenient  to  conceal.  The  men  of  Braunau  appealed  to  their 
Defenders,  the  officers  appointed  by  virtue  of  that  charter,  to  know 

•  This  has  lately  been  denied  in  England  ;  hut  the  author  does  not  believe  the 
denial  ;  nor  wonld  the  moat  solemn  asseveration  induce  him  to  believe  it,  unless  the 
Pontifical  were  universally  re-edited  without  it,  and  scarcely  even  then. 


ILLEGAL    PERSECUTION.  561 

whether  they  ought  to  desist  from  building,  in  obedience  to  the 
Emperor's  illegal  command.  The  Defenders  answered,  that  they 
were  not  under  any  obligation  to  submit,  and  the  church  was  finished. 
The  Emperor  was  then  induced  to  demand  the  keys,  which  they 
refused  to  surrender,  and  the  Defenders  very  properly  summoned  a 
meeting  of  the  states  to  consider  what  should  be  done  ;  and,  regard- 
ing this  matter  politically,  we  should  say  not  only  that  it  was  one 
of  religion,  but  that  a  struggle  had  begun  between  constitutional  right 
and  arbitrary  power,  which  was  violating  laws  and  breaking  oaths. 

The  Utraquistic  states  proceeded  to  consult  on  measures  of  defence, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  law  as  above  quoted  ;  but  the 
Emperor  declared  that  any  conferences  with  the  Defenders  should  be 
treated  as  criminal,  that  he  was  the  only  defender,  and  would  not 
acknowledge  any  other.  This  contempt  of  the  charter  of  religious 
freedom  more  than  justified  the  states  in  carrying  their  purpose  into 
execution ;  and,  after  holding  several  meetings  in  Prague,  they  caused 
a  proclamation  to  be  read  from  the  pulpits  (May  20th,  1618),  briefly 
and  temperately  informing  the  congregations  of  the  actual  position 
of  affairs,  and  announcing  the  intention  of  the  states  to  meet  in  the 
college  of  Charles  IV.  to  deliberate  thereon,  and  to  petition  His 
Imperial  Majesty  for  protection.  They  also  requested  the  people  to 
address  themselves  to  God  with  filial  confidence,  and  to  call  upon  his 
Divine  Majesty  in  a  fervent  spirit,  and  with  a  truly  penitent  heart, 
praying  that  for  the  glory  of  his  holy  name  and  the  salvation 
and  blessing  of  all  their  souls,  he  would  incline  the  heart  of  the 
Emperor,  their  most  gracious  King,  towards  his  subjects.  They  also 
desired  prayer  to  be  offered  for  their  own  guidance  in  bringing  all 
things  to  a  happy  issue.  On  that  Sunday,  therefore,  earnest  suppli- 
cations were  offered  up  in  all  the  churches  of  Prague,  and  every  one 
awaited  the  proceedings  of  the  days  following  with  extreme  anxiety. 
And  that  was  indeed  an  eventful  week.  On  the  Tuesday,  four  of  ten 
Governors,  charged  with  an  imperial  commission,  summoned  the 
states  to  meet  them  in  the  palace  and  hear  the  Emperor's  mandate. 
The  other  six  commissioners  were  either  sick  or  absent ;  but  these 
four,  Sternberg,  Slawata,  Martinitz,  and  Lobkowitz,  representing  the 
crown,  read  a  declaration  that  Matthias,  as  King  of  Bohemia,  had 
sanctioned  the  demolition  of  one  church  and  the  seizure  of  the  other ; 
and  threatened  them  with  punishment  if  they  dared  to  resist  his 
pleasure.  The  states  received  copies  of  the  document,  and  were 
desired  to  return  the  next  day  with  their  answer. 

They  came  with  a  numerous  attendance  ;  and,  leaving  their  servants 
on  the  outside,  went  into  the  hall  previously  occupied  for  their  deli- 
berations, and  consulted  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the  commis- 
sioners who  had  brought  them  the  illegal  and  oppressive  mandate. 
Perhaps  they  ought  to  have  considered  the  act  as  that  of  the  Empe- 
ror, and  excused  his  messengers  ;  but  two  of  them  were  also  his 
Privy  Councillors,  and  had  not  only  taken  the  lead  in  persecution, 
driving  their  own  vassals  of  the  Evangelical  confessions  to  mass  with 
dogs  and  scourges,  causing  their  mouths  to  be  wrenched  open  and 
the  wafer  thrust  down  their  throats,  and  denying  them  marriages, 

VOL.     III.  4    C 


.062  CHAPTER    VIII. 

baptisms,  and  funerals  ;  but  they  had  advised  the  very  acts  of  oppres- 
sion which  they  were  come  to  Prague  to  enforce.     What  was  to  be 
done  with  these  two,  Slawata  and  Martinitz?   They  were  undoubtedly 
traitors ;  and  the  Defenders  of  the  people  whom  they  had  wronged, 
being  the  authorities  legally  appointed  to  redress  those  wrongs,  were 
there  by  virtue  of  their  office  to  proceed  against   the  guilty.      The 
feeble   Emperor  had  been   by  them    persuaded    to  trample    on   the 
liberties,    the   property,    and    the    religion   of    his    subjects,   so   that, 
repeated  applications  to  him  having  been  rejected,  the  way  of  appeal  was 
evidently  closed.     Nothing  now  remained  but  to  execute  justice  ;   and 
although  they  had  been  declared  incompetent  to  discharge  their  office, 
and  threatened  with  the  penalty  of  rebellion  if  they  did  so,  the  decla- 
ration and  the  threat  were  contrary  to  the  constitution  of  the  king- 
dom,  and  they   resolved  to  hazard  everything  rather  than  lose  that 
opportunity  of  self-defence.      According  to  the  barbarian  common  law 
of  Bohemia,  traitors  were  liable  to  defenestration,  or  ejection  through 
the  window  ;    and  the  states  determined  to  inflict  this  punishment 
summarily  on  those  two  Governors,  as  being  of  all  traitors  the  most 
guilty.     They  then  proceeded  in  a  body  to  the  hall  where  the  Gover- 
nors were  sitting,  first  led  out  the  other  two,  and  then  precipitated 
Slawata,  Martinitz,  and  their   Secretary,  who  was  also  implicated  in 
the  guilt.    They  fell  on  a  heap  of  earth,  or  some  other  soft  substance, 
and  escaped   without  a  broken  bone.     But  the   act  was   treated  as 
rebellious.     The  Utraquists,  comprehending  Brethren,  Lutherans,  and 
Reformed,  united  for  common  defence ;  and,  three   days  afterwards, 
Prague  was  in  their  hands :  the  Bishop,  other  dignitaries,  and  the 
Jesuits  were  quickly  banished.  Nor  were  they  banished  without  reason : 
for  a  vast  store  of  ammunition  was  found  in  the  possession  of  those 
"  religious,"   thirty   tons    of   gunpowder  included,   to    be    employed 
against  the  city.     The  "  fathers  and  brethren  "  departed  in  procession 
as  mourners  at  a  funeral,  but  suffered  no  violence.      Imperial  troops 
now  marched  into  Bohemia.     The  confederates  levied  troops  to  meet 
them,  and  elected  a  new  King,  the  Elector  Frederic,  a  Protestant ;  but 
he  was  one  unfit  to  assume  the  crown  at  such  a  juncture ;  and  a 
battle  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Prague,  on  White-Hill,  fatally  decided 
the  ruin  of  the  Evangelicals.     Their  army  of  twenty  thousand  men 
was  beaten.     The  imperial  troops  were  let  loose  upon  the  country, 
and  devastated  and  burnt  three  thousand  towns,  villages,  market-places, 
farms,  castles,  and  estates.     No  enumeration  was  ever  made  of  the 
women  and  children  slaughtered  ;  nor  of  thousands  that  perished  from 
cold  and  hunger  in  the  woods.     A  course  of  oppression  then  followed 
which  almost  reduced  Bohemia  to  a  desert ;  while  the  Court  of  Rome 
exulted  in  the  zeal  and  in  the  triumphs  of  Ferdinand,  and  prepared  to 
employ  a  new  system   of   action  in    that  country,  in  order  to  give 
greater  stability  to  their  Church  in  future.     They  resolved  no  more  to 
put  heretics  to  death  ostensibly  for  heresy,  and  thus  give  them  the 
honour  of  martyrdom  ;    but,   having  cut  off   the  more  eminent,    to 
employ  a  scheme  of  Reformation,  a  name  less  odious   and  a  method 
more  sure  than  that  of  Inquisition.      The  Jesuits  would  render  most 
efficient  service  under  this  new  plan  ;  and  their  proceedings  well  deserve 


GREAT  MARTYRDOM  AT  PRAGUE.  563 

to  be  narrated  for  the  information  of  Protestants.  We  must  therefore 
give  some  account  of  one  great  martyrdom,  sequel  of  the  calamitous 
battle  of  White-Hill  in  1620. 

When  the  imperial  Generals  first  occupied  Prague,  they  promised 
to  employ  their  influence  in  favour  of  the  city,  and  for  some  time 
kept  up  a  general  expectation  of  royal  mercy.  This  expectation  was 
so  strong  that  many  who  had  left  Bohemia  returned  ;  and  no  small 
number  of  patrons  and  Ministers  were  again  in  Prague,  and  had  ceased 
to  apprehend  any  further  danger.  The  soldiery  had  been  sated  with 
blood,  and  rewarded  with  plunder  :  the  Romish  Clergy  again  waited  at 
their  altars,  and  resumed  possession  of  their  wealth  :  Ferdinand,  the 
King  elect,  had  already  received  the  allegiance  of  Bohemia :  and 
Frederic  had  fled  back  to  Germany.  Every  one  thought  that  the 
Emperor  would  use  the  generous  forbearance  which  becomes  a  Sovereign 
when  victorious  over  a  once-revolted  nation  ;  and  that  the  legal  resist- 
ance of  his  oppressed  subjects,  now  punished  as  insurrection,  would 
be  forgotten  in  a  general  amnesty.  But  they  were  all  mistaken. 

On  one  evening  (February  20th,  1621),  as  many  of  the  Lords, 
Knights,  and  Clergy  as  could  be  found  in  Prague,  with  several  artisans 
and  mechanics,  were  simultaneously  visited  by  the  Captains  of  the 
city,  the  Judges,  or  other  officers,  seized,  and  imprisoned  in  the  castle 
or  in  other  places.  Those  who  had  not  ventured  to  return  were  sum- 
moned by  proclamation  to  appear  within  six  weeks,  under  pain  of 
confiscation,  infamy,  and  death.  Their  names  were  then  affixed  to 
the  gallows,  and  their  wealth  was  transferred  to  the  exchequer.  The 
prisoners,  although  treated  as  political  offenders,  were  known  to  be 
victims  of  the  Church  rather  than  of  the  empire ;  and  the  interroga- 
tories of  civil  Judges  were  alternated  with  solicitations  of  Jesuits 
during  four  months  of  imprisonment.  They  failed  to  satisfy  the 
former  by  any  confession  of  crimes  not  committed  ;  and  they  all 
refused  to  surrender  their  conscience  to  the  latter.  Passing  by  the 
routine  of  courts  and  the  correspondence  of  authorities  on  their 
several  cases,  we  come  to  the  final  confession  and  suffering  of  a  few 
of  them. 

Seven  squadrons  of  Saxon  cavalry  marched  into  Prague  (June 
17th)  to  keep  the  population  in  order,  and  were  quartered  in  the 
three  cities,  the  old  town,  the  new  town,  and  the  Kleinseite.  A  plat- 
form, twenty-two  paces  square,  was  erected  (June  18th)  outside  the 
Town-Hall  in  the  old  town.  Thirteen  prisoners  from  the  new  town, 
ten  from  the  old,  and  twenty-seven  noblemen  and  knights,  patrons 
of  the  Evangelical  confessions,  from  the  White-Tower  of  the  castle, 
were  brought  to  the  judgment-hall  (June  19th),  one  by  one,  and  each 
heard  his  sentence  of  banishment,  imprisonment  for  life,  or  death. 
Most  of  them  were  to  die.  Sentences  having  been  pronounced  on  all, 
the  guards  took  them  back  to  prison ;  and  their  wives,  children,  and 
friends  received  permission  to  pay  them  a  last  visit.  The  same  indul- 
gence was  offered  to  Jesuits,  Capuchin  Monks,  or  Lutheran  Clergy- 
men ;  but  the  Clergy  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren  were  expressly  for- 
bidden to  go  near,  although  about  half  the  number  of  the  condemned 
were  of  that  communion,  but  of  all  most  hated  ou  account  of  their 

4   c  2 


564  CHAPTER    VIII. 

superior  piety.  The  Jesuits  and  Mouks  flocked  to  the  prisons, 
although  uncalled  for,  and  prosecuted  their  wonted  vocation  of  trou- 
bling the  last  hours  of  good  men  ;  but  gained  not  a  single  pervert. 
The  Minister  of  St.  Nicholas  in  the  Kleinseite,  John  Rosak  Hors- 
chowsky,  by  special  permission  of  Prince  Charles  of  Lichtenstein, 
Governor  of  the  kingdom,  went  to  visit  them ;  but  as  it  was  impossi- 
ble that  he  alone  could  attend  to  the  inmates  of  all  three  prisons,  a 
similar  permission  was  doled  out  to  four  others.  That  night,  the  day 
following,  which  was  Sunday,  and  the  succeeding  night,  were  spent  in 
prayer,  conversation,  praise,  and  the  holy  communion,  with  slight 
intervals  of  repose.  On  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  day,  a  large  com- 
pany of  the  wives  and  children  of  the  condemned,  with  other  near 
relatives,  assembled  at  the  palace-gate  of  Prince  Lichtenstein,  wailing 
and  imploring  admission  to  beg  for  the  lives  of  their  husbands, 
fathers,  and  brothers.  But  as  the  blessing  of  men  ready  to  perish 
could  only  be  purchased  by  incurring  the  frown  or  the  anathema 
of  Rome,  whatever  the  Prince  might  have  desired,  he  shut  his  ears  to 
the  crv  of  those  broken-hearted  supplicants,  and  commanded  them  to 
be  sent  away.  Within  the  prisons  there  was  less  appearance 
of  sorrow ;  for  God  sustained  his  servants  in  the  hours  of  severest 
trial.  In  one  of  the  Town-Halls  they  united  in  a  solemn  meal,  their 
last  on  earth,  rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  so  soon  eating  at  the  table 
of  their  Lord  in  heaven, — a  hope  which  the  Romish  Governor  derided; 
and  hearing  that  their  brethren,  the  Lords  and  Barons,  were  coming 
from  the  castle,  in  order  to  be  ready  for  execution  the  next  morning, 
they  ran  to  the  windows,  and  welcomed  them  by  singing  the  forty- 
fourth  Psalm.  The  people  on  the  outside  also  received  them  with  a 
sincere  solemnity  of  tears.  One  of  the  Brethren,  John  Kutnauer, 
repeated  the  last  verse  of  the  eighty-sixth  Psalm,  which  they  had  been 
singing.  The  words  are,  "  Show  me  a  token  for  good,  that  they 
which  hate  me  may  see  it,  and  be  ashamed ;  because  thou,  Lord,  hast 
holpen  me,  and  comforted  me."  He  prayed  that  a  token  might  be 
given  of  their  innocence,  a  sign  from  heaven,  that  the  people  might 
accept  it  as  from  God  ;  and  so  prayed  the  others.  The  Minister,  on 
the  contrary,  exhorted  them  to  be  satisfied  with  the  testimony  of  a 
good  conscience  ;  but  Kutnauer  could  not  cease  from  praying  for  a 
signal  that  might  be  seen  by  others.  A  sign  was  indeed  given  ;  for 
at  sun-rise  they  saw  through  the  windows  of  the  prison  a  splendid 
rainbow.  Falling  on  their  knees,  they  thanked  God  for  it.  The  same 
Minister,  Werbenius,  then  descanted  on  the  sign  which  God  had  set 
in  the  cloud,  and  recited  many  appropriate  promises  ;  while  the  mul- 
titude in  the  city,  who  had  heard  of  the  singular  petition,  gazed  on 
the  rainbow  with  amazement.  That  sign  had  passed  away,  and  a 
very  different  signal  was  given,  by  the  discharge  of  a  gun,  for  their 
execution. 

All  the  prisoners  were  assembled  in  the  court,  thence  to  ascend  the 
scaffold,  which  was  guarded  by  several  companies  of  infantry,  and, 
beyond  these,  an  array  of  cavalry,  to  keep  off  the  people.  Rosak, 
however,  attended  the  sufferers,  and  noted  their  words.  The  Imperial 
Judges  and  Counsellors  sat  round  the  platform,  and  Prince  Lichten- 


GREAT  MARTYRDOM  AT  PRAGUE.  565 

stein  occupied  a  chair  of  state  beneath  a  canopy.  The  condemned 
came  one  by  one,  as  called  by  name.  On  leaving  his  brethren,  each 
pronounced  a  short  sentence  or  two  :  such  as,  "  Farewell,  dear  friends  ! 
May  God  give  you  the  consolation  of  his  Spirit,  patience  and  firm- 
ness, to  persevere  in  that  which  you  have  hitherto  acknowledged  with 
your  heart,  mouth,  and  hand."  Or,  "  I  go  before  you  to  behold  the 
glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Follow  me,  that  we  may  together 
behold  the  Father's  face."  And  they  answered  him  by,  "  God  help 
thy  departure,  and  send  thee  a  happy  passage  from  this  vale  of  tears 
into  the  heavenly  country."  Or,  "  May  the  Lord  Jesus  send  his 
holy  angels  to  meet  thee."  Or,  "  Hasten  before  us,  dear  brother, 
into  the  house  of  our  Father :  we  follow  thee."  A  Clergyman 
attended  each,  conversing  with  him  in  words  chiefly  taken  from  the 
word  of  God,  which  the  guards  and  Judges  within  hearing  could  not 
but  hear  with  reverence  ;  while  the  beating  of  drums  and  clang 
of  trumpets  prevented  all  others  from  catching  a  syllable.  So  the 
company  in  the  court-yard  diminished  ;  and  as  the  Clergymen  returned 
with  intelligence  of  the  constancy  with  which  each  met  death,  they 
praised  God,  and  prayed  for  equal  strength. 

The  first  who  appeared  on  the  scaffold  was  Joachim  Andreas 
Schlik,  Count  of  Passau  and  Elbogen.  A  man  fifty  years  of  age, 
"spirited,  virtuous,  and  heroic;  but  also  modest,  pious,  active,  and 
peaceful."  Dressed  in  black  silk,  unbound,  and  with  a  Prayer-book 
in  his  hand,  he  walked  firmly  through  the  court,  attended  by  the  four 
Ministers.  Two  Jesuits  accosted  him  in  passing.  One  of  them, 
Father  Ledetius,  bade  him  "  consider  well."  But  he  replied,  "  Leave 
me  alone,"  and  went  forward.  Stepping  on  the  scaffold,  he  saw  the 
sun  shining  brightly,  and,  looking  upwards,  said,  "  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness, Jesus  Christ,  grant  that  I  may  come  to  thy  light  through  the 
shadow  of  death,"  and  walked  to  and  fro  a  few  times,  pensively,  but 
with  so  much  dignity,  that  some  of  the  Judges  wept.  He  then  prayed, 
undressed  himself,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  his  page,  knelt  on  a 
black  cloth  spread  for  the  purpose,  and  received  the  deadly  stroke. 
His  right  hand  was  taken  off,  stuck  on  one  lance  and  carried  away, 
and  the  head  on  another,  to  be  exposed  in  a  public  place.  Six  men 
in  black  masks  carried  away  the  body ;  others  removed  the  cloth 
soaked  with  blood,  and  spread  another  cloth,  that  the  person  who  came 
next  might  not  see  the  gore.  The  same  took  place  at  each  execution. 

Next  came  the  Baron  Wenzel  Budowecz  of  Budowa,  seventy-four 
years  of  age.  After  a  good  education  in  Bohemia,  he  had  studied,  as 
well  as  travelled,  in  France,  England,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  and 
Italy.  He  had  accompanied  the  Ambassador  of  Rudolph  II.  to  the 
court  of  Constantinople,  and  there  added  to  his  knowledge  of  European 
languages,  familiarity  with  Turkish  and  Arabic.  A  refutation  of  the 
Koran  was  extant  from  his  pen  in  the  Bohemian  language ;  and  he 
had  won  back  many  renegades  to  Christianity.  Rudolph  had  raised 
him  to  the  office  of  Court  Councillor ;  and  in  other  places  of  trust  he 
had  honourably  served  his  country.  He  possessed  a  princely  patri- 
mony, and  was  a  Bohemian  Brother ;  and  these  were  the  two  reasons 
why  he  should  die  upon  a  scaffold.  Erery  Sunday  he  had  been 


566  CHAPTER    VIII. 

accustomed  to  address  a  congregation,  using  that  freedom  to  prophesy 
•which  spiritual  churches  have  generally  acknowledged  for  the  laity.* 
Nor  did  he  only  teach  from  pulpits.  In  deliberations  on  public  affairs 
he  generally  took  the  lead.  Having  opened  the  meeting  by  prayer, 
he  was  used  to  give  out  a  hymn,  and  deliver  an  address,  often  with  so 
great  power  of  sacred  eloquence,  that  the  hearers  were  moved  to  tears, 
and  would  conclude  the  meeting  in  the  same  manner.  He  was  a 
Bohemian  of  the  old  cast,  serious,  reflecting,  and  inflexible.  When 
advised  to  crave  the  clemency  of  Ferdinand  II.,  he  answered  that  he 
would  rather  die  than  see  the  ruin  of  his  country.  He  was  not  one 
of  those  who  fled  on  the  fall  of  Prague ;  for,  having  removed  his 
family,  he  returned  to  his  house,  found  it  emptied  of  everything,  and 
had  not  been  in  it  long  when  he  was  made  prisoner.  His  heart,  he 
said,  had  impelled  him  to  return ;  his  conscience  'forbade  him  to  for- 
sake his  country  and  the  cause  of  God,  even  though  all  were  to  be 
sealed  with  his  blood.  "  My  God,"  he  exclaimed,  "here  am  I:  do 
with  thy  servant  as  it  seems  good  in  thy  sight.  I  have  enough 
of  life :  take  my  spirit  from  me,  that  I  may  not  see  the  misery  which 
will  now  befall  my  country."  An  official  person,  hearing  him  speak 
thus,  told  him  of  a  report  that  he  had  died  of  grief.  "  I  ?"  he  asked, 
"  I  ?  I  have  seldom  had  more  joyful  hours.  See  my  paradise," — 
holding  up  a  Bible  in  his  hand, — "  it  has  never  offered  me  such  hea- 
venly food  as  now.  I  am  yet  alive,  and  shall  live  as  long  as  it  pleases 
God ;  and  I  hope  no  one  will  live  to  see  the  day  when  it  may  be  said, 
Budowa  died  of  grief."  Before  the  officers  of  the  Inquisition  he 
calmly  and  fully  defended  the  truth  of  Christ ;  and,  after  sentence  was 
passed,  said  to  his  Judges,  "  You  have  long  thirsted  after  our  blood, 
and  now  you  may  have  it.  But  know  that  the  judgment  of  God,  for 
whose  cause  we  suffer,  will  come  upon  you  for  the  innocent  blood 
that  will  be  shed."  Meditating  in  the  law  of  his  God  day  and  night, 
even  his  dreams  were  heavenly.  A  few  nights  before  the  sentence,  he 
dreamt  that  he  was  walking  in  pleasant  fields,  and  that  some  one  put 
a  book  into  his  hand  with  silken  leaves,  white  as  snow,  and  nothing 
written  on  them  except  one  verse  :  "  Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good ; 
so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed."  (Psalm 
xxxvii.  3.)  While  pondering  over  it,  another  came,  and  put  a  white 
garment  on  him.  He  related  the  dream  to  his  servant ;  and,  when  on 
the  scaffold,  again  said  to  him,  "  Now  I  shall  wear  the  garment 
of  righteousness.  Thus  I  shall  shine  before  God  in  whom  I  have 
trusted."  Then  it  was  that,  stroking  his  white  locks  and  grey  beard, 
he  said,  as  in  an  ecstasy,  "  Soon,  my  grey  beard,  wilt  thou  be  brought 
to  glory;  for  the  martyr-crown  will  adorn  thee." 

The  third  was  Christopher  Harant,  sixty-one  years  of  age,  who  had 
travelled  far,  seen  much,  military  service,  and  risen  to  the  dignity 
of  Privy  Councillor  and  Chamberlain  to  Rudolph  II.  He  was  also 
eminent  as  an  author.  With  eyes  uplifted,  he  exclaimed,  "Lord 

*  'O  SiSdffKiav,  fl  Kal  \aiicbs  y,  ffj.ireipos  8e  TOV  \6yov,  Kal  rbv  Tp&irov  fft/j.vbs, 
SiSoffKeTU-  (ffoVTCtt  7&p  iravres  SiSoKTol  ®tov-  "He  that  toacheth,  even  if  lie  be  a 
layman,  yet  experienced  in  the  word,  and  respected  for  Lis  conduct,  let  liim  teach.  '  For 
'  they  shall  all  be  taught  of  God.'" — Count.  Apost.,  viii.,  32. 


GREAT  MARTYRDOM  AT  PRAGUE.  567 

Jesus,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."  The  fourth  was 
Caspar,  Baron  Kaplirz,  eighty-six  years  of  age.  He  could  not  walk 
without  assistance,  being  worn  out  with  loss  of  rest.  Two  Clergymen 
supported  him,  that  he  might  not  fall  and  be  exposed  to  the  derision 
of  his  enemies.  Neither  could  he  kneel.  "  Raise  your  head,"  said 
one  of  the  Ministers  as  he  stood  on  the  black  cloth.  He  looked  up, 
and  cried,  "  Lord  Jesus,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."  The 
executioner  swung  his  sword — the  grey  head  fell.  The  fifth  was 
Procopius  Dworschezky.  He  prayed  for  mercy,  and  was  instantly 
beheaded.  The  sixth  and  seventh  were  the  Lords  of  Rzchlowicz  and 
Komarow  :  the  one  displayed  silent  resignation,  the  other  thanked 
the  Saviour  that  he  could  die  with  joy.  The  eighth  was  Czernin,  a 
Romanist,  indeed,  but  suspected  of  heresy,  and  therefore  numbered 
with  the  others,  that  it  might  be  said  that  all  the  condemned  were 
not  Evangelicals.  The  ninth  was  the  Lord  of  Spiticz,  seventy  years 
of  age,  and  lame.  The  Lord  of  Rtiwenitz  followed  tenth,  long  known 
as  a  man  of  earnest  piety,  devoutly  cheerful.  Theodore  Sixtus,  a 
respectable  citizen,  came  next ;  but  was  reprieved  through  the  inter- 
cession of  a  Canon,  his  son-in-law,  and  dismissed.  The  eleventh 
victim  was  Valentine  Kochan,  a  citizen.  He  knelt  on  the  fatal  spot, 
and  prayed,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
according  to  thy  word."  After  him  another  citizen,  Tobias  Steffck, 
declared  that  heaven  was  his  prospect,  where  God  would  wipe  away 
tears  from  his  eyes,  and  where  there  would  be  no  more  death,  nor 
sorrow,  nor  crying,  nor  pain,  and  entered  into  his  rest. 

John  Jessenius,  formerly  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Prague, 
and  Physician  in  ordinary  to  two  Emperors,  Rudolph  and  Matthias,  a 
man  of  brilliant  eloquence,  and  high  in  the  practice  and  teaching 
of  the  healing  art,  came  to  suffer  an  ignominious  death.  He  cannot 
be  esteemed  a  martyr ;  but  his  death  was  unjust  and  barbarous,  and, 
with  admirable  integrity,  he  resisted  the  Jesuits  who  strove  to  pervert 
him  to  Popery.  A  Bohemian  Minister  came  with  him  to  the  scaffold, 
and  there  the  executioner  met  him,  and  demanded  his  tongue. 
Jessenius  shuddered,  remembering  that  Princes  had  often  hung  upon 
its  eloquence ;  but,  with  a  blush  of  indignation,  offered  it  to  be 
drawn  out  with  a  pair  of  tongs,  and  cut  off  at  the  root.  The  horrid 
operation  being  finished,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  poured  forth  an  inar- 
ticulate prayer,  and  the  stroke  of  a  sword  severed  his  head  from  the 
body.  The  body  was  put  into  a  sack,  to  be  quartered  on  the  spot, 
after  the  remaining  executions  should  be  finished.  His  peculiar 
offence  consisted  in  having  gone  to  Hungary  to  solicit  aid  against 
Ferdinand. 

Christopher  Kohr,  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  brief  commonwealth, 
before  the  election  of  Frederic ;  Schubz,  chief  Burgomaster  of  Kut- 
tenberg  ;  Hostialek,  chief  Burgomaster  of  Saaz,  also  a  Director ; 
Kutnauer,  Senator  of  the  old  town  of  Prague,  and  seven  other 
citizens,  followed  in  their  turns,  each  giving  evidence  of  scriptural 
knowledge  and  of  a  confidence  in  God,  sustained  by  faith  and  love 
more  excellent  than  knowledge.  By  way  of  varying  the  scene,  two 
of  them  were  conveyed  away  to  be  hung  in  other  parts  of  the  city ; 


568  CHAPTER    VIII. 

and  the  utmost  care  was  taken  that  the  Romish  Clergy  should  not  be 
the  conspicuous,  although  chief,  actors  in  that  bloody  business,  which 
continued  till  five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  sentences  of  banish- 
ment and  confiscation  were  carried  into  execution  the  next  day :  and, 
while  the  mass  of  the  inhabitants  murmured  at  the  cruel  and  san- 
guinary spectacle  which  had  been  exhibited,  the  agents  of  the  Papacy 
gloried  in  their  conquest ;  and  it  was  referred  to  the  Consistory 
of  Cardinals  at  Rome  to  decide  by  what  methods  the  Evangelical 
religion  should  be  for  ever  eradicated  from  Bohemia. 

As  so  many  of  the  highest  nobles  confessed  the  faith  of  Christ,  and 
as  the  Bible  was  read  so  generally  among  all  classes  of  society,  it  was 
deemed  inexpedient  to  attempt  at  once  the  suppression  of  Protestant- 
ism, which  might  best  be  effected  by  successive  measures  of  severity. 
A  stroke,  they  thought,  might  be  levelled  at  Moravia  first ;  and  when 
the  indignation  awakened  by  the  slaughter  at  Prague  and  the  excesses 
of  the  imperial  army  had  subsided,  attention  might  again  be  given  to 
that  country.  The  Anabaptists  were  therefore  banished  from  Moravia. 
They  had  forty-five  houses,  or  settlements,  in  each  of  which  several 
families  lived  in  community  of  goods,  and  possessed  considerable 
landed  property.  It  was  said  that  some  of  them  had  shown  civility 
to  Frederic  when  he  passed  through  Moravia  after  his  defeat ;  and 
under  this  pretext,  to  avoid  the  name  of  religious  persecution,  they 
were  all  expelled, — departed  in  companies,  in  waggons  laden  with 
wealth,  and  found  a  new  home  in  Transylvania.  Vintage  was  near; 
but  as  the  grapes  were  not  yet  ripe,  the  rich  vineyards  would  soon  be 
emptied  by  their  enemies.  Then  the  Court  of  Rome  resumed  their 
deliberations  for  an  attack  on  the  three  confessions  throughout 
Bohemia,  Silesia,  and  Moravia.  A  direct  persecution  still  seemed 
unadvisable;  for  the  Reformed  were  not  only  strong  in  number  and 
in  rank,  but  would  probably  be  aided  by  the  Protestant  Sovereigns 
of  Europe  in  resisting  a  crusade.  A  Jesuit,  Paul  Michna,  relieved 
their  Eminences  from  embarrassment  by  proposing  that  the  heretics 
should  be  tormented  until  they  surrendered  their  religion  in  despair, 
and  thus  the  act  of  recantation  would  be  made  their  own.  "They 
must  not  yet  be  banished,"  he  advised  ;  "  for  at  present  they  have  too 
much  to  take  with  them.  Too  much  money  would  be  carried  out 
of  the  country,  and  exile  would  be  made  too  easy.  They  must  first 
be  fleeced,  and  utterly  impoverished,  and  then  all  will  be  easily 
managed."  And  preliminary  measures  were  resolved  on  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  plan. 

Their  churches  were  to  be  closed,  their  teachers  removed,  and  their 
books  destroyed. 

The  revolt  to  which  they  had  been  provoked  was  now  a  sufficient 
pretext  for  any  act  of  public  severity.  Most  of  the  churches  of  Prague 
had  been  seized  immediately  on  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  the 
imperial  troops,  and  given  to  the  Jesuits,  who  purified  them  with 
holy  water,  and  whipped  the  pulpits  and  the  altars,  to  signify  a 
ridiculous  vengeance  on  the  places  where  the  word  of  God  had  been 
faithfully  preached,  and  the  sacrament  of  thanksgiving  duly  adminis- 
tered. On  the  floor  of  a  church  previously  occupied  by  the  Bohemian 


GERMAN    MINISTERS    DRIVEN    FROM    PRAGUE.  5G9 

Brethren  they  laid  gunpowder,  and  set  fire  to  it,  that  by  its  explosion 
the  pollution  of  heresy  might  be  dispelled.  Such  buildings  as  were 
not  desired  for  immediate  occupation  were  closed,  others  were  torn 
down,  and  no  mode  of  indignity  or  profanation  -was  forgotten.  The 
graves  were  opened,  the  remains  scattered,  and  the  monuments 
demolished.  Similar  proceedings  were  afterwards  repeated  all  over 
Bohemia. 

The  expatriation  of  the  Bohemian  Ministers  had  also  begun  at 
Prague.  Prince  Lichtenstein  issued  an  edict  a  few  weeks  after  his 
entrance  into  the  city  (December  13th,  1620),  accusing  them  of 
having  been  the  sole  cause  of  the  revolution ;  and  he  afterwards 
commanded  them  to  quit  Prague  within  three  days,  and  the  whole 
country  and  land  incorporated  with  it  within  six,  and  never  to  return 
again,  under  pain  of  death.  This  was  done  while  their  chief  patrons 
were  in  prison  (March  10th,  1621),  doomed  to  the  slaughter  above 
described.  The  Bohemian  population  being  thus  deprived  of  the 
ministry  of  the  Gospel  in  the  language  they  could  best  understand, 
now  attended  in  the  German  Evangelical  churches  ;  and,  although  the 
Lutherans  had  not  been  persecuted,  through  fear  of  offending  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  the  Jesuits  determined  now  to  hazard  the  conse- 
quences of  his  displeasure,  rather  than  see  their  intention  frustrated 
by  any  Evangelical  ministrations  to  the  bereaved  Bohemian  flocks. 
There  were  four  German  Clergymen,  Caspar  Wagner,  David  Lippach, 
Sigismund  Scherer,  and  Fabian  Nathus.  Driven  from  the  churches, 
they  delivered  farewell  sermons  to  their  German  and  Bohemian 
congregations  in  open  fields  (October  29th,  1622),  outside  the  city. 
The  Prince  "  graciously  dismissed  "  them  under  a  military  escort  and 
at  public  expense,  but  with  less  than  a  week's  notice,  and  without 
permitting  them  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  to 
their  people,  either  in  public  or  in  private.  Their  churches  were 
closed  suddenly,  and  without  their  knowledge,  to  the  unutterable 
grief  of  the  long-devoted  worshippers.  When  one,  the  church  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  was  re-opened  at  their  request,  for  the  sake  of  removing 
the  books,  a  great  crowd  assembled  at  the  door,  and  begged  hard 
that  they  might  be  allowed  to  enter  but  once  more,  and  call  upon 
God,  if  it  were  only  by  repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer.  This  they  were 
allowed  to  do,  and,  pressing  into  the  sacred  edifice,  fell  on  their 
knees,  prayed  fervently,  and  wept  bitterly.  Some  kissed  the  pave- 
ment, and  some  the  altar,  and,  when  evening  came  and  they  were 
obliged  to  leave,  they  lingered  around  the  building,  blessing  the 
beautiful  house  of  God,  and,  on  the  following  day,  some  devout 
•women  celebrated  their  churching  on  the  outside.  They  laid  their 
infants  on  the  threshold,  knelt  with  their  friends  upon  the  steps, 
united  in  fervent  supplications,  and  went  home  again  in  grief  and 
tears.  On  the  appointed  day  the  four  Ministers  departed.  With 
difficulty  they  drove  through  the  streets,  crowded  with  people  who 
could  not  suppress  their  tears,  while  spectators  filled  the  windows. 
Their  enemies  laughed  ;  and  the  Jesuits  had  already  prepared  to 
consummate  their  triumph  by  another  crime.  Three  detachments 
of  cavalry,  at  their  instigation,  marched  out  of  the  town,  with  a 

VOL.     III.  4    D 


570  CHAPTER     VIII. 

design  to  pillage  or  to  destroy  the  fugitives  on  the  road.  Spies 
hauuted  the  party,  which  consisted  of  the  four  Ministers,  and  some 
Saxon  merchants,  who,  for  the  sake  of  religion,  were  also  returning 
to  their  native  country.  The  cavalry  came  within  sight,  approaching 
the  road,  after  having  diverged  from  it  rather  too  far;  but  they 
escaped  by  means  of  a  peasant,  who  took  them  through  an  obscure 
pass  in  the  mountains  to  a  ford  in  the  next  river  which  the  pursuers 
did  not  know,  and  there  they  crossed.  The  cavalry,  unable  to  trace 
them,  revenged  themselves  on  a  neighbouring  village.  The  wives 
of  those  Ministers,  who  could  not  follow  until  some  weeks  afterwards, 
were  also  marked  for  destruction  in  the  same  manner  ;  but  they,  too, 
providentially  escaped,  their  horses  refusing  to  cross  a  bridge  which 
would  have  led  them  to  a  spot  where  soldiers  were  waiting  to  murder 
them.  Thus  did  God  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  his  afflicted 
children. 

Not  only  by  edicts  of  the  supreme  government,  but  by  distinct  acts 
of  provincial  authorities,  the  process  of  ejection  was  continued,  but 
always  under  colour  of  prosecution  for  political  offences, — offences 
which  had  seldom  been  committed,  or,  at  worst,  were  but  the  conse- 
quences of  intolerable  oppression.  Shortly  after  the-  banishment 
of  the  Evangelical  Ministers  from  Prague,  Commissioners  visited  the 
chief  towns,  to  expel  as  many  as  could  be  entangled  by  accusation,  or 
provoked  to  utter  an  incautious  word.  We  read  of  one  George 
Michna  visiting  towns  of  a  district  with  a  troop  of  horsemen.  At 
Sclan  he  broke  into  a  church  where  one  of  the  Ministers,  Johana 
Kaupilius,  was  reading  the  Gospel  at  the  altar,  and  commanded  him 
to  be  silent ;  but  as  the  Minister  continued  reading,  he  drew  his 
sword,  and  shouted,  "  Stupid  preacher,  cease  to  prattle,"  and,  with 
the  weapon,  struck  the  Bible  out  of  his  hands.  The  good  man, 
undaunted,  raised  his  eyes  and  hands  towards  heaven,  and  cried, 
"Woe  unto  you  who  shut  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men! 
Ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  and  those  who  wish  to  go  in  ye  suffer 
not  to  enter.  Woe  unto  you,  woe  ! "  On  this  the  dragoons  seized 
him,  and,  with  scornful  laughter,  dragged  him  through  the  church. 
Making  no  resistance,  he  declared  himself  willing  to  suffer  that  and 
anything  else  for  the  sake  of  his  Master,  Jesus.  They  construed  that 
expression  into  treason,  and  told  him  that  the  Emperor  was  their 
master.  The  members  of  the  Council  offered  bail  for  his  appearance 
when  called  for ;  but  the  Commissioner  would  not  release  him, 
intending  to  send  him  to  Prague  to  be  tried  for  sedition.  Some 
ladies  of  rank,  however,  procured  his  liberation,  under  condition  that 
he  should  quit  the  town  within  three  days.  The  inhabitants  of  Laun 
were  fined  heavily,  because  they  had  suffered  their  Minister  to  escape  ; 
'and,  after  Michna  had  received  the  money,  he  pronounced  a  sentence 
of  banishment,  to  prevent  him  from  returning. 

The  Evangelical  Clergy  of  Kuttenberg,  the  city  next  in  importance 
after  Prague,  were  ordered  to  depart  before  sunset  (July  27th,  1023), 
and  to  quit  the  kingdom  within  a  week.  They  obeyed.  Several 
hundred  citizens  followed  them  through  the  gates,  to  whom  one 
of  the  Ministers  preached  on  the  words  of  Christ,  "  They  will  put 


TJLIZKY    OF    CZASLAU.  571 

you  out  of  the  synagogues  ; "  and  they  parted  with  mutual  tears  and 
prayers.  After  similar  banishments  from  some  parts  of  Bohemia,  and 
cruel  imprisonments  in  others,  an  imperial  edict  (August,  1624) 
commanded  all  the  Evangelical  Clergy  to  be  banished  for  ever  out 
of  the  whole  kingdom.  Six  weeks  were  allowed  them  for  prepara- 
tion ;  but  as  the  edict  was  kept  secret  for  four  weeks  by  the  higher 
authorities,  and  was  not  made  known  to  some  until  the  six  weeks 
had  expired,  the  distress  of  the  exiles  was  extreme.  Many  found 
refuge  in  neighbouring  countries.  Some  hid  themselves  in  woods 
and  caves,  and  endeavoured  secretly  to  fulfil  their  duty  to  the  flocks 
over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them  overseers.  To  prevent 
this,  another  edict  (July,  1625)  threatened  with  punishment  all  who 
should  conceal  a  Clergyman,  and  offered  a  reward  to  any  who  would 
betray  one.  The  execution  of  this  edict  was  unequal ;  but  the 
general  reward  for  the  body  of  a  Minister  being  fifty  dollars,  several 
were  made  prisoners.  A  few  of  these,  worn  out  with  terror  and 
starvation,  professed  to  abjure  the  Gospel ;  but  most  of  them  endured 
the  suffering  of  dungeons  without  wavering.  Some  few  were  liberated 
after  long  imprisonment ;  but  not  until  they  had  signed  an  obligation 
to  quit  the  country  forthwith,  and  never  return,  under  penalty  of 
death.  And  even  this  sentence  was»often  aggravated  by  additional 
inflictions  of  extortion  and  of  contumely.  One  example  will  illustrate 
the  severity  of  this  persecution. 

A  Bohemian  nobleman,  George  Techenitz,  had  begun  to  recruit  the 
peasants,  with  the  intention  of  joining  a  Danish  army,  which  was 
posted  in  Silesia.  Intelligence  reached  Prague,  when  about  four 
hundred  persons  had  enlisted  :  the  peasants,  it  was  said,  were  in  a 
state  of  rebellion,  and  the  Governor  sent  troops  to  put  them  down. 
A  party  of  these  soldiers  met  a  Deacon  of  Czaslau,  Matthaus  Ulizky, 
in  the  Kaurzim  forest,  where  Techenitz  had  been  recruiting ;  and 
although  this  Deacon  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  insurgent  nobleman, 
but  was  peaceably  returning  to  Kirchleben,  his  hiding-place,  after 
visiting  his  sick  wife  in  Czaslau,  he  was  seized,  and  taken  back  a 
prisoner.  There  he  was  twice  laid  on  the  rack,  and  questioned  as  to 
the  persons  to  whom  he  had  administered  baptism  and  the  holy 
communion  ;  and  his  tormentors — one  blushes  to  write  it — were 
apostates  from  Protestantism.  They  told  him  that  the  Emperor 
would  grant  him  life,  if  he  would  do  as  they  had  done  ;  but  he  said 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  not  the  Emperor,  had  given  him  his  office 
as  a  Minister,  and  that,  therefore,  he  could  not  relinquish  the  obliga- 
tion to  discharge  its  functions.  Two  days  after  the  last  examination 
he  was  led  to  execution  in  the  same  town  where  he  had  faithfully 
preached  Christ,  now  to  be  his  martyr.  A  herald  went  before  him, 
proclaiming  his  crime  to  be  rebellion.  But  he,  too,  proclaimed, 
"  No, — I  suffer  for  the  truth  of  Christ."  A  young  man  approached 
to  offer  him  a  Hymn-book ;  but  the  Captain  of  the  guard  drove  the 
youth  away.  Yet  Ulizky  sang,  without  book,  "  Make  haste,  0  God, 
to  deliver  me  ;  make  haste  to  help  me,  0  Lord."  No  citizen  was 
allowed  to  follow  him,  no  one  was  even  permitted  to  look  out  at  a 
window  as  he  passed,  the  guards  threatening  to  shoot  any  one  who 

4   D  2 


572  CHAPTER    VIII. 

should  presume  to  show  his  face  ;  and  trumpets  were  blown,  and 
drums  beaten,  to  drown  his  voice ;  for  the  murderers  uniformly 
prevented  the  people  from  hearing  the  confessions  of  martyrs.  The 
Captain,  however,  heard  him  declare  that  that  day  his  soul  would  be 
with  Christ  in  paradise ;  and  told  him,  brutishly,  that  it  would  be 
with  the  devil  rather,  in  the  bottom  of  hell.  He  warned  the  Captain, 
in  reply,  that  he  would  hasten  thither  himself,  if  he  was  not  brought 
to  reflection  ;  and  then,  falling  on  his  knees,  commended  his  soul  to 
Christ,  had  his  right  hand  cut  off,  and,  bowing  his  head,  received  the 
final  stroke.  The  head  was  placed  on  one  pole,  and,  on  four  others, 
the  quarters  of  his  body.  He  had  always  taught  that  tears  were  the 
only  weapons  of  the  church,  and  disapproved  of  those  who  sought  for 
the  help  of  arms  to  defend  the  Gospel. 

The  Christian  Schoolmaster  is  the  most  efficient  assistant  of  the 
Christian  Minister ;  and  the  restorers  of  Popery  in  Bohemia  were 
scarcely  less  anxious  to  empty  the  school-room  than  the  Reformed 
pulpit.  Private  masters,  no  less  than  Professors,  were  to  be  banished  ; 
and  all  parents,  whether  nobles  or  citizens,  who  should  employ  a 
Protestant  to  teach  their  children,  were  threatened  with  imprisonment 
and  fine.  Instead  of  Protestant  Catechisms,  the  Catechism  of  the 
Jesuit  Canisius  was  to  be  committed  to  memory  ;  and  a  brood  of 
Jesuits,  under  the  character  of  tutors,  were  ready  to  perpetuate 
popular  ignorance.  The  more  clever  of  the  Protestant  boys  were 
often  taken  by  force,  and  prepared  to  communicate  the  rudiments  of  a 
harmless,  but  unprofitable,  scholarship. 

The  Carolinum  of  Prague,  a  University  founded  by  the  Emperor 
Charles  IV.,  in  1348,  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Evangelicals, 
and,  ever  since  the  days  of  Huss,  had  maintained  an  influence  in 
Bohemia  hostile  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Roman  See.  The  chief 
imperial  Commissioner,  therefore,  visited  this  learned  body  (March 
15th,  1621),  presented  to  the  Professors  a  paper  containing  thirteen 
declaratory  articles  of  religion,  and  demanded  their  subscription. 
One  of  them,  Nicholas  Troilus,  ventured  to  object,  on  behalf  of  his 
brethren,  but  was  instantly  seized  and  conveyed  to  prison.  The 
others  withdrew  in  silence,  two  excepted, — Basilius,  of  Deutschenberg, 
Professor  of  Mathematics,  and  John  Campanus,  Professor  of  the 
Greek  Language  and  Poetry,  who  yielded  to  authority,  became  Papists, 
and  rose  to  high  office.  Ferdinand,  losing  little  time  in  following  up 
this  blow,  caused  Prince  Lichteustein  to  expel  all  "  non-Catholic 
Professors,"  as  they  were  called.  An  order  to  this  effect  once  given 
(April  30th,  1622),  resistance  was  impossible  :  Commissioners  entered 
the  building,  sealed  the  archives,  dismissed  the  Professors,  placed  the 
University,  if  such  it  might  then  be  called,  in  the  charge  of  the  two 
apostates,  and  they  surrendered  it,  with  all  its  estates,  rights,  and 
privileges,  to  the  Jesuits  of  St.  Clement.  To  complete  the  mat- 
ter, the  Pope  suspended  all  promotions,  so  that  no  academical 
degrees  could  be  taken ;  and  for  some  time  the  chairs  were  vacant. 
And  even  when  the  machinery  of  education  was  restored,  an 
esoteric  system  of  teaching  confined  the  reality  of  learning  to  the 
few  selected  Jesuits,  who  made  use  of  it  as  an  instrument  for 


DESTRUCTION    OF    BOOKS.  573 

the  subversion  of  Evangelical  religion.     Learning  in  Bohemia  soon 
expired. 

Then  followed  a  general  destruction  of  books,  excepting,  however, 
such  works  as  Amadis  of  Gaul,  and  any  that  would  promote  supersti- 
tion or  immorality.  Commissioners,  attended  by  trains  of  Jesuits, 
visited  the  towns,  summoned  the  inhabitants  by  ringing  of  bells  ;  and 
with  gentle  words,  but  great  array  of  power,  exhorted  the  people  to 
bring  their  heretical  books.  Exhortation  was  command.  Boxes  and 
barrels  full  of  books  were  brought  together  into  the  market-place,  poor 
people  flocked  with  single  volumes,  the  whole  were  heaped  up  on 
faggots  and  consumed,  while  sentinels  stood  round  to  prevent  any 
from  being  snatched  out  of  the  flames ;  and  the  Jesuits  made  merry 
at  the  conflagration,  admiring  how  beautifully  they  flamed,  and  telling 
the  owners  that  if  they  were  found  to  have  imbibed  the  heresy,  they 
also  should  be  thrown  into  the  fire.  Spanish  and  Walloon  soldiers 
ransacked  the  houses,  and  detected  treasures  of  Bibles  and  religious 
books  secreted  under  floors  or  buried  in  cellars.  Smiling  Jesuits 
lounged  in  families,  and  bribed  young  children  to  show  them  their 
fathers'  books,  which  they  discovered,  seized,  and  sent  to  the  burning 
heap.  Some  who  found  it  expedient  to  cast  off  the  profession  of  a 
merely  nominal  Protestantism,  saved  the  Commissioners  the  trouble 
of  visitations  by  burning  their  libraries  on  their  own  premises,  and 
made  a  virtue  of  necessity.  The  monasteries  were  expurgated  :  but 
in  them  some  volumes  were  preserved  for  the  use  of  controversialists, 
should  controversy  become  necessary,  bound  in  black,  to  signify  that 
they  were  condemned,  prohibited,  and  devilish,  and  kept  in  one  place, 
accessible  only  to  the  privileged.  In  this  book-execution  the  litera- 
ture of  Bohemia  perished,  except  as  exiles  had  carried  away  copies 
into  foreign  countries,  where  collections  were  afterwards  made  with 
diligence ;  but  such  collections  could  only  be  small,  imperfect,  and 
without  influence  on  the  intellectual  and  religious  character  of  Bohe- 
mia. Bibles,  of  course,  were  chiefly  sought  after,  and  destroyed  with 
the  most  intense  fury ;  and  the  sacred  volume,  no  longer  designated 
by  its  peculiar  name,  was  called  in  derision  Wyblila,  a  Bohemian 
word,  said  to  be  equivalent  with  "vomit."  Some  zealots  underwent 
great  labour,  and  even  faced  danger,  in  forcing  books  from  reluctant 
and  conscientious  owners.  Once,  a  Jesuit,  backed  by  a  body  of  sol- 
diers, so  provoked  the  inhabitants  of  a  town  that  they  rose  in  a  body, 
and  killed  him.  Very  religious  men  signalized  themselves  in  those 
days  by  travelling  from  village  to  village  to  pilfer  and  burn  good  books. 
And  their  names  are  recorded  with  great  applause  by  Romanists  ;  but, 
for  our  part,  we  would  rather  leave  those  names  to  perish. 

Having  noticed  the  expulsion  of  Ministers  and  Schoolmasters,  the 
suppression  of  the  University,  the  burning  of  Bibles,  and  the  annihi- 
lation of  literature,  it  remains  to  say  how  Ferdinand  and  the  Clergy 
dealt  with  the  people.  Cherished  in  the  bosoms  of  the  faithful,  the 
incorruptible  seed  of  truth  might  again  spring  up,  and,  watered  by 
the  blood  of  martyrs,  might  overspread  the  land.  All  faithful  men, 
therefore,  were  to  be  put  out  of  the  way  ;  and  they  could  only  hope 
to  effect  this  by  vast  labour. 


574  CHAPTER    VIII. 

Lohelius,  Archbishop  of  Prague,  having  died  (November,  1G22), 
the  Chapter  held  many  consultations  on  the  election  of  a  successor 
who  would  be  likely  to  display  extraordinary  energy  in  doing  this 
very  work.  Ernst  Adalbert  Harrach,  son  of  an  imperial  Privy  Coun- 
cillor, at  that  time  Chamberlain  to  Pope  Gregory  XV.,  and  a  young 
man  twenty-four  years  of  age,  was  thought  to  possess  sufficient  vigour, 
both  of  mind  and  body,  to  toil  in  the  extirpation  of  heresy.  He 
received  the  pallium,  and  entered  fully  into  the  enterprise.  The  Nuncio 
at  Vienna  assisted  him  and  the  Jesuits  by  presenting  and  supporting 
petitions  to  the  Emperor,  who,  having  effectually  put  down  rebellion, 
could  not  but  avow  the  real  ground  of  persecution,  or  cease  to  perse- 
cute. Incited  by  the  new  Archbishop  and  his  company,  Ferdinand 
issued  edicts  in  1623  and  1624,  for  the  expulsion  of  all  the  remaining 
Protestant  Clergy.  He  then  revoked  the  liberty  of  worship  previously 
established  in  Bohemia ;  and  at  length  formally  empowered  the 
Archbishop  and  Lichtenstein  to  extirpate  all  non-Catholic  systems 
of  religion,  and  restore  the  Popish  ceremonies  everywhere.  All 
Protestants  were  to  be  driven  out  of  towns.  No  Protestant  was  to 
be  allowed  to  marry.  The  few  Ministers  who  were  said  to  be  still 
concealed,  were  to  be  hunted  out,  and  banished.  The  district 
Governors  then  issued  a  terrible  edict  throughout  the  kingdom,* 

*  This  edict  is  so  full  an  example  of  Romish  government,  that  it  shall  be  inserted 
here.  "  1.  All  those  who  are  unwilling  to  embrace  the  Catholic  religion,  and  so  become 
of  the  same  religion  with  His  Majesty,  are  prohibited  from  all  business,  trade,  com- 
merce, &c.  2.  No  one  shall  allow  sermons  to  be  preached,  or  baptisms  and  marriages 
to  take  place  in  his  house,  under  a  fine  of  one  hundred  dollars,  or  imprisonment  for  six 
months.  Abo,  whoever  retains  an  Evangelical  preacher  in  his  house,  shall  forfeit  his 
estates  with  his  life.  3.  The  true  Catholic  Priest  is  not  to  accompany,  with  the  usual 
ceremonies,  a  deceased  Protestant  to  the  burial-ground ;  but  the  church  and  burial  fees 
he  shall,  nevertheless,  receive.  4.  Whoever  labours,  transacts  business,  or  sells  any- 
thing on  holy  or  saints'  days,  shall  be  imprisoned,  and  pay  a  fine  of  ten  guilders.  5. 
Any  person  found  in  a  public-house  during  time  of  mass,  shall  be  imprisoned  and 
detained  until  he  pays  a  fine  of  ten  guilders ;  and  the  host  shall  pay  double  that  sum. 
6.  Those  who  ridicule  a  Priest,  his  sermon,  worJs,  or  gestures,  and  thus  mock  the 
Roman  worship,  and  those  who  permit  heretical  worship  to  be  celebrated  in  their  houses, 
shall  be  banished,  and  their  estates  shall  be  confiscated.  7.  Whoever  shall  eat  meat  on 
Fridays  and  Saturdays,  without  permission  of  the  Archbishop,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  ten 
guilders.  8.  As  often  as  the  father  of  a  family  shall  absent  himself  from  mass  on  Sun- 
days and  holida5rs,  he  shall  give,  if  rich,  four  pounds,  and  if  poor,  two  pounds,  of  wax 
candles  to  the  Church.  9.  A  list  shall  he  kept  of  the  young  people  in  all  the  towns  and 
villages  ;  and  whoever  has  placed  his  sons  in  Protestant  schools,  shall  withdraw  them 
before  the  festival  of  All  Souls  :  otherwise,  the  rich  shall  pay  fifty,  and  the  poor  thirty, 
guilders'  fine.  10.  Whoever  instructs  the  young  people  at  home  secretly,  shall  forfeit 
all  his  property  ;  and  he  himself  shall  be  ejected  from  the  town  by  the  beadle.  11.  No 
will  shall  be  valid,  unless  the  testator  be  a  Catholic  :  heretics  shall  not  have  liberty  to 
make  a  will.  12.  No  young  people,  whether  orphans  or  otherwise,  shall  henceforth  be 
instructed  hi  any  art  or  trade,  unless  they  have  previously  learned  the  Catholic  Catechism 
(of  Canisius).  13.  Whoever  speaks  or  sings  indecent  words  of  God,  the  Holy  Virgin, 
and  the  saints,  or  of  the  Church  ceremonies,  and  of  the  glorious  house  of  Austria,  the 
same  shall,  without  mercy,  forfeit  his  estates  and  his  life.  14.  Those  who  have,  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  Catholic  religion,  any  painting  on  or  in  their  houses,  shall  immediately 
efface  the  same,  or  pay  a  fine  of  thirty  guilders  :  also,  if  similar  things  be  carved  or 
painted  on  gates,  churches,  or  other  public  places,  they  shall  be  broken  down  or  effaced, 
and  the  crucifix,  or  some  other  ancient  monument,  shall  be  substituted.  15.  If  the  poor 
in  the  workhouses  be  not  converted  by  All  Saints  this  year,  they  shall  be  ejected,  and 
afterwards  none  but  Catholics  shall  be  admitted.  Hereby  will  he  fulfilled  the  unchange- 
able will  of  His  Imperial  Majesty." — Reformation  and  Anti- Reformation  in  Bohemia, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  150. 


CONVERSION-SOLDIERS.  575 

which  was  executed  with  unsparing  severity.  Multitudes  were  tor- 
mented or  burnt  to  death  ;  and  a  broad  stream  of  emigration  flowed 
into  neighbouring  countries,  and  especially  into  Lusatia,  then  under 
the  government  of  Prince  John  George  of  Saxony,  and  also  into 
Misnia,  Silesia,  Brandenburg,  Holland,  Prussia,  Poland,  Lithuania, 
Hungary,  and  Transylvania.  Yet  so  large  a  part  of  the  Bohemian 
population  could  not  be  swept  away  at  once,  and  successive  edicts 
renewed  the  persecution.  Ferdinand  told  the  nobility  that  he  would 
have  no  other  subjects  in  Bohemia  than  Catholics ;  and  that  all  who 
would  not  be  converted  within  six  months  should  sell  their  estates  to 
Catholics,  and  go  elsewhere  (A.D.  1627).  In  coercing  the  nobility, 
they  did  not  subject  their  bodies  to  the  torture,  nor  throw  them  into 
prison,  but  reduced  them  to  apostacy  or  exile  by  other  methods. 
They  billeted  large  companies  of  soldiers  on  them,  demanded  heavy 
contributions,  extorted  gifts,  and  impoverished  them  by  confiscations. 
Their  finest  mansions  were  demolished,  or  taken  for  Jesuit  colleges  or 
seminaries,  or  the  materials  and  the  site  appropriated  for  the  con- 
struction of  monasteries.  Houses  were  pulled  down  while  the  weeping 
tenants  had  scarcely  time  to  remove  their  furniture.  To  supply  the 
places  of  the  banished  nobles,  Ferdinand  raised  others,  whom  the  Clergy 
nominated,  to  the  dignity  of  "  States "  of  the  first  rank,  with  pre- 
cedence of  Barons,  Earls,  and  Princes.  And,  to  obviate  every  legal 
hinderance  to  his  oppressive  doings,  he  promulgated  new  laws,  annul- 
ling the  old  ones ;  and  by  every  possible  contrivance  proceeded  to 
destroy  the  nationality,  and  even  the  language,  of  Bohemia. 

After  banishment,  forced  recantations,  and  murder  had  failed  to 
destroy  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  many  yet  remained  steadfast,  or, 
having  so  far  yielded  as  to  obtain  certificates  of  confession  to  a  Priest, 
still  continued  to  worship  God  alone  in  private,  or  in  small  compa- 
nies ;  after  Jesuits,  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  Priests,  and  Magistrates 
had  failed  also,  exhausting  all  their  guile  and  violence,  Prince 
Lichtenstein  employed  his  dragoons  to  complete  the  restoration 
of  Popery.  These  "  Lichtenstein  conversion-soldiers,"  or  "  Salva- 
tionists," or  "  Saviours,"  partly  dragoons  and  cuirassiers,  and  partly 
Spanish  and  Bavarian  infantry,  principally  acted  under  the  command 
of  a  Spaniard,  Martin  de  la  Huerda,  and  of  one  Zdenko  Liebsteinsky 
Kolowrat,  a  veteran  persecutor.  These  soldiers  were  distributed  over 
the  kingdom,  but  most  numerously  where  the  vestiges  of  Evangelical 
religion  were  the  strongest.  They  were  billeted  on  suspected  persons, 
or  known  Protestants,  and  committed  almost  incredible  barbarities. 
Often  when  they  had  pillaged  the  house,  the  owners,  in  despair,  gave 
up  house-keeping  altogether,  and  put  the  keys  into  their  hands. 
When  any  declared  that  they  were  "  Catholics,"  the  dragoons  were 
instantly  removed.  But  a  great  number  chose  rather  to  suffer  loss 
of  all  things,  or  even  of  life,  than  deny  Christ ;  and  then  their  suffer- 
ings became  extreme.  Mothers  were  tied  down,  and  their  sucking 
infants  placed  within  sight,  that  their  cries,  hour  after  hour,  and  day 
after  day,  might  move  them  to  apostacy.  If  the  mother  promised  to 
turn  Papist,  she  was  unbound,  and  her  babe  put  into  her  arms. 
They  would  set  about  the  conversion  of  others  by  keeping  them  awake 


5/6  CHAPTER    VIII. 

for  many  days  and  nights,  until  they  became  stupefied,  and  in  that 
state  accepted  confession-tickets  from  the  Priests.  Some  were  dragged 
to  mass  by  the  hair  of  the  head,  or  scourged  until  their  flesh  dropped 
under  the  lashes.  Some  were  led  to  the  gallows  and  threatened  to 
be  hanged,  or  held  fast  with  swords  and  pistols  pointed  at  their 
breasts,  until  they  would  apostatize  ;  or,  if  not,  were  put  to  death. 
Sick  persons  were  tormented  as  they  lay  in  bed,  until  they  yielded  to 
the  ruffian  "  Saviours."  These  troops  not  only  ravaged  Bohemia, 
but  followed  the  exiles  into  Lusatia  and  Silesia,  where,  in  spite  of  the 
remonstrances  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  they  perpetrated  the  same 
cruelties.  It  was  in  Silesia  that  two  officers  held  up  a  naked  infant  by 
its  legs,  cut  it  in  two  with  a  sword,  and  gave  it  back  to  its  parents, 
saying,  "  Here  you  have  it  sub  utrdque."  But  let  us  mark  a  few  more 
examples  of  Christian  martyrdom  under  this  dreadful  persecution. 

At  Kossenberg,  ten  only  out  of  three  hundred  Protestant  vassals 
dared  confess  Christ.  And  six  of  these,  yielding  to  the  pains  of  cold 
and  hunger  in  prison,  purchased  release  by  recantation.  Four  stood 
firm.  Their  names  were  Sigismund  Hrussowsky,  Nicholas  Szarowez, 
John  Aksamit,  and  Lorenz  Karlik.  Five  weeks  passed  away  in 
solitude.  No  perverter  came  to  tempt  them  ;  but  they  were  exposed 
to  the  winter  frosts  of  January  and  February  without  covering  or  fire, 
and  still  resolved  to  die  rather  than  surrender.  Hunger  was  then 
commissioned  to  try  what  cold  could  not  effect,  and  for  nine  days 
they  lay  without  a  morsel  of  food.  Still  they  would  not  surrender. 
Finding  them  yet  alive,  the  jailers  gave  each  of  them  a  small  piece 
of  bread,  but  nothing  to  quench  thirst.  They  ate  it,  and  drank  their 
own  water,  trusting  in  God  for  help.  At  last  a  Jesuit  and  the  Gover- 
nor of  the  castle  came,  and  threatened  to  treat  them  yet  more  severely 
unless  they  would  renounce  their  faith.  But  they  would  not  surren- 
der. "  Rather  than  sin  against  our  God,"  said  Sigismund,  "  we  will 
suffer  hunger,  the  halter,  or  the  stake."  And  as  the  visiters  went 
away,  he  called  after  them,  "Whatever  you  intend  to  do,  do  it 
speedily."  Then  came  the  jailers  and  separated  them.  Aksamit 
remained  in  the  same  place ;  Nicholas  was  thrown  into  a  filthy  pit ; 
Sigismund  shut  up  in  the  flue  of  a  chimney ;  and  Karlik  placed  in 
some  equally  wretched  situation.  There  they  remained  unvisited  by 
any  friend  for  twenty-one  weeks  :  a  small  quantity  of  bread  and  a 
draught  of  water  being  brought  them  twice  a  week,  and  now  and  then 
the  offer  of  release  repeated  if  they  would  become  Catholics  ;  but 
they  would  not  surrender.  They  were  then  taken  from  the  places 
of  confinement;  the  persecutors  helped  themselves  to  fines  out  of  their 
property,  and  banished  them  from  Bohemia.  Taking  joyfully  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods,  they  departed  ;  but  Karlik  died  in  consequence 
of  his  protracted  sufferings  before  he  could  reach  the  frontier. 

John  Burjan  Kochowez,  a  learned  man,  had  been  imprisoned  by 
the  Princess  Lobkowitz,  because  he  would  not  oblige  her  by  conform- 
ing to  Popery.  There  he  lay  for  three  years.  Monks  and  Jesuits 
tormented  him  to  death,  and  buried  him  under  a  gibbet  at  Raudnitz. 
In  the  domain  of  Leitomischl,  three  hundred  vassals  had  succumbed 
to  the  authority  of  their  earthly  superiors,  and  denied  their  Lord  ;  but 


BALZER    OF    ZLONITZ.  577 

one  stood  faithful.  He  was  imprisoned,  and  soon  fell  sick,  when  a 
Jesuit  came  to  admonish  him  ;  but  he  said,  "  Away,  tempter !  To-day 
I  must  go  to  the  heavenly  sacrament  of  Christ."  He  soon  escaped  to 
paradise,  and  his  body  was  buried  like  that  of  Kochowez. 

The  Emperor  rewarded  the  diligence  of  Don  Martin  de  la  Huerda, 
by  giving  him  the  little  town  of  Dobrzich.  A  Clerk  in  that  place, 
unwilling  to  have  any  communication  with  the  new  Spanish  Lord, 
resigned  his  office,  and  engaged  himself  as  private  tutor  in  the 
family  of  a  miller.  Don  Martin,  enraged,  caused  both  the  miller  and 
his  tutor  to  be  brought  in  chains  to  the  castle  of  Welhartiz,  and 
thrown  into  the  filth  of  the  deepest  dungeon.  The  miller  was  soon 
liberated ;  but  the  Clerk  remained  there  a  whole  year,  when  existence 
could  no  longer  be  sustained.  Shortly  before  his  death,  he  sent  word 
to  Don  Martin  that  both  his  legs  had  rotted,  and  that  his  body  was 
full  of  worms.  Don  Martin  would  not  believe  it ;  and  equally  incre- 
dible must  it  have  been  to  him  that  the  martyr  sang  cheerful  hymns 
as  long  as  life  endured.  On  the  anniversary  of  his  imprisonment  he 
expired.  The  body  was  not  allowed  Christian  burial,  but  drawn  from 
the  dungeon  and  thrown  into  the  castle-ditch,  whence  a  shepherd  took 
it,  and  put  it  into  a  grave. 

Compulsory  recantations,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  pages, 
were  often  followed  by  sincere  and  honourable  confession.  So  it  was 
in  Bohemia.  A  company  of  twenty-nine  peasants,  all  of  them  restored 
confessors,  were  taken  prisoners  in  the  village  of  Zlonitz,  and  marched 
to  the  town  of  Schlan.  Their  faith  had  been  renewed  in  fraternal 
communion ;  and  they  had  eaten  bread  and  drunk  wine  in  remem- 
brance of  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  One  of  them,  named  Balzer, 
quite  unlettered,  but  well  taught  of  God,  officiated  as  their  Minister, 
and  might  have  long  continued  to  do  so,  but  their  landlord,  having 
turned  Papist,  thought  to  purchase  favour  by  delivering  up  Balzer  and 
his  brethren  to  the  Town-Council  of  Schlan.  Thither  they  went, 
singing  paschal  hymns  on  the  road,  and  were  brought  into  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Council.  The  articles  of  accusation  being  read,  Balzer 
was  called  on  to  answer  for  them  all.  He  asked  for  time  to  prepare 
a  written  answer,  which  was  granted ;  and,  being  unable  to  write,  he 
dictated  his  confession  in  Bohemian  to  this  effect  : — "  I  have  heard  the 
accusation  pronounced  against  me.  The  first  point  is,  that  I  have 
proved  faithless  to  God,  my  Creator,  and  to  my  own  conscience,  by 
having  embraced,  and  then  again  forsaken,  the  Catholic  religion,  and 
thus  become  guilty  of  perjury.  To  this  I  reply,  that  I  was  at  that 
time  induced  to  sin  against  God,  my  best  Judge,  only  by  the  most 
severe  imprisonment.  I  was  then  too  weak  in  faith,  and  did  not 
sufficiently  trust  in  God,  who  is  able  to  save  his  own  from  the  hands 
of  their  enemies.  I  felt  God's  chastisement  for  this  sin,  my  consci- 
ence being  troubled  during  a  whole  year,  so  that  I  scarcely  ventured 
to  hope  for  his  mercy.  Then,  remembering  that  sinners  of  old  found 
mercy  by  repentance,  I  called  upon  God  night  and  day,  moistening 
my  bed  with  tears  :  for  I  loathed  myself,  a  sinner.  And  God,  the 
true  and  the  just,  who  desires  not  our  destruction,  nor  the  death 
of  the  sinner,  but  that  he  should  turn  and  live,  did  in  his  own  time 

VOL.    III.  4    E 


5/8  CHAPTER    VIII. 

reveal  unto  me  his  mercy.  I  received  what  he  prayed  for.  He  sent 
me  an  angel,  and  my  eyes  saw  a  light  brighter  than  the  sun.  At 
that  instant  I  received  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  felt  myself  newly  born  : 
I  received  the  power  of  distinguishing  between  good  and  evil  spirits  ;  * 
and  with  this  gift  was  imparted  to  me  the  commission  to  reprove  the 
sins  of  men.  I  speak  no  untruths  :  for  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  con- 
cealed in  those  to  whom  he  is  given.  He  is  not  to  announce  future 
events  to  the  ivicked,  but  mercy  to  the  repenting  sinner.  For  which 
reason  I  was  forbidden  by  the  Holy  Ghost  from  exercising  any  works 
of  the  flesh,  or  worldly  desires,  which  rebel  against  the  righteous 
Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  against  his  elect  saints.  This 
is  also  well  known  to  the  Baron  Walkleun.  They  have  hindered  me 
these  four  years  from  proclaiming  the  truth  ;  but  the  more  they 
hindered  me,  the  more  did  God  strengthen  me  by  his  Holy  Spirit.  They 
may  also  remember  that  I  came  to  the  castle  of  Zlonitz  to  proclaim 
the  truth,  and  exhort  them  to  repentance,  as  the  Lord  Jesus  com- 
manded me  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  for  three  days  in  succession.  On  the 
last  of  these  days,  I  had  a  book  with  me.  As  my  accuser  says  that 
I  am  a  misleader  of  souls,  I  reply,  and  maintain,  that  it  is  certainly 
the  will  of  the  Lord  Jesus  that  you  also  should  hear  me.  They  were 
not  strong  enough  to  wrest  the  book  from  me  at  that  time," 
(although  the  possession  of  such  a  book  was  contrary  to  repeated 
edicts  and  proclamations,)  "  yet  they  refused  to  glorify  God."  The 
defence  was  continued  at  great  length,  and  of  so  unusual  a  kind,  that 
the  Jesuits  went  to  converse  with  him  in  the  prison  alone,  and, 
if  possible,  to  win  him  over  to  their  Church  again.  But  he  resisted 
manfully.  Although  only  a  layman,  as  he  said,  and  unable  either  to 
read  or  write,  he  believed  that  what  he  had  preached  was  not  of 
himself,  but  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  acknowledged  again  that  after  his 
fall  he  had  spent  a  year  in  sorrow.  "  But  at  last,"  said  he,  "  the 
Lord  Jesus  had  mercy  on  me,  and  showed  me  his  wounds,  through 
which  the  wounds  of  my  conscience  were  instantly  healed."  The 
Jesuits  persisted  in  disputation  ;  but  he  refuted  their  doctrine  by  the 
words  of  holy  writ,  and  predicted  punishment  on  the  persecutors,  and 
a  reunion  of  the  flock  of  Jesus  Christ,  then  dispersed  by  wolves. 
They  sent  him  to  Prague,  and  there  he  received  sentence  of  death, 
and  was  taken  to  the  gibbet  before  day-break  (August  14th,  1629), 
that  the  people  might  not  see  or  hear  him.  His  head  was  struck  off, 
his  body  quartered,  and  the  parts  were  exposed  on  the  public  roads. 

Precious,  in  those  days,  was  the  word  of  life.  When  religious 
meetings  could  not  be  held  in  towns,  people  would  go  away,  even  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  to  the  vast  native  forests,  and  penetrate  so  far  that 
no  sound  could  be  heard,  nor  any  trace  of  them  perceived.  Under 
the  trees  covered  with  snow  that  formed  a  solid  roof,  they  laid  up 

*  The  description  which  this  simple  peasant  gives  of  his  experience  must  not  be 
subjected  to  cold  criticism.  He  describes,  as  best  he  can,  a  great  change,  a  change 
of  heart,  and  a  special  communication  of  power  to  confess  the  Saviour  whom  he  had 
dishonoured,  with  a  commission  to  make  that  confession  openly,  for  the  restoration 
of  others.  He  had  also  grace,  being  recovered  from  his  fall,  to  "resist  even  unto 
blood."  And  it  may,  indeed,  have  pleased  God,  in  a  time  of  severe  conflict,  to  honour 
his  servant  with  an  extraordinary  manifestation,  just  as  he  describes  it. 


PRAGUE  TAKEN  BY  THE  SAXONS.  579 

their  waggons  and  tethered  the  horses.  With  the  straight  branches 
of  fir-trees  they  raised  commodious  huts,  which  gave  their  children 
shelter ;  and  in  the  open  spaces  they  made  fires.  From  the  rivers  and 
lakes  they  drew  fish  to  vary  their  repast.  Daily  worship  was  held 
without  fear.  A  bell  summoned  the  scattered  families  to  the  place 
of  congregation,  and  there  they  sang  from  rare  copies  of  the  old 
Bohemian  Hymn-book ;  and  a  Clergyman,  long  banished  from  the 
world,  a  tenant  of  the  wilderness,  set  forth  the  lively  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  administered  the  eucharistic  emblems  of  the  Lord's  death, 
just  after  the  manner  that  John  Huss  had  taught  their  fathers.  The 
trunk  of  a  tree,  felled  for  the  purpose,  and  cut  smooth,  served  as  a 
communion-table.  Villages  on  the  skirts  of  those  forests  were  some- 
times deserted,  except  by  children,  who  could  scarcely  be  trusted  with 
the  secret.  If  a  stranger  happened  to  ask  them  where  their  parents 
were,  they  would  answer,  "  In  the  forest ;"  a  sentence  as  familiar  to 
their  ear  as  "  in  the  field,"  or  "  at  the  plough." 

The  Gospel,  then,  was  not  suppressed,  but  Bohemia  was  ruined. 
No  more  liberty,  no  free  national  Diet,  scarcely  any  ancient  nobility, 
no  Bohemian  literature,  and  the  language  itself  half  forgotten,  except 
among  the  poor  and  in  the  villages  ;  arts  and  manufactures  almost 
extinct.  To  this  state  the  country  was  reduced  by  the  exile  of  thirty- 
six  thousand  families,  the  confiscation  of  estates,  the  slaughter  and 
ravages  of  war,  the  tyranny  of  Magistrates,  Priests,  Jesuits,  and 
Monks,  and  the  invasion  of  Germans. 

For  a  few  months,  indeed,  hope  dawned.  The  imperial  army  was 
defeated  by  the  Saxons  on  the  16th  of  August,  1631,  near  Leipsic,* 
and  the  victorious  host  marched  on  Prague,  whence  the  Archbishop 
and  civil  authorities  fled  in  consternation.  The  Elector  himself 
subsequently  came  to  Prague,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  castle 
of  Prince  Lichtenstein.  Many  other  towns  surrendered  to  Lutheran 
troops,  and  a  multitude  of  exiles  hastened  back  to  their  former  homes. 
When  the  Elector  made  his  public  entry  into  the  capital  (November 
20th)  more  than  thirty  Lutheran  Clergymen  went  to  the  Tein  church, 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  the  Protestants,  in  solemn  procession, 
and  there,  with  prayers  and  hymns,  supplicated  the  divine  mercy. 
Evangelical  worship  was  performed  there  with  great  solemnity  on  the 
first  Sunday  in  Advent.  Seventy  Ministers  read  the  service  before  a 
densely-crowded  congregation  in  the  morning  ;  and,  in  the  afternoon, 
the  skulls  of  the  noblemen  who  had  been  beheaded  ten  years  before 
were  taken  from  the  top  of  the  tower  where  they  had  been  exposed, 
placed  in  a  coffin  covered  with  silk,  and  carried  to  the  same  cathedral 
church,  an  immense  crowd  of  people  following  with  hymns.  A 
Protestant  Consistory  was  soon  formed,  the  Jesuits  were  expelled,  and, 
within  a  few  weeks,  two  thousand  Evangelical  Christians  who  had  not 
recanted  were  joined  by  five  thousand  who  again  professed  adherence 
to  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  The  Protestant  University  was 
restored,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  labours  of  some  devoted 
Ministers,  twenty-four  churches  were  again  established  in  Prague, 
with  no  fewer  than  fifteen  thousand  members.  A  similar  revival  took 

*  Tliis  \vas  during  the  Thirtr  Years'  War. 

4   E   2 


580  CHAPTER    VIII. 

place  all  over  Bohemia  ;  and  the  Papists  lamented  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  banishments  of  the  Clergy  and  the  various  persecutions  which 
they  had  carried  on  so  diligently,  their  labour  was  now  lost.  It  was  in 
great  part  lost ;  but  when  the  Elector  of  Saxony  had  been  nine  months 
in  possession  of  Prague,  it  was  retaken  by  the  Duke  of  Friedland, 
Saxons  evacuated  the  garrison,  the  Evangelical  Ministers  were  sent  out 
of  the  country  under  a  military  escort,  and  Popery  was  again  dominant. 

The  Jesuits  returned,  and,  by  forced  conversions,  imprisonments, 
and  banishments,  recovered  much  of  the  lost  ground,  yet  were  morti- 
fied to  find  that  the  hated  doctrine  could  not  be  eradicated,  but  that 
a  considerable  part  of  the  Bohemian  population  was  still  Protestant  in 
heart.  Eight  years  of  their  labour  scarcely  diminished  the  amount 
of  Evangelical  influence  in  all  classes  of  society,  and  again  an  edict  was 
published,  declaring  that  "no  one  should  be  tolerated  in  the  kingdom 
of  Bohemia  who  was  not  a  Catholic ; "  and  so  hotly  did  the  Jesuits 
pursue  their  vocation  of  hunting  down  heretics,  that  people  fled  from 
their  habitations  at  night,  and  (A.D.  1652)  out  of  the  domain  of 
Friedland  alone  there  were  counted  three  thousand  one  hundred  and 
eighty  fugitives  within  twelve  months.  To  disobey  the  most  unreason- 
able orders  was  to  incur  the  punishment  of  disobedience  to  the  civil 
authority ;  and,  under  this  colour,  they  imprisoned,  starved,  beheaded, 
or  burnt  Protestants  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other. 

Although  forbidden  to  remain  in  Bohemia,  they  were  punished 
if  overtaken  in  flight  towards  a  Protestant  state,  for  having  attempted 
to  go  to  an  enemy's  country.  Thus  an  aged  peasant,  named  Peschek, 
attempting  to  escape  from  the  village  of  Grusitz,  was  delated  by  some 
false  friend,  seized  in  his  own  house  at  night,  carried  to  the  castle 
of  Hradek,  in  the  domain  of  Wallenstein,  and  subjected  to  horrors 
indescribable, — to  starve  and  rot  in  an  inconceivably  filthy  dungeon. 
As  often  as  they  asked  him  if  he  would  renounce  his  heresy  and 
become  a  Catholic,  he  replied,  that  he  could  say  nothing  contrary  to 
the  word  of  God,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  die  in  the 
Papal  religion.  From  the  dungeon  he  was  taken  into  the  presence 
of  a  company  of  Jesuits,  who  asked  him  if  he  would  embrace  the 
Catholic  religion,  or  if  his  heart  was  so  full  of  the  devil  that  he  could 
by  no  means  be  reclaimed.  "  Dear  men,"  answered  he,  "  I  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  devil.  I  cleave  to  my  Lord  and  Redeemer, 
Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  my  sins,  and  rose  again  for  my  justifica- 
tion." They  agreed  that  he  deserved  to  be  burnt ;  and  the  aged 
sufferer,  hearing  this,  exclaimed,  in  an  agony  of  horror,  "  0  that  God 
would  take  me  from  this  world,  that  I  might  no  longer  hear  their 
blasphemies!  Fathers,  do  you  really  think  that  you  would  be 
justified  in  burning  me  ? "  Some  of  the  bystanders  were  so 
affected  that  they  could  not  refrain  from  shedding  tears  ;  but  the 
hardened  Jesuits,  irritated  at  that  expression  of  sympathy,  had  him 
sent  back  to  prison,  and,  before  thrusting  him  into  the  same  dungeon, 
the  jailer  scourged  him.  After  he  had  been  there  a  full  year  more, 
they  brought  him  forth  at  Easter,  questioned  him,  and  then  he  was 
tortured  by  the  Jesuits  and  the  Dean ;  but  they  could  not  extort  a 
recantation  of  his  belief  in  Christ.  Being  so  exhausted  by  his  torture 


PRESENT    STATE    OF    BOHEMIA.  581 

that  he  could  neither  raise  his  head,  nor  stand,  nor  even  speak,  they 
placed  him  in  a  less  horrible  prison,  where,  however,  he  could  no 
longer  eat  or  drink.  After  he  had  been  there  a  day  and  night,  some 
Jesuits  came  to  him  with  a  crucifix,  and  asked  if  he  would  acknow- 
ledge that  as  his  Saviour.  This  roused  his  prostrate  energies,  and  he 
answered  aloud,  "  I  know  and  fully  believe  that  Christ,  and  not  this 
wood,  has  been  crucified  for  me.  Christ,  who  is  indeed  both  man 
and  God,  died  for  me."  Astounded  at  this  unexpected  burst  of  life, 
they  stood  mute  for  a  moment,  and  gnashed  their  teeth ;  and  then, 
having  repeated  those  endeavours  without  the  least  effect,  declared 
that  such  a  hardened  heretic  deserved  nothing  better  than  to  be 
thrown  on  the  fire,  or  flung  to  the  wild  beasts  in  the  open  field. 
"  In  God's  name,"  said  he,  "  do  with  me  what  you  will.  Whether 
you  burn  me,  or  wild  beasts  devour  me,  I  am  sure  that  my  Redeemer, 
Jesus  Christ,  will  take  my  soul  to  heaven.  0  Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy 
on  me ! "  He  then  began  the  Lord's  Prayer  ;  but,  before  his  lips 
could  utter  the  last  sentence,  the  Lord  released  his  happy  spirit. 
Utterance  ceased.  He  had  fallen  asleep  in  Christ.  One  of  the 
spectators  *  tells  us  that  many  stood  around,  looking  on  that  placid 
countenance  with  bleeding  hearts,  and  that  he  often  wept  when 
remembering  the  scene.  The  tormentors  had  no  pity,  but,  balked 
of  their  intent,  walked  sullenly  away. 

Here  must  end  our  sketch  of  the  Bohemian  persecutions ;  briefly 
noting  that,  for  more  than  a  century  after  the  martyrdom  of  Peschek, 
the  few  Bohemians  who  dared  to  remain  without  the  pale  of  Romanism 
suffered  all  manner  of  vexations,  and  often  imprisonment  and  death. 
But  great  numbers  complied  outwardly,  retaining  their  belief  in  Evan- 
gelical doctrine,  secretly  reading,  praying,  and  receiving  visits  from 
foreign  Ministers,  who  came  to  them  in  disguise  and  with  great  peril. 
But  in  the  year  1773  the  Jesuits  were  expelled,  and,  in  1781,  the 
Emperor  Joseph  II.,  by  his  "  Toleration  Edict,"  bestowed  on  Pro- 
testants a  sort  of  liberty,  clogged  with  many  unworthy  and  frivolous 
restrictions, — such  a  shadow  of  religious  freedom  as  we  are  at 
this  day  allowed  at  Rome,  where  we  may  worship  in  a  granary,  or 
meeting-house,  outside  the  walls,  being  denied  even  there  the  use 
of  an  edifice  having  the  name  or  appearance  of  a  church.  Such  a 
liberty  was  then  granted  by  that  remarkable  Sovereign,  who  probably 
gave  as  much  as  he  could  venture  to  do,  without  endangering  his 
crown.  Our  present  condition  in  Bohemia  depends,  in  great  measure, 
on  the  caprice  or  policy  of  the  Austrian  Government  from  one  moment 
to  another,  religion  being,  to  their  apprehension,  a  political  matter. 

The  affairs  of  Bohemia  in  1618  withdrew  our  attention  from 
Poland,  of  which  country  there  is  not  much  more  to  be  related  in 
fulfilment  of  our  present  object.  The  spread  of  Socinianism,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  confusion  of  ecclesiastical  and  political  questions,  on 
the  other,  often  render  it  impossible  to  recognise  suffering  Protestants 
as  confessors  of  Christ.  Perhaps,  if  it  were  possible  to  supply  the 
defects  of  religious  history  in  Poland,  a  Martyrology  might  be  formed 

*  Holyk,  a  son  of  Protestant  parents,  taken  to  a  Jesuit  school  by  force,  and  made  a 
Jesuit.  He  afterwards  effected  his  escapr. 


582  CHAPTER    VIII. 

by  collecting  names  and  incidents  scarcely  known  to  the  historians 
of  the  seventeenth  and  following  centuries.  It  is  interesting,  how- 
ever, to  observe  that  in  Poland,  as  in  many  other  lands,  our  own 
countrymen,  for  so  the  Scotch  are  certainly  to  be  accounted,  were 
not  last  in  suffering  persecution  for  Christ's  sake.  At  Lublin  (A.D. 
1627,  circ.),  while  the  Evangelical  nobility  used  their  privilege  for  the 
protection  of  congregations  assembling  in  their  houses,  the  wife  of 
William  Tuck,  a  Scottish  merchant,  frequented  one  of  those  congre- 
gations. For  this  offence,  and  being  a  foreigner,  she  was  summoned 
to  answer  for  herself  in  a  civil  court.  To  the  questions,  Was  she  a 
Catholic  ?  and,  Did  she  confess  ?  she  answered,  "  I  am  a  woman  who 
believe  the  Gospel ;  and  to  God  alone,  against  whom  I  have  sinned, 
I  confess  my  sins."  They  inquire  who  has  perverted  her.  "  God," 
she  answers,  "  has  wrought  this  work  in  my  heart :  wherefore  I  owe 
him  eternal  thanks."  She  must  abjure,  they  say,  or  go  to  prison. 
The  mother  of  five  children,  and  one  of  them  yet  hanging  on  her 
breast,  is  to  be  separated  from  them,  and  perhaps  leave  them  orphans  ; 
but  she  declares  herself  ready  to  leave  them,  if  God  wills  it.  Many 
persons  of  rank  crowd  the  court,  and  intercede  for  the  foreign  lady  ; 
but  in  vain.  She  is  threatened  with  dungeon  and  rack,  if  she  will 
not  "repent,"  and  three  days  are  given  her  for  consideration.  All 
the  population  of  Lublin  is  aroused  on  her  behalf;  but  the  authorities, 
clerical  and  civic,  threaten  the  inhabitants  with  punishment  if  they 
encourage  heresy,  and  force  them  to  be  silent.  She  cannot  yield. 
Her  heart  is  fixed.  Therefore  she  is  taken  away  to  prison.  No 
Evangelical  is  allowed  to  see  her  ;  but  the  Jesuits,  a  folk  that  hover 
around  the  dungeons,  like  vultures  over  carcases,  importune  her  to 
apostatize.  But  she  is  constant ;  nothing  can  subdue  her  noble 
spirit.  By  dread  of  consequences  God  reins  in  the  fury  of  the  perse- 
cutors, and  she  is  restored  to  her  husband  and  their  children  with  an 
unspotted  conscience.  The  Jesuits  revenge  themselves  by  a  few  riotous 
attacks  on  the  houses  of  "  Evangelicals  ;"  but  now  they  rage  in  vain 
(A.D.  1627).  It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  religious  history 
of  the  Scotch  residents  in  Poland  ;  but  this  we  cannot  do,  and  merely 
observe  that,  a  few  years  after  the  imprisonment  of  this  lady,  they 
were  forbidden  to  sing  psalms  or  hymns  in  their  families,  or  to  have 
sermons  preached  in  their  houses  at  Lublin,  and  that  one  of  their 
funeral  processions  was  attacked  and  a  Scotchman  killed  (A.D.  1633). 
A  Polish  Physician,  Macovius,  was  imprisoned  at  the  same  time,  and 
would  probably  have  lost  his  life,  but  the  nobles  ransomed  him  by 
paying  thirteen  thousand  florins  to  the  Monks  of  St.  Bernard  ;  and 
Macovius  walked  out  of  prison,  singing  the  thirty-fifth  Psalm  :  "  Plead 
my  cause,  0  Lord,  with  them  that  strive  with  me,"  &c. 

On  the  northmost  curve  of  the  Carpathian  mountains,  and  extend- 
ing partly  into  the  Hungarian  and  partly  into  the  Galician  territory, 
as  they  are  now  divided,  lay  the  Hungarian  county  of  Zips,  subject, 
at  the  period  in  which  we  begin  a  brief  survey  of  the  state  of  the 
persecuted  Christians  of  Hungary,  to  the  King  of  Poland.  Lutherans 
and  Helvetians  (or  Calvinists)  had  multiplied  in  Hungary,  built 
churches,  and,  under  the  divine  blessing,  spread  the  knowledge  of 


HUNGARY.  583 

Christianity  so  widely,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  population  had 
become  Evangelical  in  doctrine.  The  Captaincy  of  the  "  Thirteen 
Towns "  had  gradually  passed  over  to  the  Confession  of  Augsburg, 
and  transferred  their  churches  to  Lutheran  Ministers,  leaving  the 
Romish  Priests  few  in  number,  and  reduced  to  poverty.  The  Kings 
of  Poland  and  of  Hungary  either  had  been  unwilling  to  injure  them, 
or,  when  urged  by  Jesuits  and  Priests  to  persecute,  had  been  prevented 
by  manifest  interpositions  of  a  superior  Power. 

At  last,  Martin  Petheo,  Bishop  of  Kirchdrauf,  paid  this  district  a 
canonical  visitation,  found  many,  perhaps  most,  of  the  churches  in 
possession  of  Lutherans,  and  exhibited  mandates  from  the  Emperor, 
Rudolph  II.,  and  the  King  of  Poland,  Sigismund  III.,  requiring  them 
to  be  surrendered  to  "  true  parish  Priests."  These  documents  he 
produced  in  a  meeting  of  the  Chapter  of  Zips  (September  llth, 
1604),  and  issued  a  requisition  to  the  Count  of  the  Thirteen  Towns, 
to  carry  the  imperial  and  royal  pleasure  into  execution,  depicting  the 
terrible  consequences  of  disobedience.  The  Count,  Martin  Pilcz, 
repliedj  that  the  people  of  the  Thirteen  Towns  were  indeed  bounden 
to  obey  the  King ;  but,  seeing  that  such  a  mandate  was  repugnant  to 
the  law  of  God,  and  could  not  be  executed  without  endangering  the 
salvation  of  souls,  and,  further,  considering  it  to  be  contrary  to  the 
constitution  of  Poland,  he  thought  that  they  should  lay  the  case 
of  the  demanded  churches  before  His  Majesty.  After  long  dispute, 
Petheo  consented  to  appeal,  and  sent  a  Canon  of  the  Chapter  to 
Cracow  to  accuse  the  Evangelicals  of  contumacy,  while  Pilcz  and 
three  others  went  thither  from  the  Thirteen  Towns,  and  made  their 
first  application  to  the  Prince  Sebastian  Lubomirski,  whose  valour  in 
war  had  earned  him  honour  and  reward  from  Rudolph.  He  acknow- 
ledged that,  as  they  pleaded,  the  Towns  had  the  right  of  presentation 
to  their  churches,  and  advised  them  to  apply  to  Sigismund  while  he 
himself  withdrew  from  Cracow  to  avoid  being  drawn  into  further 
consultation ;  and  instructed  them  that,  even  if  the  King  persisted  in 
his  demand,  they  should  return  home,  and  keep  possession  of  the 
churches  for  the  present,  as  the  law  required  previous  knowledge  and 
consent  of  the  Prince  to  all  such  orders,  which  consent  had  not  been 
had.  Lubomirski  withdrew  from  Cracow,  to  avoid  participation  in 
the  royal  counsels  ;  and  the  deputies,  after  long  delay,  prevailed  on 
the  King  to  examine  evidence  that  their  constituents  had  the  right 
of  presenting  Ministers  to  the  churches.  Ministers,  he  replied,  they 
might  present,  but  not  Pastors,  who  were  unknown  in  law  ;  and  there- 
fore they  must  surrender  the  churches  to  Martin  Petheo,  Archbishop 
of  Kolocza,*  or  pay  twenty  thousand  florins.  They  wished  to  explain 
that  Pastors  were  Ministers  ;  but  Sigismund  drily  answered,  "  With 
you  they  may  be,  but  not  with  us."  Finding  that  the  King  could 
not  be  prevailed  on  to  do  them  justice,  they  made  no  further  applica- 
tion to  him,  but,  while  two  of  them  hastened  back  to  Zips,  Pilcz,  as 
Count  and  guardian  of  the  Thirteen  Towns,  went  with  the  other  to 
the  Prince,  in  his  retreat  at  Nowajowa,  near  the  capital  of  the  county, 
and  was  by  him  directed  not  to  give  up  the  churches  until  he  should 

*  Recently  promoted  to  that  dignity. 


584  CHAPTER    VIII. 

have  received  royal  order,  duly  countersigned.  Ignorant  of  this 
arrangement,  the  Archbishop  returned  full  of  confidence,  assembled 
his  Chapter  at  Kolocza,  summoned  the  Count  thither,  and  required 
him  to  immediately  put  Priests  into  possession  of  the  churches,  or 
pay  the  fine  of  twenty  thousand  florins.  But  Pilcz  withstood  the 
demand  ;  maintained  that  such  a  royal  order  would  be  contrary  to  the 
Evangelical  religion,  and  to  the  good  of  souls  ;  and  that,  although  the 
authority  of  the  King  was  superior  to  his  own,  it  would  be  incomplete 
unless  sustained  by  the  consent  of  the  Prince,  which  consent  had  not 
been  given.  Petheo  threatened  to  employ  force ;  but  the  Count 
placed  guards  around  the  churches,  the  congregations  continued  to 
assemble,  and  the  Primate  of  Hungary  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
Lutheran  Ministers  in  possession  of  their  own.  After  this  event, 
Count  George  Thurzo,  Palatine  and  Viceroy  of  Hungary,  as  friend 
of  the  Evangelicals,  endeavoured  to  obtain  for  the  churches  the 
position  of  a  national  establishment,  and  the  national  Diet  constituted 
the  Evangelical  Ministers  an  independent  ecclesiastical  order  (A.D. 
1608).  But  the  negotiations  eventually  failed,  after  having  betrayed 
some  of  the  Pastors  into  an  assumption  of  temporal  state  as  legally 
appointed  Prelates,  and  after  one  of  them,  Xylander,  had  reluctantly 
accepted  a  sort  of  archiepiscopal  dignity,  as  Superintendent  of  two 
counties  (A.D.  1614). 

At  this  point  may  be  dated  the  commencement  of  Hungarian 
persecutions.  Cardinal  Francis  Forgats,  Archbishop  of  Gran,  (Strigo- 
nium,)  used  his  utmost  influence  to  put  a  stop  to  this  odious 
promotion  of  Lutherans  under  a  Popish  government.  He  thought  it 
insufferable  that  a  Romish  and  a  Lutheran  Archbishop  should  exist 
together  within  the  same  territory,  and  did  not  rest  until  Xylander 
had  resigned  his  office.  After  this  humiliation  came  other  troubles. 
Stanislaus  Lubomirski,  unlike  his  father,  who  had  lately  died,  began 
by  fining  a  Pastor  three  hundred  florins  for  some  irregularity,  and 
threatened  to  expel  all  the  Pastors  from  the  Thirteen  Towns.  George 
Thurzo  interfered  on  their  behalf,  and  pleaded  a  privilege  obtained 
from  the  Emperor  Rudolph  II.,  who  constituted  a  Captain-General, 
John  Ruebez,  and  his  successors,  protectors  of  the  Pastors  against 
vexations  of  Polish  officers.  But  Lubomirski  treated  the  plea  with 
scorn,  and  threatened  to  take  forcible  possession  of  the  churches. 
With  that  intent  he  came  to  Kirchdrauf,  bringing  a  large  train  of 
horse  and  foot  (April  9th,  1616) ;  but  was  restrained  from  the 
execution  of  his  purpose  by  the  advice  of  more  prudent  men,  and  by 
letters  from  the  King  himself. 

But  after  the  death  of  Matthias,  and  the  accession  of  Ferdinand 
II.  to  the  throne  of  Hungary  (A.D.  1619),  the  condition  of  the 
Evangelicals  became  intolerable.  They  were  provoked  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  Bethlen  Gabor,  Duke  of  Transylvania,  to  endeavour  to  cast 
off  the  yoke  of  one  whom  all  Hungary  regarded  as  a  usurper  of  the 
throne.  Ferdinand,  hoping  to  disarm  this  opposition,  had  sworn  to 
observe  the  Pacification  of  Vienna,  and  allow  freedom  of  worship 
according  to  its  articles ;  but  the  oath  was  not  kept,  and  Bethlen 
gave  battle  to  the  imperial  army,  won  a  victory,  and  compelled  him 


A  PRIEST'S  CURSE.  585 

again  to  promise  the  Hungarians  of  both  Confessions  freedom  in  the 
exercise  of  their  religious  rights  (A.D.  1621).  Again  the  promise 
was  broken,  nnd  again  the  Transylvanian  compelled  him  to  repeat  it 
(A.D.  1624).  But  nothing  could  bind  a  man  whom  the  disciples 
of  Loyola  governed,  and  whom  they  taught  that  faith  should  not  be 
kept  v,ith  heretics.  He  therefore  contrived  covertly  to  sanction 
persecution,  and  found  a  ready  agent  in  one  Pazmann,  a  renegade 
from  the  Evangelical  religion,  recently  elevated  to  the  archbishopric 
of  Gran.  With  exhaustless  ingenuity  this  man  allured  a  multitude 
of  the  humbler  classes  into  the  toils  of  Romanism,  together  with  no 
fewer  than  fifty  noble  families.  The  tide  of  political  influence  now 
ran  strong  against  the  Gospel.  And  in  a  few  years  the  rising 
priesthood  felt  themselves  powerful  enough  to  claim  jurisdiction  over 
the  Evangelical  Ministers  and  their  flocks,  and  smite  them  with 
anathema  *  for  refusal  to  submit.  In  the  town  of  Filka  a  woman 
long  forsaken  by  her  husband,  who  had  left  the  country,  applied  for 

*  The  anathema  pronounced  by  Peter  Pazmann  is  too  copious  in  terms  of  malediction, 
too  faithfully  illustrative  of  the  spirit  of  hate,  to  be  withheld  from  the  English  reader — 
"  By  the  authority,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  Amen.  And  with  Pontius  Pilate,  and  with  those  who 
said  to  the  Lord,  '  Depart  from  us,  we  will  not  have  thy  knowledge.'  May  their  child- 
ren be  made  orphans :  may  they  be  cursed  in  the  city,  cursed  in  the  farm,  in  the  field, 
in  the  forest,  in  the  house  :  cursed  in  barns,  in  beds,  in  chambers  :  cursed  at  court,  on 
the  way,  in  the  city :  cursed  in  camp  and  in  river  :  cursed  in  church,  in  graveyard  : 
cursed  in  courts  of  justice  :  cursed  in  the  court  of  law  and  in  the  field  of  battle  :  cursed 
in  praying,  in  speaking,  in  keeping  silence,  in  eating,  waking,  sleeping,  drinking,  touch- 
ing, sitting,  lying,  standing  :  cursed  in  time  of  leisure,  cxirsed  in  every  time.  May 
they  be  cursed  in  all  their  body,  in  all  their  soul,  and  in  the  five  senses  of  the  body. 
Cursed  be  the  fruit  of  their  womb  ;  cursed  be  the  fruit  of  their  land  ;  cursed  be  all 
belonging  to  them.  Cursed  be  their  head,  face,  nostrils,  nose,  lips,  roof  of  the  mouth, 
teeth,  eyes,  black  of  the  eyes,  brain,  palate,  tongue,  throat,  chest,  heart,  belly,  liver, 
all  the  bowels.  Cursed  be  their  stomach,  spleen,  navel,  bladder.  Cursed  be  their  legs, 
shins,  feet  and  toes.  Cursed  be  their  neck,  shoulders,  sides,  arms  and  fore-arms. 
Cursed  be  their  hands  and  fingers.  Cursed  be  the  nails  on  their  fingers  and  toes. 

Cursed  he  their  ribs,  their "  (genitura),  "  their  knees,   their  flesh,  their  bones. 

Cursed  be  their  blood,  their  skin,  the  marrow  in  their  bones,  and  whatever  is  within 
them.  May  they  be  cursed  by  the  passion  of  Christ,  and  with  the  five  wounds  of  Christ, 
and  with  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  with  the  milk  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

"  I  adjure  thee,  O  Lucifer,  and  all  thy  servants,  with  the  Father  also,  and  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  with  the  humanity  and  nativity  of  the  Lord,  and  with  the  power 
of  all  saints,  that  thou  rest  not,  day  nor  night,  until  thou  bring  them  to  destruction, 
whether  they  be  drowned  in  rivers,  or  hung,  or  devoured  by  beasts,  or  burnt,  or  slain  by 
enemies.  Let  them  be  hated  by  all  living,  though  only  their  ghosts  remain.  And  as 
the  Lord  gave  power  to  Peter  and  to  his  successors,  in  whose  place  we  act,  and  to  us 
although  unworthy,  that  whatever  we  hound  on  earth  should  be  bound  in  heaven,  and 
whatever  we  loosed  on  earth  should  be  loosed  in  heaven,  even  so  we  shut  heaven  against 
them,  and  deny  them  earth  for  burial ;  but  let  them  be  buried  in  the  fields  with  asses, 
and  let  the  ground  be  cursed  in  which  their  grave  is  made.  Let  them  perish  in  the 
judgment  to  come.  Let  them  have  no  conversation  with  Christians,  nor  take  the  body 
of  the  Lord  when  in  the  article  of  death.  Let  them  be  like  dust  before  the  wind  ;  and 
as  Lucifer  was  cast  out  of  heaven,  and  as  Adam  and  Eve  were  driven  out  of  Paradise,  so 
let  them  be  chased  from  the  light  of  day.  Also  let  them  be  joined  with  those  to  whom 
the  Lord  shall  say,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  '  Go,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  which 
is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  their  fire  is 
not  quenched.'  And  as  this  candle  is  extinguished  out  of  my  hands,  thus  may  their 
bodies  and  their  souls  be  quenched  in  the  stench  of  hell,  unless  they  return  what  they 
have  stolen,  within  a  certain  time."  Then  follows  a  rubric.  "Let  all  say,  AMEN. 
Then  sing  :  '  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death.'  " — (Historia  Ecclesiae  Evangelicae 
August.  Confess.  Addict,  in  Hungaria,  &c.  Halberstadt,  1830.  In  Appendice.)  You 
may  imagine  that  an  incarnate  fiend  holds  in  his  gripe  a  living  man,  and  gloats  over 
every  part  and  member  of  the  body  that  he  is  just  going  to  devour. 

VOL.    III.  4    F 


586  CHAPTER    VIII. 

a  divorce,  and,  after  the  legal  formalities  had  been  gone  through,  the 
Pastor  of  Kirchdrauf,  John  Pilemann,  consented  to  marry  her  to  an 
inhabitant  of  that  town.  But  the  Dean  of  the  Chapter  of  Zips, 
Hoszszuthoty,  sent  him  a  messenger  commanding  him  not  to  perform 
the  marriage.  Pilemann,  surprised  at  such  an  interference,  merely 
said  to  the  bearer  of  the  interdict,  "  What  has  the  Dean  to  do  with 
me  ? "  and,  treating  the  interference  with  contempt,  married  the 
couple.  Burning  with  anger,  the  Dean  appealed  to  the  Archbishop, 
by  this  time  rewarded  with  a  scarlet  gown,  and  known  as  Cardinal 
Pazmann,  who  instituted  a  suit  against  the  disobedient  Minister,  laid 
an  interdict  on  him  and  his  two  colleagues,  extorted,  with  royal 
sanction,  a  fine  of  fifty  florins  to  placate  the  Dean,  and  amerced  the 
Evangelicals  of  Kirchdrauf  in  a  multitude  of  costs  (A.D.  1634). 

This  is  but  one  example  of  the  injustice  and  violence  which  had 
now  become  prevalent.  On  the  death  of  Ferdinand  II.  the  worship- 
pers of  God  in  Hungary  hoped  for  some  amelioration  of  their  condi- 
tion ;  and  Ferdinand  III.  did  indeed  give  them  fair  words,  but 
nothing  more.  The  Priests  were  permitted  to  employ  every  method 
of  deceit  and  violence  with  impunity.  Pazmann  raged  without  restraint, 
and  the  Popish  nobles  helped  him  to  lay  waste  the  church  of  Christ. 
Evangelical  Pastors  were  dismissed  on  the  most  frivolous  pretences, 
and  mass-Priests  substituted  for  them.  With  grief  and  indignation 
the  Evangelical  Hungarians  had  appealed  to  the  new  King  in  a  Diet 
at  Presburg  (A.D.  1637),  for  the  recall  of  their  exiled  Ministers,  and 
for  the  restoration  of  their  churches  and  schools  ;  but  he  said  that  he 
was  too  busy  to  investigate  their  case  until  after  the  close  of  the  Diet, 
when  the  promise  was  not  kept,  and,  in  a  short  time,  the  Evangelicals 
deplored  the  loss  of  about  three  hundred  churches.  Multitudes  of 
people  were  compelled,  by  dreadful  threatenings  and  correspondent 
violence,  to  abjure  the  Christian  faith  and  profess  Popery.  Again 
and  again  the  sufferers  implored  the  King  to  protect  them  ;  but 
utterly  in  vain  ;  and,  at  last,  they  threw  themselves  at  the  feet  of 
George  Rakoczy,  Duke  of  Transylvania,  who,  like  his  predecessor 
Bethlen,  responded  to  the  call,  invaded  Hungary,  and  conquered  all 
the  country  as  he  came,  up  to  the  gates  of  Presburg.  Terrified  by 
the  presence  of  so  powerful  an  enemy,  Ferdinand  III.  purchased 
Hungary  by  the  form  of  a  large  concession,  ratified  at  Linz  (Septem- 
ber 16th,  1645),  confirming  previous  decrees  in  favour  of  religious 
liberty,  especially  that  of  1608.  The  Evangelicals  of  both  the 
Augustan  and  Helvetian  Confessions  were  to  have  possession  of  their 
churches,  with  use  of  bells  and  burial-grounds.  The  peasants  were 
to  exercise  their  religion  freely,  without  hinderance  by  any  civil 
authority  or  feudal  lord.  All  Evangelicals,  including  tradesmen  and 
mechanics,  were  exempted  from  obligation  to  join  in  Popish  ceremo- 
nies. No  one  was  to  remove  a  "  noil-Catholic "  Minister  from  his 
station  ;  and  those  who  were  then  in  exile  had  permission  to  return, 
or  others  might  be  appointed  in  their  stead.  Churches  taken  from 
them  were  to  be  restored,  to  the  number  of  ninety,  and  lands,  with 
all  the  revenues.  New  congregations,  or  daughter-churches,  with 
Ministers,  might  be  established.  They  were  to  be  allowed  entire 


PERFIDY    OF    LEOPOLD    I.  587 

freedom  of  communion  and  conference,  and  all  their  remaining 
grievances  were  to  be  examined  in  the  next  Diet.  For  the  erection 
of  new  churches  and  schools  they  were  to  have  assistance  from  the 
state.  No  Hungarian  was  to  be  called  on  for  contribution  to  any 
other  church  than  his  own,  which,  however,  he  was  required  to 
support.  The  Hungarians  renewed  their  allegiance  to  Ferdinand  III. 
Rakoczy  returned  to  Transylvania,  Ferdinand  went  about  the  affairs 
of  his  empire,  the  Priests  resumed  their  craft ;  of  the  ninety  churches 
promised,  few  were  restored,  and  of  those  few  nearly  all  were  taken 
from  them  again  under  various  pretexts.  The  third  Ferdinand 
emulated  the  glory  of  the  second  in  the  eyes  of  Rome  for  perfidy  and 
oppression  towards  heretics.  Civil  authorities  watched  the  nod  of 
King  and  Priests,  and,  throwing  open  their  tribunals  to  Evangelical 
Clergymen  whom  their  ecclesiastical  authorities  had  condemned, 
annulled  the  decisions,*  or  condemned  those  whom  their  own 
superiors  had  acquitted,  so  that  not  even  spiritual  discipline  could  be 
enforced. 

Leopold  I.  next  took  the  sceptre  of  Hungary,  and,  like  others, 
swore  at  his  coronation  to  maintain  the  laws  under  which  his  Evan- 
gelical subjects  ought  to  be  protected  (A.D.  1655).  For  several  years 
he  avoided  appearing  in  any  act  of  persecution,  and  even  confirmed 
the  "pacification  of  Linz  "  (A.D.  1659),  at  the  very  moment  when 
the  Romanists  were  concerting  a  deep-laid  plot  for  the  extirpation 
of  all  true  religion  out  of  the  kingdom.  Their  machinations  were 
slow,  but  well  calculated ;  and  an  accumulation  of  sufferings  roused 
the  Evangelical  nobles  to  demand,  in  the  national  Diet  (A.D.  1662), 
that  the  grievances  of  their  brethren  should  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion before  any  other  business.  The  dominant  party  objected,  and, 
by  majority,  resolved  the  contrary ;  and  they  retired  in  disgust.  This 
retreat  left  all  power  in  the  hands  of  the  persecutors,  who  did  not 
lose  the  opportunity ;  and  the  destructive  policy  which  had  driven 
them  to  invite  the  interference  of  Bethlen  and  Rakoczy  was  made  use 
of  as  vigorously  as  ever,  probably  in  hope  of  driving  them  again  to 
the  same  extremity. 

The  misgovernment  of  Leopold  produced  wide-spread  discontent.  The 
Hungarian  nobles,  in  general,  were  incensed  against  him,  and  entered 
into  an  extensive  conspiracy  to  deprive  him  of  the  crown.  As  an 
elected  Sovereign,  he  reigned  by  virtue  of  a  compact  ;  and  by  this 
compact  the  Hungarians,  like  the  Bohemians,  were  allowed  to  avenge 
any  breach  of  the  constitution,  on  part  of  the  King,  by  an  armed 
revolt. f  And  they  secretly  conspired  in  preparation  for  that  last 
resource.  The  conspiracy  was  discovered  to  him  by  spies ;  and, 
instead  of  taking  measures  to  appease  the  discontent,  he  poured 
troops  into  the  country,  and  considering  the  "  non-Catholics  "  whom 
he  had  chiefly  wronged  to  be,  therefore,  the  most  dangerous,  he 
encouraged  their  enemies  to  aggravate  the  persecution.  At  the  same 

*  The  reader  will  have  observed  that  "  Evangelical "  was  the  usual  denominational 
term  in  Hungary,  inclusive  of  the  two  Confessions. 

I  It  behoves  the  historian  to  relate  this  law  without  any  note  of  censure  or  approval. 
To  the  Slave  and  Magyar  it  was  lav: 

4   F  2 


588  CHAPTER    VIII. 

time  the  Turks,  naturally  hostile,  occupied  a  part  of  Hungary ;  while 
the  French  King,  being  at  war  with  him,  sent  emissaries  into  the 
country  to  fan  the  flame.  Then  fell  terrific  vengeance  on  the 
Evangelicals. 

As  no  true  witnesses  could  be  found  to  criminate  the  Ministers, 
who  had  kept  themselves  clear  of  all  participation  in  the  scheme, 
a  false  witness  had  to  be  suborned.  A  former  page  of  one  of  the 
insurgent  Lords  who  had  gone  into  Transylvania,  presented  himself 
at  Vienna,  and  stated  to  the  Privy  Councillors  that  his  master 
was  in  possession  of  treasonable  letters,  written  from  Presburg  by 
Stephen  Withnyedi,  an  Evangelical  nobleman.  They  bargained  to 
give  him  a  thousand  dollars  if  he  would  bring  the  originals,  and 
advanced  a  hundred  to  enable  him  to  fetch  them.  Of  course  he 
brought  letters.  Two  letters,*  written  in  cipher,  by  himself  or  an 
accomplice,  were  brought  to  Vienna,  and  the  fellow  took  the  price 
of  blood.  Withnyedi  was  made  to  write  as  if  there  had  been  an 
organized  correspondence  between  the  Evangelicals  of  Hungary  and  all 
the  neighbouring  countries,  in  order  to  unite  with  Turks  and  French 
against  Leopold  ;  and  as  if  the  Lutheran  Superintendents  of  several 
places,  with  other  Ministers,  under  their  instructions,  were  taking  the 
lead  in  preparing  the  people  for  an  insurrection,  "  as  the  Levites  went 
before  the  ark."  The  clumsiness  of  the  forgery,  representing  as  chief 
actors  persons  who  had  no  existence,  and  the  improbability  that  a 
discharged  servant  should  have  been  privy  to  a  grave  political  secret 
of  his  master,  or  that  such  an  one  should  fail  to  produce  papers  for 
which  he  was  already  bribed,  did  not  deter  the  persecutors  from  con- 
summating their  design.  Even  the  Romish  historians  acquit  the 
helpless  and  unoffending  Ministers  of  all  complicity ;  and  the  facts 
that  the  chief  conspirators  were  all  Romanists,  and  that  before  this 
pretended  discovery  Evangelical  churches  had  been  seized,  many 
Ministers  banished,  and  those  of  them  who  were  so  weak  as  to  abjure, 
pardoned  and  promoted,  show  that  the  real  ground  of  offence  was 
religion,  not  conspiracy. 

The  proceedings  of  Government  were  not  such  as  a  real  conspiracy 
would  have  called  forth.  First,  they  cited  a  few  Ministers  from  Pres- 
burg, chiefly  Lutherans, — the  number  of  Calvinists  having  been  much 
reduced  by  banishment, — to  appear  at  Tyrnau  (May,  16/2).  No 
witnesses  were  produced,  nor  was  there  any  examination  of  evidence ; 
but  one  of  three  things  was  demanded.  1.  That  the  Ministers 
of  both  Confessions,  there  present,  should  sign  a  resignation  of  their 
ministry,  within  the  kingdom  of  Hungary,  under  pain  of  death,  and 
confiscation  of  goods,  to  avoid  the  trial  then  imminent.  Or,  2.  To 
subscribe  an  obligation  to  depart  the  kingdom  within  thirty  days, 
never  to  return,  under  the  like  penalty.  Whichever  of  these  forms 
they  chose,  contained  a  declaration  that  they  did  it  of  their  own 

*  These  letters  are  given  in  "  A  Short  Memorial  of  the  most  grievous  Sufferings  of 
the  Ministers  of  the  Protestant  Churches  in  Hungary,  hy  the  Instigation  of  the  Popish 
Clergy  there  :  and  of  the  Release  of  such  of  them  as  are  yet  alive,  nineteen  of  them 
having  died  under  the  Cruelties  of  their  Persecutors,  and  ohtained  the  Crown  of  Martyr- 
dom. London,  1676. " 


THE    CONFESSORS    OF    FRESBURG.  589 

accord,  and  uncompelled,  to  avoid  sentence  for  the  crime  of  which 
they  were  guilty.  Or,  3.  To  become  Papists.  They  could  not  con- 
fess a  crime  which  they  had  not  committed,  nor  would  they  abjure 
their  faith  in  Christ ;  but  suffered  sentence  of  death.  Their  number 
and  names  seem  to  be  unknown. 

After  these,  three  Superintendents,  with  several  Elders  and  Pastors 
of  the  counties  of  Sohl,  Thurocz,  and  Liptau,  were  brought  up  to 
Presburg  (September  25th,  1673),  before  George  Szelepts^ny,  at  the 
same  time  Archbishop  of  Gran,  and  Viceroy  of  Hungary.  On  his 
right  hand  sat  George  Szecseuyi,  Archbishop  of  Kolocza,  six  Bishops, 
Abbots,  and  other  dignitaries,  with  two  laymen  in  high  office ;  on 
his  left,  eleven  lay  officials.  The  Ministers  were  not  tried,  but  pro- 
nounced guilty  of  high  treason,  and  required  to  make  one  of  the  three 
subscriptions.  Several,  perhaps  intimidated  by  the  fate  of  their 
predecessors,  signed  the  first  or  second.  A  few,  but  they  principal 
men,  were  lured  into  the  meshes,  and  entangled  themselves  eternally 
by  signing  the  third. 

Encouraged  by  this  triumph, — which  they  might  have  gained  by 
summoning  persons  already  known  to  waver, — the  Viceroy  and  his 
assessors  issued  a  general  summons  to  all  Ministers  of  both  Confes- 
sions, schoolmasters,  clerks,  and  sextons,  wherever  they  could  be 
found.  Priests,  guarded  by  soldiers,  proclaimed  the  document,  signed 
by  the  Archbishop-Viceroy,  in  every  parish ;  and  even  in  places  under 
the  Turkish  Government,  where  the  sword  was  not  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Church,  zealous  Priests  read  the  proclamation  from  their  altars. 
In  those  places,  the  Visier  of  Buda  forbade  his  master's  subjects  to 
obey ;  but  from  all  other  parts  of  Hungary,  those  who  could  not  save 
themselves  by  flight,  or  who  felt  bound  to  make  solemn  confession, 
went  to  Presburg.  The  Viceroy,  with  a  similar  attendance,  once  more 
took  his  throne,  and  saw  about  four  hundred  Ministers  of  Christ  and 
servants  of  the  churches  standing  before  him.  He  commanded  one 
general  accusation  to  be  read,  for  the  idea  of  personal  examination  was 
never  entertained  ;  and  a  Secretary  proclaimed  such  charges  as  these : 
— Casting  off  the  fear  of  God  and  the  King,  they  had  not  paid  honour 
to  the  saints.  The  blessed  Virgin  had  been  dishonoured  by  compa- 
rison with  their  own  vile  wives.  The  venerable  body  of  Christ  in  the 
sacrament  had  been  trodden  under  foot.  They  had  preached  sedition, 
and  stirred  up  their  hearers  to  rebellion  and  treason.  The  King's 
Attorney,  therefore,  demanded  the  heads  and  the  property  of  the 
traitors ;  and  asked  that  the  other  criminals  should  be  condemned  to 
lose  their  hands  and  feet,  and  then  be  burnt  alive.  To  justify  these 
barbarous  demands,  he  produced  a  copy  of  the  deciphered  letters 
attributed  to  Withnyedi.  The  prisoners  heard  these  letters  with 
amazement.  Withnyedi  and  Keczer,  one  of  his  alleged  correspond- 
ents, were  scarcely  known  to  the  Ministers  even  by  name.  The 
writer  of  the  letters  was  evidently  a  Papist ;  for  he  called  the  Pro- 
testant Ministers  "  preachers,"  a  title  never  used  in  their  churches, 
but  applied  contemptuously  by  those  who  disowned  their  ordination. 
Superintendents,  too,  were  spoken  of  in  towns  whence  the  Superin- 
tendents had  been  driven  long  before  the  date  of  the  pretended  letters. 


590  CHAPTER    VIII. 

They  attempted  to  plead  these  objections  to  the  authenticity  of  the 
only  evidence  produced,  and  claimed  the  benefit  of  a  law  that  no  oue 
should  be  condemned  to  capital  punishment  on  the  testimony  of  a 
single  witness.  The  Judges  ignored  their  plea,  and  urged  them 
to  confess  guilt,  and  throw  themselves  upon  the  King's  mercy.* 
The  alternative  of  silence  or  exile  was  then  offered.  Each  might 
choose,  by  affixing  his  signature  to  a  copy  of  the  corresponding  form ; 
but,  in  either  case,  he  would  have  to  write  himself  a  traitor.  About 
one  hundred  submitted,  to  escape  the  penalty  which  they  were  not 
ready  to  suffer.  Three  hundred  stood  firm. 

No  entreaties,  no  threats  were  spared  to  subdue  their  integrity  and 
innocence ;  but  they  would  not  incur  guilt  by  a  false  confession, 
making  themselves,  also,  parties  to  the  spoliation  and  dispersion 
of  their  churches.  And  they  even  ventured  to  hope  that  some  remains 
of  justice  and  equity,  slumbering  in  the  bosoms  of  their  Judges, 
might  awake.  But  neither  justice  nor  equity  was  there.  After  lying  in 
prison  for  a  month,  they  were  called  into  court  again,  and  the  Judges 
pronounced  sentence  of  death  first  on  the  Ministers  (April  4th,  1674), 
and  then  on  the  others  (April  6th).  It  was  not  now,  as  formerly, 
the  policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  shed  blood  when  her  work  could 
be  done  by  any  other  means  ;  and  therefore  the  three  hundred  con- 
fessors were  detained  in  Presburg  for  about  six  weeks  longer,  in  hope 
that  they  might  be  wearied  or  cheated  into  compliance  ;  but  not  one 
gave  way.  And  although  they  were  all  allowed  to  range  the  city 
without  a  guard,  not  one  attempted  to  escape.  Four  Pastors  and  one 
schoolmaster  were  then  laden  with  fetters,  and  taken  to  the  castle 
of  Presburg.  Yet  this  show  of  severity  made  no  perceptible  impres- 
sion ;  and,  therefore, — those  of  the  Helvetian  Confession  being 
separated  from  the  rest, — ninety-three  of  both  churches  were  put  in 
irons,  and  sent,  under  escort,  to  the  castles  of  Leopoldstadt,  Komorn, 
Kaposvar,  Bars,  and  one  or  two  others.  There  they  were  confined 
with  the  vilest  criminals,  made  to  perform  the  severest  and  most 
humiliating  labours,  such  as  scavenging  streets  and  cleansing  ditches, 
chained  in  gangs,  and  not  allowed  sufficient  food,  nor  permitted  to 
receive  visits  of  friends,  nor  alms  of  strangers,  beaten  cruelly,  and 
exposed  to  all  extremes  of  hunger,  thirst,  cold,  violence,  and  filth. 
By  this  means  twenty-six  of  them  were  forced  to  profess  themselves 
"Catholics."  The  remnant  could  not  be  subdued  into  compliance. 
When  dragged  to  mass-houses,  they  endured  the  sight  and  hearing 
of  idolatry  in  silence ;  and  when  in  the  dungeon  or  the  ditch,  they 
cheered  each  other  with  prayers  and  with  psalms,  rejoicing  in  tribula- 
tion by  the  indwelling  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Still  unwilling  to  shed  blood,  the  Priests  of  Hungary  and  Italy 
united  in  resolv.e  to  make  them  suffer  a  living  death ;  and  (March, 
1675),  by  order  of  the  Archbishop  of  Gran  and  the  Bishop  of  Neu- 
stadt,  thirty-five  Ministers  and  six  schoolmasters  were  taken  from 

*  The  King  was  said  to  be  disposed  to  show  mercy  in  this  instance  ;  but  one  of  these 
very  Judges,  the  Bishop  of  Neustadt,  said,  "  If  Caesar  were  to  decree  anything  a  thou- 
sand times  ever  in  favour  of  the  preachers,  I  would  set  aside  his  orders  a  thousand  times 
ever." — Hist.  Eccles.  Evaug.  Huugarue,  p.  35. 


CHURCHES    OF    "THE    THIRTEEN    TOWNS."  591 

prison  to  be  sent  to  the  galleys  at  Naples.  Brutish  soldiers  drove 
them  on  foot  through  Moravia,  Austria,  Styria,  and  Carniola,  some 
being  even  laden  with  fetters.  For  many  a  long  day  they  dragged 
their  bleeding  feet  and  weary  limbs  over  the  rugged  ground,  and  were 
beaten  if  they  lagged  behind,  or  if  they  fell.  From  morning  until 
night  they  were  often  without  food ;  and  sometimes  reached  the  jour- 
ney's end  too  late  to  obtain  any.  Two  of  those  pilgrims  escaped  the 
lashes  of  their  drivers.  They  breathed  out  their  life  on  the  way,  and 
their  souls  entered  into  rest.  Six,  half  dead,  were  left  on  the  road, 
of  whom  four  expired  ;  and  the  two  survivers  were  taken  to  the  galleys. 
Six  more  died  of  excessive  labour  and  ill  treatment.  The  remaining 
twenty-seven  were  found  in  a  state  of  indescribable  wretchedness  by 
the  Dutch  Admiral,  De  Ruyter,  and  were  surrendered  at  his  intercession, 
his  fleet  being  on  the  coast.  He  took  them  from  the  oar,  covered  their 
naked  bodies,  dried  their  tears,  nurtured  the  life  remaining,  saw  them 
revive,  heard  them  bless  him,  and  gave  them  a  home  in  Holland. 
Soon  they  went  to  that  better  country  where  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest ;  and  we  still  write  the  name 
of  their  deliverer,  Admiral  De  Ruyter,  of  blessed  memory. 

The  Minister  of  the  United  Provinces  at  Vienna  interceded  for  the 
remaining  prisoners  ;  but  Leopold  was  guarded,  as  the  Priests  thought, 
against  the  possibility  of  being  overcome  by  any  importunity.  From 
the  Hungarian  fortresses  they  were  secretly  conveyed  to  prisons  in 
Trieste  and  Bucari,  on  the  gulf  of  Venice.  After  grievous  sufferings, 
they,  too,  were  released  by  an  imperial  order,  extorted  by  the  perse- 
vering humanity  of  the  Dutch  Ambassador  (May  2d,  1676).  A  small 
company  of  the  persecuted  Hungarians  were  at  the  same  time  in  Eng- 
land, imploring  Charles  II.  to  join  his  interposition  with  that  of  the 
Lords  of  the  United  Provinces  at  the  court  of  Vienna,  that  they  might 
be  examined  before  impartial  Judges  for  the  establishment  of  their 
innocence  ;  and  that  the  laws  of  Hungary  and  the  freedom  of  religion 
might  be  observed,  and  the  twelve  hundred  churches  taken  from  them 
be  again  thrown  open  for  the  celebration  of  a  pure  worship.  The 
King  instructed  his  representative  accordingly,  but  without  effect. 

While  speaking  of  churches,  we  will  not  overlook  an  example  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  Romish  dignitaries  indulged  their  greediness. 
Barsony,  Dean  of  the  Chapter  at  Zips,  had  set  his  eye  on  the  churches 
and  school-houses  of  the  Evangelicals  of  the  Thirteen  Towns,  and 
petitioned  the  King  of  Poland  (A.D.  16/0)  for  an  order  to  the  owners 
to  divide  the  use  of  churches,  school-rooms,  bells,  organs,  pulpits, 
and  grave-yards  with  the  Priests,  allowing  them  to  erect  altars  and 
say  mass  in  the  Protestant  churches.  The  order  was  obtained ;  and, 
after  some  resistance,  the  Protestants  were  obliged  to  make  a  compro- 
mise, and  for  a  short  time  the  adverse  rites  were  celebrated  within  the 
same  walls,  until  the  stronger  party  gained  full  possession,  first  by 
requiring  the  Evangelical  Ministers  to  adopt  Popish  forms,  and  then 
expelling  them  for  disobedience. 

The  Prince  Stanislaus  Heraclius  Lubomirski  (March  -4th,  1675) 
next  commanded  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Thirteen  Towns  to  receive 
"  the  Catholic  religion  "  as  true,  and  prepare  for  confession  and  com- 


592  cnAPTER  vin» 

munion  at  Easter.  He  also  commanded  the  majority  of  public  offices 
to  be  filled  by  "Catholics"  who  understood  German  (December  3d). 
Then  again  (March  4th,  1676),  that  every  person  should  acknowledge 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to  be  the  true,  undoubted,  only  apostolic 
and  universal  Church.  At  length  (October  1st),  that  all  Magistrates 
and  other  holders  of  civil  offices  should  be  "  Catholics  ;"  and  that  all 
the  people  should  embrace  the  only  "  saving  faith"  before  the  coming 
Easter.  After  this  he  commanded  all  religious  meetings  to  be  sup- 
pressed, even  in  private.  While  these  mandates  were  coming  forth, 
and  resistless  persecution  spent  its  fury  on  every  household,  the 
Hungarians  again  called  in  an  avenger,  Emeric  Tokoly,  who  came  at 
the  head  of  twenty  thousand  men,  overran  upper  Hungary,  routed 
the  imperial  forces  as  often  as  he  met  them,  and  at  last  brought 
Leopold  to  submission.  A  freedom,  not  quite  so  ample  as  that 
obtained  by  Rakoczy,  yet  invaluable,  if  it  had  been  faithfully  acted  on, 
was  again  promised ;  but  an  artfully  contrived  limitation  vitiated  the 
compact.  The  words,  "  Salvo  jure  dominorum  terrestrium"  "  Saving 
the  right  of  the  lords  of  the  soil,"  opened  a  fountain  of  litigation 
(A.D.  1681).  One  period  of  persecution  was  closed,  indeed;  but  ano- 
ther soon  began.  Unrighteous  decrees  were  again  issued,  and  again 
disobeyed.  In  the  market-place  of  Eperies,  four  Christian  men  were 
beheaded  (March  15th,  1687)  ;  then  five  others  (March  22d)  ;  and 
after  a  brief  interval  (May  9th),  a  company  of  nine  there  sealed  their 
testimony  in  death.  Every  appeal  to  the  King  was  frustrated  by  a 
quibble,  or  else  repelled  with  scorn.  Worship  could  only  be  cele- 
brated in  a  few  places  named  in  articles  for  the  privilege,  (loca  articu- 
laria,)  and  scarcely  even  there.  Podolski,  a  Bishop  invested  with 
power  over  the  Thirteen  Towns,  raged  like  a  demon,  until  even 
Lubomirski  endeavoured  to  moderate  his  fury.  But  Lubomirski 
himself  caught  equal  madness,  and  issued  one  decree  after  another 
of  unparalleled  ferocity.  Death  was  threatened,  rather  than  inflicted  ; 
but  absentees  from  mass  were  flogged  through  the  streets,  and  Chris- 
tian prayer  seemed  to  find  no  utterance,  unless  it  were  in  groanings 
of  anguish  only  audible  to  God. 

The  Emperor  Joseph  I.,  however,  raised  up  the  fallen.  His  humane 
and  just  reign  might  have  healed  the  wounds  of  Hungary ;  but  it  was 
short  (from  1705  to  1711);  and  the  Clergy  knew  how  to  nullify 
almost  every  tolerant  provision.  During  the  reign  of  Maria  Theresa, 
the  civil  disability  of  Protestantism  became  fully  incorporated  in 
Hungarian  law.  Before  her  coronation,  a  deputation  of  Protestants 
solicited  the  favour  of  an  audience,  to  ask  her  to  confirm  their  legiti- 
mate rights  and  privileges  (A.D.  1740).  But  they  were  told  that  their 
heresy  disqualified  them  from  approaching  the  seat  of  Majesty. 
Pretending  justice,  however,  she  soon  afterwards  gave  her  solemn 
sanction  to  the  concessions  of  1681,  and  their  confirmation  in  the 
Diet  of  1687  ;  but  this  apparent  goondess  vanished  like  the  morning 
dew.  Their  condition  continued  without  the  least  amelioration  ;  and 
their  supplications  for  redress  only  drew  down  a  command  to  accom- 
modate themselves  to  the  articles  of  an  intolerant  enactment  of  more 
recent  date  (A.D.  1742).  Then  came  a  development  of  the  system 


MARIA    THERESA.  593 

of  Roman  policy,  which  is  carried  out,  wherever  practicable,  even  in 
the  present  day.  Societies,  having  for  patron  saints  St.  Stephen  and 
St.  Joseph,  and  an  association  of  nobility,  called  the  Society  of  Kis 
Domolk,  the  Queen  being  earthly  patroness  of  all  three,  were  simul- 
taneously established  (A.D.  1743),  with  the  common  object  of  extend- 
ing the  only  saving  faith,  and  reclaiming  heretics.  Tired  of  conversion- 
soldiers,  who  had  failed  to  reconquer  Bohemia  to  the  Church,  the 
Clergy  raised  a  "  Conversion  Fund,"  whose  treasurer  reported  the 
handsome  sum  of  108,600  florins,  wherewith  to  bribe  members  of  the 
population  they  had  pauperized.  The  devout  Queen  created  new 
episcopal  sees  in  those  parts  of  the  kingdom  where  the  Evangelicals 
were  most  numerous,  and  ratified  a  permanent  system  of  legal  cruelty, 
which  may  be  compendiously  represented  thus  : — 

The  right  of  worship  everywhere  allowed  to  non-Catholics  is  to  be 
exercised  in  private  only,  except  in  certain  places.  "  Preachers"  may 
discourse  in  those  places  only.  Books  written  against  Protestantism, 
may  be  read  by  all  persons  everywhere.  Even  lords  of  the  land  may 
not  innovate  in  religion  without  royal  licence.  Sick  and  dying  Evan- 
gelicals may  only  be  visited  in  those  "  articulary  places."  Non- 
Catholic  Ministers  have  no  right  to  visit  their  flocks  when  scattered 
on  unlicensed  ground.  Their  dead  may  be  buried  where  grave-yards 
are  allowed,  not  elsewhere.  Let  the  Superintendents  keep  their 
people  quiet.  Let  them  give  account  of  their  doings  to  the  "  Catholic" 
Bishops.  Let  the  Bishops  decide  in  all  matrimonial  affairs.  Let 
apostates  from  the  Roman  faith  be  forthwith  punished,  under  direc- 
tion of  the  royal  Council.  Let  no  "preacher"  visit  a  prisoner  :  the 
Priests  or  Monks  must  imbue  him  with  the  Catholic  faith.  Apostacy 
is  to  be  prevented  or  punished  by  many  minute  enactments.  All  minors 
who  desert  the  Roman  Church,  must  be  shut  up  in  monasteries,  and 
better  taught.  Bishops  and  Magistrates  must  help  each  other  to  make 
sure  of  the  offspring  of  mixed  marriages,  and  the  marriage  ceremony 
must  be  performed  by  Priests  alone.  Non-Catholic  schoolmasters  must 
not  admit  Catholic  children  to  their  schools.  Schoolmasters  must  never 
preach  or  read  sermons.  Every  chapel  into  which  a  foreigner  enters 
must  be  forfeited.  Non-Catholics  may  teach  in  lower  schools,  but  not 
impart  the  higher  elements  of  education.  There  must  be  no  Bibles, 
nor  other  such  books,  in  schools.  Non-Catholics  must  keep  all 
festivals,  and,  if  artisans,  walk  in  all  processions.  Magistrates  are 
instructed  to  make  them  swear  by  the  Virgin  and  saints.  Except  in 
the  articulary  places,  they  must  obey  the  parish  Priest,  and  pay  him 
his  fees.  Non-Catholics  must  not  bear  civil  office. 

Barkoczy,  Archbishop  of  Gran,  obtained  a  royal  order  (A.D.  1/63), 
requiring  him  to  report  concerning  the  manner  in  which  this  system 
had  been  enforced.  Delighted  with  the  commission,  he  suggested 
everything  which  might  aggravate  the  severity  of  the  existing  laws,  or 
prevent  escape  from  their  execution.  The  Protestants,  alarmed,  sent 
a  deputation  to  Vienna,  to  represent  their  wretched  condition  under 
the  law  which  it  was  proposed  to  make,  if  possible,  yet  more  oppress- 
ive. The  Chancellor  frowned  on  them.  And  the  Queen,  refusing  to 
look  on  their  petition,  commanded  that  they  should  be  instantly 

VOL.    III.  4    G 


594  CHAPTER    IX. 

driven  from  the  city.  We  cannot  trace  on  these  pages  the  train 
of  persecution  which  ensued,  but  can  assure  the  reader  that  if  he 
meditates  on  the  abstract  of  law  given  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 
and  even  then  imagines  every  conceivable  mode  of  executing  such  a  law 
without  restraint  of  humanity,  not  to  say  of  honesty,  he  will  scarcely 
be  able  to  arrive  at  a  conception  of  the  nefarious  dealings  of  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  Hungary  during  the  reign  of  Maria 
Theresa  ;  nor  of  the  sufferings  that  followed.  Joseph  II.  endeavoured  to 
reverse  the  policy  she  had  encouraged,  and  issued  an  Edict  of  Toleration 
for  the  Empire  (A.D.  1781)  ;  but  it  was  nullified  by  the  priesthood. 
From  that  time  until  now,  under  successive  Monarchs,  persecution  has 
been  more  subtle,  and  less  conspicuous,  because  perpetrated  in  com- 
parative obscurity.  The  fervour  of  primitive  piety,  too,  has  declined  ; 
and  Protestantism  in  Hungary,  bereft  of  external  power  as  well  as  devoid 
of  inward  life,  scarcely  provokes  to  enmity,  except  in  periods  of  poli- 
tical discontent,  when  the  Austrian,  impelled  by  an  hereditary  con- 
sciousness of  guilt,  and  dreading  the  vengeance  which  he  imagines  to 
be  impending  over  his  house,  directs  the  first  outbursts  of  cruelty 
against  the  Protestant  population,  and  especially  against  the  Minis- 
ters. But  persecution  for  Christ's  sake  can  scarcely  take  place  now 
in  Hungary.  Out  of  a  population  of  nearly  twelve  millions,  four 
millions  bear  the  name  of  Protestant ;  but  their  Ministers  are  said  to 
be  rationalist,  with  scarcely  an  exception ;  and  the  people  are  pro- 
foundly ignorant.  They  are  all  poor,  only  "  Catholics "  being  per- 
mitted to  own  land :  so  that  after  all  the  sufferings  of  their  fathers, 
the  children  are  sunk  into  the  lowest  state  of  social  depression  and 
spiritual  darkness.* 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AUSTRIA. —  The  Empire  from  the  Death  of  Charles  V.  to  the  Emigration  from  Salx- 
burg,  and  the  Expulsion  from  Zillerthal  in  1837.  FRANCE. — The  Edict  of  Nantes, 
with  the  previous  Condition  of  the  Reformed,  and  Sufferings  consequent  on  the 
Revocation  of  that  Edict. 

WE  have  surveyed  the  once  independent  kingdoms  absorbed  into 
the  Austrian  empire,  as  well  as  the  states  of  Lombardy  and  Venice, 
also  made  subject  to  the  house  of  Hapsburg.  They  belonged  to  the 
Italian  and  Slavonian  chapters,  and  in  the  latter  Hungary  was 
included.  It  remains  for  us  to  mark  the  sufferings  of  the  church 
of  Christ  in  Austria  Proper,  and  some  other  imperial  territories.  This 
done,  a  very  few  pages  must  be  bestowed  on  the  events  in  France 
which  were  referred  to  at  the  close  of  the  sixth  chapter,  as  character- 
izing the  counter-reformation  which  yet  awaits  a  more  conspicuous 
place  in  history. 

*  The  chief  authorities  for  this  chapter  are,  Krasinski,  Reformation  in  Poland  ;  Regen- 
voiscii  Historia  Ecclesiamm  Slavonicarum ;  Reformation  and  Anti-Reformation  in 
Bohemia  ;  Holmes,  History  of  the  United  Brethren  ;  Cranz,  United  Brethren;  the  His- 
toria Eccles.  Evangelicse,  &c.,  in  Hungaria,  Halberstadt,  J830;  Memorial  of  Sufivr- 
ings,  &c.,  in  Hungary,  London,  1676. 


THE    JESUITS    IN    AUSTRIA.  595 

When  Ferdinand  received  the  empire  from  his  brother,  Charles  V.,* 
he  thought  it  prudent  to  refrain  from  extreme  measures  towards  the 
Protestants  where  they  had  sufficient  strength  to  defend  themselves, 
although  he  persecuted  them  to  death  wherever  he  had  the  power. 
He  therefore  assured  his  Evangelical  subjects  in  Austria,  that  they 
should  receive  the  sacrament  of  the  eucharist  in  both  kinds,  without 
hinderance  ;  and  connived,  for  a  time,  in  an  innovation  which  had 
but  his  verbal  sanction,  and  might,  without  breach  of  Roman  faith,  be 
prohibited  at  a  more  convenient  season.  Persecution,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  did  not  cease;  and  (A.D.  1558)  they  approached  him  at 
Vienna  with  an  importunate  supplication  that,  to  put  an  end,  once  for 
all,  to  divisions  on  account  of  religion,  he  would  give  them  the  earnest 
of  peace  by  allowing  them  liberty  to  worship  in  their  houses,  and  by 
preventing  the  imprisonment  and  exile  of  innocent  Ministers  of  the 
Gospel, — men  who  were  incapable  of  resistance,  and  were  refused  the 
opportunity  of  defence.  He  received  their  prayer  very  graciously, 
and  told  them  that  he  would  so  conduct  himself  towards  them  that 
they  should  have  no  occasion  of  complaint.  Trusting  in  the  word 
of  an  Emperor,  they  imagined  themselves  free  to  worship  God  under 
their  own  roofs,  at  least,  and  ventured  to  assemble  in  numerous  and 
well-ordered  congregations.  Several  Lords  had  sermons  in  their 
castles ;  and  three  of  them  ventured  to  superscribe  and  publish  a  con- 
fession of  their  faith,  drawn  up  by  Christopher  Reuter,  a  Minister  at 
Bruck  in  the  Palatinate.  Csesar  sat  still,  watching,  and  not  discou- 
raging, the  priestly  opposition  which  such  a  movement  was  sure  to 
arouse  ;  and  the  Bishops  instituted  an  inquisitorial  visitation  of  the 
churches  (A.D.  155!)).  Following  the  suggestions  of  the  Jesuits,  they 
did  not  at  first  disturb  the  Evangelical  congregations,  but  appeared  to 
confine  themselves  to  the  single  work  of  "  reform,"  with  a  reserved 
intention  to  force  the  Protestants  to  insurrection  by  a  rigid  execution 
of  the  letter  of  the  concessions  of  Augsburg,f  which  were  only 
extended  to  the  Lutherans,  and  even  to  them  were  scanty,  by  inter- 
preting in  their  own  favour  every  doubtful  stipulation,  and  by  revok- 
ing every  tacit  concession.  Each  new  restriction  was  thus  made  to 
appear  a  chastisement  of  disobedience  rather  than  an  act  of  persecution. 
To  this  end  the  tribunals  were  gradually  filled  with  Popish  Judges  ; 
and  the  military  forces  of  Spain  in  the  Netherlands  were  kept  ready 
to  enforce  decisions. 

Ferdinand  I.,  less  adventurous  than  the  Romish  Clergy,  still  endea- 
voured to  conceal  the  appearance  of  persecution,  pressed  the  Pope  to 
convoke  again  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  even  supported  the  demand 
for  communion  in  both  kinds,  and  marriage  of  Priests ;  and,  while  he 
failed  to  hold  the  confidence  of  one  party,  provoked  the  suspicion 
of  the  other.  Preparations  for  the  latter  sessions  of  the  Council 
of  Trent  were  carried  on  with  great  activity  ;  and  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  the  Pope  and  the  counsels  of  the  Jesuits,  he  resolved  to  stand 
fair  with  the  Court  of  Rome  by  making  a  manifestation  of  zeal  on 
their  behalf,  and  therefore  published  at  Prague  a  second  edict,  J  pro- 

*  August  27th,  1556.     See  page  332  supra.  t   Page  332  supra 

I  See  page  331  supra,  for  bis  first  edict. 

4   G   2 


596  CHAPTER    IX. 

hibitory  of  Evangelical  worship,  banishing  the  Lutheran  preachers, 
and  requiring  that  their  places  should  be  filled  by  Priests  whose 
orthodoxy  the  Ordinaries  should  have  certified.  But  the  execution 
of  this  edict  was  checked.  The  three  Evangelical  states  below  the 
Ens,  by  their  deputies,  appeared  at  Vienna,  and  successfully  implored 
the  interference  of  Maximilian,  the  Emperor's  brother,  King  of  the 
Romans,  and  then  his  vicegerent  at  the  seat  of  government.  Instead 
of  enforcing  the  edict,  Ferdinand  was  induced  to  exert  himself  to 
pacify  the  empire  by  obtaining  concessions  from  the  Pope ;  and  a  few 
days  before  his  death,  Pius  IV.,  dreading  another  schism,  sent  a  Brief, 
empowering  the  Priests  to  administer  the  holy  communion  in  both 
kinds.  Maximilian  II.  sympathized  with  the  universal  rejoicing  at 
Vienna  on  the  arrival  of  the  Brief,  just  as  he  entered  into  his  brother's 
place ;  and  the  twelve  years  of  his  reign  were  not  disgraced  by  active 
persecution.  Two  decrees  gave  liberty  of  domestic  worship  to  the 
Reformed  in  Upper  and  Lower  Austria  ;  and,  excepting  an  order  to 
the  University  of  Vienna  to  observe  Popish  ceremonies  at  funerals, 
there  is  scarcely  any  trace  of  coercion  in  his  government.  Some 
degree  of  liberty  was  even  granted  to  the  press ;  *  and  by  an  imperial 
licence,  representatives  of  the  Evangelical  states  of  Lower  Austria 
assembled  for  public  worship  in  the  House  of  Assembly  at  Vienna. 
But  this  great  and  good  man  died  before  he  could  mature  his  plans 
for  the  peace  of  the  empire  (October  22d,  1576),  a  member,  as  some 
historians  affirm,  of  the  Evangelical  church. 

Rudolph  II.  next  occupied  the  throne,  and  reluctantly  granted  a 
confirmation  of  the  liberty  of  worship  accorded  by  his  predecessor ; 
but  the  grant  was  very  soon  revoked.  During  his  absence  at  Prague, 
the  Archduke  Ernest,  as  Imperial  Stadtholder,  issued  a  Decree  of 
Reformation,  as  it  was  called,  at  Vienna,  and  commanded  all  inhabit- 
ants of  cities  and  market-towns  who  had  received  the  Evangelical  reli- 
gion, to  give  up  their  worship,  withdraw  from  the  Lutheran  preachers, 
and  return  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  or  else  quit  His  Imperial  Majesty's 
dominions.  They  remonstrated  against  so  sudden  and  unsparing  a 
proscription  ;  besought  that  they  might  still  "  dwell  under  the  gentle 
wings  of  the  house  of  Austria  in  peace  and  quietness,"  or  be  per- 
mitted, if  they  must  go,  to  stay  for  the  short  period  of  five  years  to 
dispose  of  their  property.  But  their  prayer  was  most  ungraciously 
rejected  (January  27th,  1579).  From  Ernest  they  appealed  to 
Rudolph;  but  the  only  answer  they  obtained  was  a  sort  of  inquisition 
carried  on  against  the  chief  Evangelical  burghers  of  Vienna ;  and,  by 
way  of  example,  the  Stadtholder  expelled  the  Herr  Adam  Geyer,  an 
eminent  Christian,  together  with  his  preacher,  from  court.  The  book- 
sellers' shops  were  visited,  good  books  seized,  and  the  usual  orders 
of  expurgation  issued  and  enforced.  In  all  that  concerned  religion, 
Melchior  Clesel,  Bishop  of  Vienna,  held  the  reins ;  and  the  Jesuits, 
whose  first  care  was  to  displace  Protestant  schoolmasters,  and  destroy 

*  A  volume  was  printed  (without  name  of  place)  with  the  title,  "  Confessio,  oder : 
Christliche  Bekanduus  dea  Glaubena  etlicher  Evangelischen  Prediger,  in  Oesterreich. 
Anno  Christi  MDLXVI."  And  the  year  after  Joachimus  Magdeburgius  printed  his 
"  Confessio,  otler  Bekaatnis." 


THE    JESUITS    PROVOKE    REBELLION.  597 

Bibles,  acted  in  conjunction  with  him.  Already  persecution  raged  in 
Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Carniola,  under  the  government  of  the  Archduke 
Charles,  brother  of  the  deceased  Emperor,  where  the  peasantry, 
goaded  into  rebellion,  were  put  down  by  the  Uzkokes,  wild  Slavonian 
robbers,  brought  for  that  purpose  from  the  mountains  of  Dalmatia. 
Rudolph  half  relented  for  a  moment,  but  his  temporary  lenity  was 
of  no  avail.  The  Archduke  destroyed  four  churches  which  had  been 
spared  at  the  remonstrance  of  their  possessors  in  Gra'tz,  Judenburg, 
Clagenfurt,  and  Laybach  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  caused  twelve  thou- 
sand Bibles  and  Lutheran  books  to  be  thrown  into  the  fire  by  the 
public  executioner  at  Gra'tz  (A.D.  1579).  The  Jesuits  revelled  in 
delight.  One  of  them,  Scherer,  undertook  to  preach  down  Lutheran- 
ism,  declaiming  in  the  pulpits  of  Vienna;  and  a  Papal  commissary 
presented  himself  from  Rome,  with  orders  to  search  the  monasteries 
of  Austria,  and  cleanse  them  from  heresy.  But  the  Archduke  Ernest 
would  not  suffer  him  to  exercise  a  jurisdiction  which  might  be 
prejudicial  to  the  imperial  authority  (A.D.  1581). 

Lutheran  Ministers  were  gradually  superseded  by  mass-Priests  ;  and 
citizens,  lured  or  intimidated,  renounced  their  faith.  The  nobility, 
although  suffered  to  have  Lutheran  worship  at  home,  could  not  ven- 
ture to  step  beyond  the  circle  of  their  lordships,  nor  even  to  receive  a 
Romish  peasant  into  their  service.  The  states,  finding  themselves 
unprotected  by  the  Emperor,  laid  their  complaints  before  the  Diet 
of  the  empire  (A.D.  1582)  ;  but  even  there,  where  the  Protestant 
Princes  might  have  contended  successfully  against  the  violation  of  the 
concessions  of  Augsburg,  they  were  disarmed  by  the  application  of  a 
maxim  which  they  had  not  yet  learned  to  reject  as  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel :  That  the  vassal  must  follow  the  religion  of  his 
lord  :  "  Cvjus  regio,  ejus  religio"  Romish  Lords  were  not  to  tolerate 
Evangelical  tenants  or  servants.  Nor  could  Lutheran  Lords  obtain 
the  services  and  support  of  members  of  the  contrary  communion 
to  till  their  grounds  and  inhabit  their  villages.  The  Jesuits, 
emboldened  by  this  victory,  redoubled  their  efforts  to  change  the  reli- 
gion of  those  provinces  where  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformation  most 
prevailed  ;  and  the  state  of  the  law,  as  well  as  the  temper  of  their 
own  portion  of  the  magistracy,  enabled  them  to  incarcerate  several 
Ministers.  But  the  people  broke  open  the  prisons,  and  set  them  free. 
Popular  indignation  oftentimes  transgressed  the  bounds  of  law  ;  and  at 
Judenburg,  for  example,  the  Archduke  would  have  been  murdered,  had 
not  a  Lutheran  Minister  saved  his  life  (A.D.  1588).  An  insurrection 
broke  out  in  the  archbishopric  of  Salzburg ;  but  the  troops,  stronger 
than  the  peasantry,  compelled  to  peace. 

One  of  those  provocations  to  rebellion  which  it  was  the  policy 
of  the  Jesuits  to  advise,  occurred  at  Enzersdorf.  Adam  Geyern,  a 
devoted  Minister  in  that  town,  was  surrounded  by  a  numerous  con- 
gregation. The  work  of  God  flourished  in  his  hands,  and  the  truth 
spread  rapidly  in  the  population.  They  who  could  suffer  the  exist- 
ence of  a  dispirited  and  declining  church,  could  not  bear  with  the 
prosperity  of  the  Evangelical  congregation  at  Enzersdorf ;  and  Geyern 
was  accused,  to  the  Emperor,  of  making  proselytes.  Rudolph,  in  his 


593  CHAPTER    IX. 

high  notion  of  sovereign  power,  undertook  to  seal  up  the  fountain 
of  life  around  which  the  inhabitants  of  Enzersdorf  were  crowding  ; 
and  commanded  Geyern  (A.D.  1585)  to  limit  his  care  of  souls  to  him- 
self and  his  family,  (angehorigen  Persohnen,}  and  forbade  him  to 
preach  again,  or  administer  sacraments,  or  inter  the  dead.  Neither 
in  public  nor  in  private  was  he  to  preach  Christ,  or  perform  a  single 
ministerial  act.  This  reduced  him  to  silence,  and  dispersed  his  church. 
The  Evangelicals  of  Austria,  however,  made  common  cause  with  him. 
He  had  not  broken  any  law  ;  but  Rudolph  had  set  himself  above  law, 
put  forth  imperial  prerogative,  and  laid  the  ban  of  his  absolute  autho- 
rity on  a  defenceless  Clergyman.  They  therefore  interposed  in  the 
unequal  conflict.  A  large  number  of  Lords  and  Knights  deputed 
the  Land-Marshal,  Hans  Wilhelm,  to  present  an  address  to  the 
Archduke,  acknowledging  that,  indeed,  the  "concessions"  of  the 
Diet  had  only  been  made  to  the  two  estates  of  Lords  and  Knighthood; 
but  representing  that  they  had  not  understood  that  their  Pastors  were 
bound  to  refuse  all  hearers  of  inferior  rank,  and  cease  from  preaching 
if  they  saw  artisans  in  their  congregations.  On  the  contrary,  they 
had  always  thought  that  the  Minister  of  Christ  was  bound  by  his  divine 
Master  to  proclaim  salvation  to  all,  and  to  win  souls  out  of  every 
rank.  They  therefore  prayed  for  liberty  of  worship,  as  before,  and 
for  a  withdrawal  of  the  inhibition  on  Adam  Geyern.  As  so  weighty 
an  intercession  could  not  yet  be  spurned,  Rudolph  permitted  him  to 
resume  his  functions ;  but  exhorted  both  him  and  them  to  proceed 
circumspectly,  and  not  give  too  wide  an  interpretation  to  the  letter 
of  the  concessions,  under  peril  of  some  more  decisive  sentence.  They 
proceeded  circumspectly,  no  doubt ;  but  Hans  Wilhelm  atoned  for 
having  troubled  the  Emperor  with  the  presentation  of  an  ungrateful 
petition  by  turning  Papist,  and  compelling  his  dependents  to  do  the 
same.  The  church  at  Enzersdorf  gained  a  brief  respite,  and  so  existed 
for  a  little  longer  under  the  imperial  frown  ;  but  the  entire  lordship 
of  Roggendorf  was  added  to  the  Church  of  Rome  in  Austria,  and  the 
Jesuits  were  well  pleased  with  the  issue.  The  uselessness  of  petition 
was  fully  demonstrated  by  the  suppression  of  the  Lutheran  church 
at  Bruck  shortly  afterwards,  where  lived  Christopher  Reuter,  author 
of  the  Evangelical  Confession  that  was  first  published  in  the  reign 
of  Ferdinand  I.,  and  his  associates  in  that  act,  never  to  be  forgiven 
(A.D.  1586).  Again  the  Evangelical  states  complained  ;  but  the  answer 
was  a  command  to  many  Ministers  to  be  silent  (A.D.  1587)  ;  and,  ere 
long,  the  persecuted  Evangelist  of  Euzersdorf  was  compelled  to  take 
his  wandering-staff;  and  the  Pastor  of  Wesensdorf  was  also  driven 
into  exile  (A.D.  1589).  Even  exiles  were  pursued  into  their  places 
of  refuge,  and  especially  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  as  we  shall  have  occasion 
presently  to  notice. 

The  way  was  now  open  for  a  systematic  effort  to  destroy  the  church 
of  God.  Ferdinand  appointed  Melchior  Clesel,  Provost  of  the  Minster 
of  Vienna,*  to  the  new  office  of  Reformer-General  in  Austria  (A.D. 

*  Afterwards  made  Bishop,  and  eventually  raised  to  the  cardinalate.  He  also 
became  Prime  Minister,  and  exerted  a  commanding  influence  over  the  Emperor 
Matthias. 


CLESEL,   "REFORMER-GENERAL."  599 

1590),  and  put  the  following  instructions  into  his  hand  : — "  1.  That 
before  he  proceeds  to  any  place  on  the  business  of  reformation,  he 
must  provide  himself,  at  court,  with  written  credentials.  2.  So  soon 
as  he  arrives  at  the  place,  he  must  exhibit  the  written  credentials,  and 
begin  reformation,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  place,  the 
time,  and  the  quality  of  the  men  to  be  reformed  ;  and  be  especially 
careful  that  everything  be  carried  on  in  peace  and  unity.  3.  Where 
one  or  more  burghers  or  inhabitants  refuse  to  render  due  obedience 
to  the  spiritual  authorities,  and  to  their  head,  His  Majesty  will  not 
object  to  their  being  put  under  arrest,  but  not  taken  to  prison,  and  so 
kept  until  they  shall  have  reversed  their  faith,  presented  themselves 
at  confession,  and  received  the  excellent  sacrament.  It  is  to  be  under- 
stood, however,  that  such  arrests  shall  not  take  place  until  they 
become  absolutely  necessary ;  nor  unless  His  Majesty's  resolution 
thereon  shall  have  been  previously  obtained.  4.  When  the  obedient 
in  such  cities  and  towns  have  confessed  and  communicated,  Clesel 
shall  immediately,  at  the  Council-House,  declare  that  the  disobedient 
burghers  or  inhabitants,  being  under  arrest,  are  to  be  banished  from 
His  Majesty's  kingdoms  and  hereditary  lands  within  three  months ; 
and  shall  therefore  intimate  the  Decree  of  Reformation  to  every  Coun- 
cil in  these  terms.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  added,  proceedings 
affecting  their  persons  and  property  must  be  taken  with  caution,  and 
only  so  far  as  may  be  found  proper  on  a  consideration  of  circum- 
stances :  the  time  of  emigration  may  be  deferred  or  dispensed  with ; 
and  every  judgment  must  be  reported  to  the  Emperor  or  to  his  Stadt- 
holder.  5.  But  if  there  be  hinderers  of  reformation,  whatever  rebels 
of  the  sort  be  found  in  any  city,  who,  by  words  or  conduct,  stir  up 
tumult  among  the  inhabitants,  it  shall  there  be  free  to  Clesel  and  his 
commissaries  to  throw  such  obstructors  into  prison  without  delay,  and 
to  keep  them  there  until  they  shall  have  sent  information  to  the 
Emperor  or  his  Stadtholder,  and  received  the  imperial  decision  there- 
upon. 6.  So  that  all  that  shall  have  been  done  in  each  city  and  town 
shall  be  circumstantially  reported  at  court  ;  and,  for  sake  of  greater 
authority,  shall  be  ratified  through  a  distinct  writing  at  that  city  or 
town,  never  more  to  be  called  in  question."  Contrast  these  instructions 
of  Caesar  with  the  instructions  given  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
seventy  and  to  the  twelve. 

The  operations  of  Clesel  and  his  commissaries  were  conducted  with 
a  steady,  dexterous,  relentless  hand  ;  and  however  copious  may  have 
been  their  reports  to  the  court,  comparatively  little  has  transpired  in 
history.  We  only  know,  that  for  the  space  of  three  years  the  Inqui- 
sitorial Reformation  advanced  without  a  check  ;  and  that  the  progress 
of  Clesel  through  the  provinces  was  sustained  by  an  entire  restoration 
of  Popish  ceremonies  and  of  scholasticism  in  the  University  of  Vienna, 
where  biblical  exposition  was  prohibited,  and  where  adversaries  of  the 
truth  were  again  completely  equipped  for  future  action  (A.D.  159-4).  It 
has  always  been  a  first  point  with  the  Roman  Court  to  corrupt  the 
Universities  of  Europe.  But  every  act  of  Rudolph  in  Vienna  was  of  the 
same  kind.  While  the  Protestant  Professors  were  dismissed  from  the 
University,  the  nobles  and  knights  who  had  so  long  enjoyed  the 


600  CHAPTER    IX. 

privilege  of  worshipping  in  the  House  of  Assembly  were  threatened, 
and  the  Minister,  Opitz,  sentenced  to  silence.  The  sentence  was  not  at 
once  carried  into  execution,  but  burghers  were  forbidden  to  hear  his 
sermons  ;  and  the  congregation  was  transferred  to  a  room  too  small 
to  admit  a  numerous  concourse.  And  when  these  restrictions  had 
provoked  general  remonstrance,  it  pleased  Rudolph  and  the  Jesuits  to 
treat  the  remonstrants  as  rebels,  banish  the  complaining  Ministers, 
disperse  the  remnant  of  the  congregation  in  Vienna,  and  replace  Opitz 
by  a  Popish  Priest. 

Such  governors  could  not  be  equitable  in  their  general  administra- 
tion ;  and  besides  acts  of  oppression  on  account  of  religion,  their 
subjects  would  have  to  complain  of  many  others.  This  was  the  case 
in  Austria  ;  and  the  despotism  of  Rudolph  provoked  an  insurrection 
of  the  peasants  on  both  sides  of  the  Ens, — an  insurrection  in  which  the 
Evangelicals  did  not  lead,  and  which  the  Ministers  would  gladly  have 
prevented,  but  which  has  been  laid  to  their  charge  by  bigoted  and 
coldly-liberal  historians*  (A.D.  1594  and  1595).  The  empire  was 
thus  plunged  into  the  miseries  of  civil  war.  Evangelicals  and  rebels 
were  confounded  into  one  mass,  on  which  the  troops  were  commis- 
sioned to  spend  their  fury ;  and  while  the  engines  of  war  were  thus 
worked  in  the  service  of  the  Church  of  Rome, — for  that  Church  made 
full  use  of  the  opportunity, — Rudolph  waged  the  twofold  war  of  des- 
potism and  persecution  with  redoubled  fury.  This  drove  the  Evange- 
lical states  to  a  defensive  alliance,  which  was  formed  at  Frankfort 
(December  12th,  1598),  to  resist  the  aggressions  of  the  Pope,  to 
defend  their  civil  and  religious  liberties,  and  to  refuse  contributions 
for  war  against  the  Turks,  until  the  scourge  of  civil  war  should  cease 
to  be  laid  upon  themselves  by  their  own  Sovereign.  They  sent  a 
deputation  to  the  Emperor  with  a  respectful  declaration  of  their 
grievances,  which  he  handed  over  to  the  consideration  of  the  Arch- 
duke Matthias  ;  but  it  lay  neglected,  and  there  was  neither  truce  nor 
pity  (A.D.  1599).  The  imperial  commissioners  for  the  so-called 
reformation,  the  Jesuits  George  Scherer  and  John  Zehender,  prosecuted 
their  work  with  astute  perseverance,  and  not  without  success.  In 
Linz,  Wels,  and  Steyer,  as  they  boasted,  every  trace  of  Evangelical 
Reformation  was  obliterated  (A.D.  1600),  and  throughout  the  empire. 
Protestants  were  excluded  from  the  magistracy,  in  order  that  the 
members  of  the  Reformed  communions  might  nowhere  find  redress  or 
protection,  or  exercise  any  social  influence,  if  that  could  be  prevented. 
These  measures,  with  another  severe  edict  (Religions-Patent'),  far 
from  quenching  the  spirit  of  resistance,  strengthened  it,  and  provoked 
new  revolt.  Such  a  revolt  took  place  in  the  archbishopric  of  Salz- 
burg (A.D.  1601);  and  here  Caesar  endeavoured  to  put  it  down  by 
milder  means,  exhorting  the  inhabitants  not  to  meddle  with  politics, 
and  telling  them  that  he  refrained  from  giving  them  commandment 
about  religion.  But  as  commandment  was  already  given,  and  the 
Jesuits  were  everywhere  occupying  the  churches,  and  the  commissaries 

*  Such  an  one  is  Archdeacon  Coxe,  whose  history  of  the  House  of  Austria,  full  of 
chronological  confusion,  discovers  little  perception  of  causes  and  effects  ;  and  for  sinister 
exhibition  of  the  Protestantism  of  Germany,  it  might  have  been  written  by  a  Jesuit. 


FALL    OF    AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  601 

"reforming"  the  towns,  the  majority  of  that  little  state  agreed  to 
answer  that  "  their  bodies  belonged  to  Csesar,  their  souls  to  God  ;  they 
would  suffer  no  Popish  emissaries,  but  would  have  Lutheran  preachers, 
and  not  leave  their  souls  to  be  deprived  of  food."  The  tide  now 
turned.*  It  became  impossible  to  crush  state  after  state  :  the  confe- 
deracy of  Frankfort  ripened  into  the  more  powerful  alliance  of  Hei- 
delberg (A.D.  1603),  and  eventually  obtained  a  capitulation  from  the 
Archduke  Matthias,  who  aspired  to  the  empire,  waiting  for  the  decease 
of  Eudolph,  and  granted  free  exercise  of  religious  worship  throughout 
Austria  (A.D.  1609)  ;  but  only  served  himself  in  a  political  exigency, 
without  the  least  intention  of  abiding  by  the  grant. 

Bound  by  the  necessity  of  his  situation,  Matthias,  when  Emperor, 
could  not  head  a  general  persecution  in  Austria,  but  found  oppor- 
tunity to  persecute  elsewhere  ;  and  the  sufferings  of  the  Protestants 
in  Aix-la-Chapelle  and  Miilheim  evidenced  his  willingness  to  serve  the 
Pope.  During  the  Spanish  persecution  in  the  Netherlands,  a  multi- 
tude of  Protestants,  bringing  considerable  wealth  with  them,  had 
found  refuge  in  the  free  town  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  By  this  immigra- 
tion the  town  was  much  enlarged,  the  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
were  Evangelical,  the  commerce  of  the  place  depended  on  them,  and 
the  original  population  became  comparatively  small  and  poor.  The 
Diet  of  the  empire  had  not  granted  them  freedom  of  worship ;  but 
when  the  government  of  the  town  had  fallen  into  their  hands,  they 
had  their  own  churches  and  Ministers,  as  matter  of  course.  The 
Duke  of  Juliers,  Protector  of  the  town,  rebuked  them  for  this  liberty. 
The  Romish  minority,  finding  that  his  rebuke  was  not  heeded,  appealed 
to  the  Emperor  Rudolph,  who  sent  the  Duke  of  Juliers  and  the 
Bishop  of  Liege  as  commissaries  to  settle  the  dispute ;  and  these 
demanded  the  removal  of  the  Lutheran  Magistrates,  and  the  keys 
of  the  town.  The  magistracy  and  the  population  reasonably  refused 
submission  ;  and  when  the  Duke  and  the  Bishop  returned  with 
Spanish  troops  and  besieged  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  inhabitants  so  bravely 
defended  the  place,  that  the  soldiers  of  the  Church  could  not  take  it, 
but  retreated  with  dishonour  (A.D.  1589).  Their  right  to  a  good  use 
of  the  freedom  of  the  city  was  thus  confirmed,  and  for  some  years 
partially  exercised ;  for  the  Emperor  would  not  hazard  hostility  with  the 
Protestant  states  of  Germany  by  a  refusal,  although  he  deferred  to 
answer  their  petition  to  be  recognised  as  an  Evangelical  town.  Their 
Magistrates  were,  at  the  same  time,  excluded  from  the  Town-Council,  and 
some  of  them  even  banished  as  rebels.  So  they  were  gradually  over- 
powered by  help  of  Jesuits ;  and  Matthias  proscribed  the  Protestants, 
and  (February  20th,  1614)  appointed  the  Archduke  Albert  and  the 

*  This  crisis  was  hastened  by  a  remarkable  event.  For  many  years  the  free  imperial 
town  of  Donawerth,  in  Bavaria,  had  been  almost  wholly  Protestant.  There  was  hut 
one  Romish  establishment  in  it,  a  Benedictine  monastery.  Processions  had  not  been 
allowed.  But  again  and  again  they  were  attempted.  On  those  occasions  the  people 
disturbed  them  ;  and  the  Magistrates  forbade  the  illegal  exhibitions.  But  the  Abbot 
appealed  to  the  Aulic  Council ;  the  Council  took  up  his  cause,  and  the  Emperor  enforced 
the  decision  of  the  Council  hy  turning  them  over  to  the  Romish  Duke  of  Bavaria,  who 
took  military  possession  of  the  town,  seized  the  churches,  abolished  the  independence 
of  Donawerth,  and  proscribed  the  Protestant  religion.  The  Evangelical  Princes  com- 
plained in  the  Diet  of  Ratisbon. 

VOL.    III.  4    H 


602  CHAPTER    IX. 

Archbishop  of  Cologne  to  execute  his  decision.  Miilheim  (now  Diis- 
seldorf)  was  another  free  town,  and  truly  free ;  for  it  enjoyed  liberty 
of  worship,  having  been  originally  a  Protestant  settlement,  formed  by 
the  congregation  of  refugees,  exiles  for  Christ's  sake,  from  various 
parts  of  Germany,  and  from  the  Netherlands.  The  colony  became 
prosperous,  the  town  strong.  Its  battlements,  overlooking  the  Rhine, 
were  complained  of  by  Cologne  ;  and  Matthias  ordered  the  inhabitants 
to  suspend  their  new  buildings,  and  the  Princes  possessors  to  demolish 
the  fortifications  within  thirty  days.  They  refused  obedience;  but 
thirty  thousand  Spanish  soldiers  settled  the  affair,  and  Miilheim  ceased 
to  be  an  asylum  for  the  persecuted  (A.D  1614). 

Ferdinand  II.,  the  devotee  of  Loretto,  was  crowned  Emperor  at 
Frankfort  (August  30th,  1619),  and  swore  in  earnest  to  keep  his 
sword,  already  stained  with  Christian  blood,  unsheathed  in  the  service 
of  the  Church.  Gregory  XV.  trusted  in  him  for  an  entire  subjugation 
of  the  empire  to  the  Apostolic  See,  and  forthwith  doubled  the  subsidy 
for  maintaining  the  crusade  against  heretics,  making  it  20,000  scudi 
every  year,  and  sent  him  a  present  of  200,000  scudi.  He  urged  him 
to  hasten  the  great  work  of  restoring  the  "Catholic  religion,"  and 
thus  to  prove  his  gratitude  to  the  God  of  victory  ;  and  encouraged 
him  to  play  the  despot  vigorously,  by  writing  that  the  nations,  by 
rebellious  backslidings,  had  fallen  under  the  necessity  of  more  severe 
control,  and  should  be  compelled,  by  force,  to  abandon  their  ungodly 
ways.  Carlo  CarafFa  was  sent  as  Nuncio  to  the  court  of  Ferdinand,* 
charged  to  stimulate  and  guide  him  in  the  work.  We  have  seen  the 
effect  of  his  nunciature  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  whence  no  fewer 
than  fifteen  thousand  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum  were  mercilessly  driven. 
The  instructions  given  by  the  Pope  to  this  Ambassador  (April  12th, 
1621)  are  characterized  by  a  purely  Roman  policy.  Lest  the  Pro- 
testants should  uproot  the  house  of  Austria,  seize  on  the  imperial 
throne,  and  then  rush  into  Italy  and  plunder  the  mistress  of  the 
world,  Caraffa  was  to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  some  important 
points.  These  were,— The  strengthening  of  the  empire  by  Catholics  : 
the  establishment  of  the  "  Catholic  religion,"  by  Romanizing  the  Uni- 
versities, occupying  the  schools,  teaching  by  Catechisms,  and  giving  the 
common  people  licence  to  sing  Romish  hymns  in  vernacular  languages, 
managing  the  press,  employing  the  Jesuits,  establishing  charitable 
institutions  for  the  poor,  and  preventing  the  appointment  of  Protest- 
ants to  civil  offices  :  the  restoration  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  over 
the  Clergy,  who  disliked  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent :  the 
restoration  of  Papal  authority  over  the  Emperors,  who  hindered  the 
circulation  of  Bulls  and  excommunications :  the  re-adjustment  of 
German  relations  with  Italy :  the  exercise  of  personal  influence  over 
Ferdinand,  chiefly  by  means  of  Father  Beccano,  his  Confessor,  and  by 
the  Jesuits  :  finally,  the  recovery  of  Church  property  in  the  countries 
occupied  by  heretics.  None  of  these  points  were  missed. 

Caraffa,  after  eight  years'  toil,  gained  the  honour  of  reconquering  a 

*  Caraffa  made  sure  of  historic  fame,  by  writing  an  account  of  his  exploits  during 
eight  years  in  the  court  of  Austria.  The  book  is  called,  "  Commentaria  de  Germania 
sacra  restaurata." 


SUPPRESSION    OF    REFORMATION    AT    VIENNA.  603 

great  part  of  the  empire  ;  but  our  present  field  is  Austria  Proper. 
Here  the  anti-reformation  began  in  greater  earnest  than  ever.  An 
Inquisition,  more  Austrian  than  Spanish,  was  established  in  Vienna, 
and  all  classes  of  persons  fell  under  its  vigilance.  Did  a  foreigner 
wish  permission  of  residence  ?  He  must  be  a  Catholic.  Did  the 
citizens,  or  burghers,  attempt  to  offer  prayer  in  their  families  ?  They 
were  told  that  only  Lords  and  Knights  were  allowed  that  privilege. 
Did  any  one,  even  in  private  conversation,  express  reluctance  to 
renounce  his  faith  ?  He  was  advised  to  quit  the  country,  and  to 
withdraw  quietly.  Then  came  a  decree  of  Caesar  (June,  1623), 
ordaining  that  no  one  thenceforth  might  be  a  burgher  of  the 
"  residence-city,"  nor  hold  office  there,  unless  he  were  a  Catholic. 
Environed  with  Jesuits,  the  Emperor  was  not  troubled  with  any  visi- 
ble manifestation  of  nonconformity  in  his  "  residence-city."  Lutheran 
Ministers  dared  not  dwell  there ;  but  with  extreme  caution  they  visited 
their  flocks  from  house  to  house,  and,  dwelling  outside  the  gates, 
administered  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  eucharist  in  their 
own  houses,  where  also  they  assembled  small  congregations.  But 
this  did  not  continue  long.  David  Steudlin,  Minister  of  Hornals,  a 
place  four  miles  from  Vienna,  had  been  requested  to  visit  a  sick 
person  in  the  city  ;  but  his  visit  was  marked,  objected  to  as  an  eccle- 
siastical act,  and  he  was  forbidden  to  repeat  it.  An  edict,  again  (A.D. 
1624),  forbade  any  exercise  of  the  Lutheran  religion,  public  or  private, 
in  Vienna,  or  any  other  imperial  city ;  and  the  chief  Magistrate  of 
Vienna  commanded  the  guards  to  watch  strictly  at  the  gates,  and  not 
allow  any  preacher  to  enter  under  any  pretext.  Another  edict 
(September  9th),  addressed  to  all  sorts  of  people, — for  the  nobility 
had  no  longer  any  religious  privilege, — commanded  that,  from  the 
day  of  its  date,  no  one  should  go  to  Hornals,  or  elsewhere,  when  an 
exercitium  (religious  service)  or  a  sacrament  was  to  be  celebrated. 
Under  peril  of  severe  punishment,  the  inhabitants  were  required  to 
avoid  intercourse  with  non-Catholic  preachers,  and  to  shun  all  visits 
to  heretics,  all  celebrations  of  marriages  and  baptisms,  or  other  unau- 
thorized ceremonies.  The  Rector  of  the  University  issued  a  similar 
mandate  to  all  Doctors  of  every  faculty,  masters,  nobles,  licentiates, 
bachelors,  procurators,  and  students,  as  well  as  to  printers,  book- 
sellers, and  all  others  connected  with  the  University.  Two  general 
mandates  (August  30th  and  October  4th)  warned  the  people  of  Upper 
Austria  against  collusion  with  enemies,  and  intercourse  with  Evange- 
lical preachers,  a  folk  seditious  and  proscribed.  All  members  of 
Evangelical  churches  above  the  Ens  wrere  commanded  to  put  away 
their  preachers  and  schoolmasters  within  eight  days,  never  to  return. 
The  disobedient  were  threatened  with  punishment  in  body  and  goods. 
Four  commissaries  followed  up  these  mandates  by  their  operations, 
turning  out  Lutheran  preachers,  and  putting  Priests  in  their  pulpits. 
Petitions  were  sent  from  both  Upper  and  Lower  Austria,  imploring 
the  Emperor  to  stay  those  proceedings ;  but  in  vain.  His  will  was 
not  to  be  resisted. 

If  Ferdinand  would  have  listened,  he  might  have  heard  the  wailings 
of  his  impoverished  and  exiled  subjects  on  every  hand  ;  if  he  would 

4   H   2 


604  CHAPTER    IX. 

have  seen,  be  might  have  read  piteous  appeals  ;  but  the  Confessor, 
the  Nuncio,  and  the  Jesuits  were  careful  to  prepossess  the  avenues  to 
his  conscience,  and  he  issued  another  mandate  (March  20th,  1625), 
commanding  all  the  non-Catholic  inhabitants  of  Vienna  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  "  Catholic  belief,"  and  make  themselves  known 
as  converts  within  four  months.  The  reply  to  this  summons  was 
given  at  the  city-gates,  by  a  stream  of  emigration  which  soon  began : 
house  after  house  remained  without  inhabitant,  and  thousands  more 
prepared  to  go.  The  chief  Magistrate  then  ordered  all  Evangelical 
inhabitants  to  send  their  wives,  servants,  and  children  to  mass  ;  and 
a  few  women  and  children  did  appear,  but  their  countenances  bespoke 
terror  and  aversion,  their  presence  drew  forth  a  dangerous  compas- 
sion, and  Caraffa  complained  that  "  they  did  more  harm  than  good." 
The  outcasts,  however,  assembled  in  great  numbers  at  Hornals,  under 
the  privilege  of  the  Baron  Helmhard  Jogern.  Twenty  thousand 
of  them  braved  the  threatenings  of  the  Emperor  by  worshipping  in 
the  open  air  on  the  Lord's  day  ;  and  from  week  to  week  the  number 
swelled,  until  fifty  thousand,  divided  into  several  congregations,  each 
with  its  own  preacher,  sang  loudly  long-forbidden  hymns.  Standing 
between  life  and  death,  they  opened  their  hearts  to  welcome  the  word 
of  God,  and  resigned  their  homes  and  fortunes  into  his  hands.  A  few 
years  earlier,  before  the  Roman  Consistory  had  determined  not  to 
kill,  as  formerly,  but  to  impoverish,  starve,  banish,  and  exterminate 
by  corrupt  tribunals  and  by  civil  warfare,  such  a  multitude  would 
have  been  massacred  on  the  ground.  But  Ferdinand  did  not  disturb 
them  thus.  He  knew  that  those  gatherings  could  not  long  continue; 
and,  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  any  like  them,  he  dislodged  the 
Baron  by  confiscating  his  estates.  This  being  done,  and  his  domestic 
jurisdiction  annulled,  two  commissaries  summoned  his  subjects  to 
submit  to  Caesar  and  to  the  Church.  The  greater  part  of  them  pro- 
fessed to  do  so ;  and  the  lordship  of  Hornals  was  transferred  to  the 
Chapter  of  St.  Stephen's.  The  wanderers  then  attempted  to  assem- 
ble at  Inzerstorf,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  the  city,  but  were 
at  once  routed.  It  only  remained  to  supersede  by  Papists  a  few 
jurists  and  physicians  in  the  chairs  of  the  University,  and  the 
residence-city  of  Ferdinand  II.  was  swept  of  heresy.  Once  more 
Rome  resounded  with  triumph.  The  year  1625  was  one  of  jubilee; 
prayers  were  offered  throughout  Popedom  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
Saviour's  kingdom,  which  they  fancied  to  be  almost  effected;  the 
young  Congregation  "for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith"  saw  a  new 
field  of  glory  opening  before  them  ;  and  the  palace  of  that  Congrega- 
tion, then  founded  by  Urban  VIII.,  stands  in  the  city  of  the  Popes  as  a 
monument  of  the  first  decisive  victory  of  Romanism  in  the  seventeenth 
century. 

^  Maximilian,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  emulated  the  zeal  of  Ferdinand.  The 
Count  Von  Herberstorf,  his  Stadtholder  of  Linz,  represented  the  ducal 
authority  over  that  town  by  giving  his  soldiers  licence  to  plunder  and 
kill  all  heretics  on  whom  they  could  lay  hands  ;  and  they  fulfilled 
their  commission  to  the  letter.  The  course  of  destruction  in  Bavaria 
was  rapid  and  resistless.  Civil  privileges,  one  after  the  other,  were 


REFORMATION    SUPPRESSED    IN    BAVARIA.  605 

withdrawn  from  the  Lutherans.  Their  children  were  torn  from  their 
arms,  and  educated  to  be  Papists.  They  were  even  deprived  of  power 
to  make  their  will.  In  1624  all  known  Lutherans  were  driven  out 
of  the  country.  In  1625  the  ceremonial  of  Popery  was  restored  with 
all  possible  magnificence.  In  1626,  at  Easter,  it  was  appointed  that 
all  heresy  should  be  suppressed  throughout  the  country.  This  was 
more  than  the  Bavarians  could  suffer  without  resentment ;  but  they 
might  have  refrained  from  violence  if  an  act  of  barbarism  had  not 
roused  them.  Some  Priests  entered  a  church  at  a  place  called  Zwies- 
palten,  belonging  to  the  expelled  Lutherans,  and  were  purifying  the 
building,  in  their  way,  by  fumigation,  when  a  body  of  peasantry  drove 
them  out.  Herberstorf  was  at  hand,  heard  of  the  incident,  marched 
his  troops  into  the  place,  seized  seventeen  of  the  offenders,  and  hanged 
them  up  on  the  tower  and  under  the  eaves  of  the  church.  That 
wanton  compound  of  murder  and  sacrilege  was  too  much  to  be  borne; 
and  the  indignant  population  rose  together,  defeated  the  murderer  in 
a  pitched  battle  at  Peurbach,  leaving  twelve  hundred  of  his  men  in 
the  field,  and  himself  a  fugitive  at  Linz.  But  no  popular  force  in  a 
single  state  can  withstand  an  army  ;  and  the  Protestant  religion 
expired  in  Bavaria  with  a  general  massacre  of  the  insurgents,  excepting 
a  feeble  remnant,  who  were  converted  to  the  "  mother  and  mistress  of 
all  churches"  by  the  horrible  ministry  of  Jesuits  and  soldiers.  But  not 
only  in  Bavaria,  in  Upper  and  Lower  Austria  people  of  all  ranks  united 
to  save  their  fatherland  from  those  hated  edicts.  In  March  and  April, 
1626,  the  commissioners,  stimulated  to  excess  by  an  earnest  hortatory 
epistle  from  Ferdinand  to  expedite  the  business  of  reformation,  pro- 
voked rebellion,  which  was  just  what  the  Jesuits  desired.  First  a 
company  of  eight  thousand  peasants  rose  in  arms,  and  then  many 
thousands  more  rallied  round  their  standard,  on  which,  and  on  their 
banners,  was  this  device  :— 

"  Weil 's  gilt  die  seel,  und  auch  das  blut, 
So  geb  uns,  Gott,  ein  heldenmuth." 

"  While  glows  the  life  and  flows  the  blood, 
So  give  us,  God,  a  courage  good." 

There  was  no  lack  of  courage,  nor  of  leaders  ;  but  it  pleases  not  God 
that  his  cause  should  be  either  destroyed  or  won  by  carnal  weapons. 
They  who  took  the  sword  perished  by  it.  Ferdinand,  after  suppress- 
ing the  rebellion,  prohibited  preachers  and  schoolmasters  in  Lower 
Austria,  where  the  privileges  granted  by  Matthias  had  not  as  yet  been 
formally  abolished ;  but  still,  within  the  gates  of  strong  castles, 
parties  of  devout  worshippers  would  assemble  on  the  Lord's  day, 
without  Ministers,  to  hear  sermons  and  postils  read,  and  offer  prayer 
(A.D.  1627),  until  a  mandate  forbade  the  reading  of  Lutheran  books, 
as  well  as  marriages  and  baptisms.  One  absolute  prohibition  of  all 
Protestant  persons,  things,  and  doctrines,  now  had  force  in  every 
province  of  the  Austrian  empire.  The  Lords  and  Knights  of  Upper 
Austria  emigrated.  The  peasantry,  groaning  under  dire  oppression, 
looked  to  Sweden  and  other  Protestant  states  for  help  ;  but  vain  was 
the  help  of  man.  To  all  human  appearance  the  fall  of  Evangelical 


606  CHAPTER    IX. 

religion  was  made  irreparable  by  an  edict  (A.D.  1629),  which  enforced 
the  restitution  of  all  ecclesiastical  property  confiscated  since  the  treaty 
of  Passau.  By  this  edict,  the  Protestant  archbishoprics  of  Magde- 
burg and  Bremen,  eleven  bishoprics,  and  numberless  monastic  lands, 
were  restored  to  the  Romanists.  But  this  was  not  all.  The  com- 
missioners employed  to  carry  this  "  Restitution-Edict "  into  effect, 
went  beyond  the  term  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  Passau,  and  transferred  a 
vast  amount  of  wealth  to  the  hands  of  the  Emperor  and  his  family, 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  help  themselves  to  Church-lands.  The  whole 
of  the  confiscated  monastic  property  was  given  to  the  Jesuits. 

Romanism  had  gained  a  signal  conquest,  but  it  was  dearly  bought. 
The  empire  was  impoverished,  and,  excepting  the  spoils  gathered  by 
the  Jesuits,  the  Ecclesiastics  derived  no  advantage  from  it.     The  secu- 
lar Clergy  murmured,  because  overlooked  in   the  distribution  of  the 
booty ;  and  even  the  Emperor  doubted  the  soundness  of  the  policy  he 
had  followed.     Cardinal  Clesel,   too,   saw  that  the  proceedings  of 
Caraffa,  although  justified  by  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  his  Church, 
were  insufficient  to  attain  the  end  proposed ;  and  after  three  years' 
reflection  on  the  Restitution-Edict,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
mandate  of  emigration  was  injurious  to  the  lords  of  the  soil,  who  lost 
thereby  the  good-will  of  their  subjects,  the  revenue  of  their  estates, 
and  souls.     They  lost  good-will,  because  the  country  where  people 
were  treated  like  rogues  or  thieves  was  sure  to  be  forsaken.     They 
lost  revenue,  because  the  wealthy  would  go  first,  carrying  away  pro- 
perty, and  leaving  commerce  to  decay.     And  souls  were  lost,  because 
non-Catholics  could  not  be  induced,  by  such  a  measure,  to  become 
Catholics,  but  left  the  country  with  their  children  ;  so  that  in  other 
lands,  and  from  generation  to  generation,  error  would  be  perpetuated. 
He  therefore  advised  that,  instead  of  compelling  them  to  emigrate,  the 
elder  should  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  land,  but  without  congrega- 
tions for   worship,  or  schools  of  their  own  ;   so   that  their  children 
would,    for    want    of    Protestant    worship    and    instruction,    become 
"  Catholics,"  and  their  descendants,   consequently,  would  be  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Church.     Thus,  he  reasoned,  money  would  be  kept  in 
the  country,  commerce  would  thrive,  and  landlords  would  no  longer 
see  their  estates  deserted.     But  he  suggested  that,  whenever  a  non- 
Catholic  did  anything  illegal,  the   opportunity  should   be   taken  to 
punish  him  severely,  both  in  body  and  goods  (A.D.  1632).     Experi- 
ence had   suggested  this  counsel :   a   softer  method   of  dealing  with 
heretics  was  thenceforth  adopted  in  Lower  Austria.     Protestants  were 
allowed  to  exercise  private  devotion,  (privat  andacht,)  but  so  carefully, 
that  not  a  sound  of  worship  should  reach  the  public  ear.     And  the 
new  discipline  was  enforced  so  strictly,  that  when  Johann  Anthon, 
Prince  of  Eggenberg,  had  married  the  Princess  Anna  Maria,  Margra- 
vine of  Brandenburg-Culmbach,   and  brought  home  with  her  in  the 
ostensible  character  of  private  Secretary  a  Lutheran  Minister,  Johann 
Speckern,  because  the  singing  of  hymns  was  heard  in  his  castle,  the 
Minister  was  banished  by  an  imperial  order. 

A  German  historian  shall  describe  the  state  of  the  empire  on  the 
death  of  Ferdinand  II.     "  On  his  accession  to  the  throne,  he  found 


PEACE    OF    WESTPHALIA.  607 

Austria  Lutheran,  thickly  peopled,  and  prosperous.  He  left  her 
Catholic,  depopulated,  and  impoverished.  He  found  in  Bohemia  three 
million  Hussites  dwelling  in  flourishing  cities  and  villages.  He  left 
merely  seven  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  Catholic  beggars.  Silesia, 
happy  and  blooming,  was  laid  desolate :  most  of  her  little  cities  and 
villages  had  been  burnt  to  the  ground,  her  inhabitants  put  to  the 
sword.  Saxony,  the  Mere,  and  Pomerania  had  shared  the  same 
melancholy  fate.  Mecklenburg  and  the  whole  of  Lower  Saxony  had 
been  ruined  by  battles,  sieges,  and  invasions.  Hesse  lay  utterly  waste. 
In  the  Palatinate,  the  living  fed  upon  the  dead,  mothers  on  their 
babes,  brethren  on  each  other.  In  the  Netherlands,  Liege,  Luxem- 
burg, Lorraine,  similar  scenes  of  horror  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  whole  of  the  Rhenish  provinces  lay  desert.  Swabia  and  Bavaria 
were  almost  entirely  depopulated.  The  Tyrol  and  Switzerland  had 
escaped  the  horrors  of  war,  but  were  ravaged  by  pestilence.  Such 
was  the  aspect  of  Europe  on  the  death  of  Ferdinand  II.,  who,  like  an 
aged  hyaena,  expired  amidst  mouldering  bones  and  ruins."  *  Yet  this 
hyaena  was  one  of  the  most  honoured  sons  of  the  Church ;  and, 
if  ever  he  relented  for  a  moment,  the  circumstance  was  attributed  to 
Satanic  influence :  the  Monks  piously  exhorted  him  to  maintain 
his  character  by  perseverance  in  the  good  work  of  exterminating 
heretics. f 

So  things  continued  until  the  peace  of  Westphalia  (A.D.  1648), 
when  the  treaty  provided  "  that,  as  for  the  Counts,  Barons,  and  nobles 
then  resident  in  Lower  Austria,  although  the  right  of  reforming  the 
exercise  of  religion  belonged  to  His  Caesarean  Majesty  no  less  than  to 
other  Kings  and  Princes,  yet,  in  consideration  of  the  intervention 
of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  in  consideration  of  the  inter- 
cession of  the  states  of  the  Augustan  Confession,  he  permits  that  such 
Counts,  Barons,  and  nobles  shall  not  be  obliged,  on  account  of  that 
Confession,  to  give  up  their  homes  or  property ;  nor  shall  even  be  for- 
bidden to  frequent  places  beyond  their  own  domains  in  order  to  the 
exercise  of  their  religious  worship,  provided  that,  in  other  respects, 
they  live  quietly  and  peaceably,  and  conduct  themselves  well  towards 
the  Sovereign  Prince.  But,  if  they  choose  to  emigrate,  they  may  sell 
their  real  property  or  not,  as  they  please,  and  return  freely  to  inspect 
and  manage  their  affairs."  For  Lower  Austria  this  was  a  sorry  measure 
of  toleration ;  and  even  this  was  soon  limited  by  a  distinct  patent 
(April  3d,  1651),  denouncing  severe  punishment  on  a  numerous  class 
of  persons  if  they  should  attempt  to  share  the  benefit  of  the  peace 
of  Westphalia.  The  accustomed  work  of  compulsory  "  reformation  " 
went  steadily  forward.  Ferdinand  III.,  shortly  before  his  death, 
ordered  a  religious  census  to  be  taken  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vienna 
(A.D.  1657),  and,  had  it  been  effected,  notwithstanding  the  compara- 
tive liberality  and  justice  of  this  Emperor,  the  consequences  might 
have  been  disastrous. 

Death  brooded  over  Austria.     From  that  day  until  now  there  has 

*  Menzel,  History  of  Germany,  chap,  ccx.,  Mrs.  Horrock's  Translation, 
t  Ranke,  History  of  the  Popes,  book  vii.,  chap.  1. 


608  CHAPTER    IX. 

been  scarcely  any  stirring  of  spiritual  life,  except  among  a  few  poor 
mountaineers  in  Salzburg  and  the  Tyrol. 

In  the  Teffereckenthal,  a  valley  of  Salzburg,  as  in  all  the  neigh- 
bouring mountain-country,  multitudes  of  the  peasantry  cherished  the 
revived  Christianity  of  the  Reformation, — Luther's  German  Bible  was 
their  chief  book.  They  worshipped  God  in  secret ;  and,  having  no 
ecclesiastical  organization,  had  not  been  exposed  to  the  persecution 
that  had  raged  elsewhere.  But  vital  godliness  appears  to  have  revived 
amongst  them  ;  their  number  increased  ;  and  the  Priests  became  aware 
of  their  existence,  and  tried  the  usual  methods  of  "  conversion." 
These  methods  utterly  failing,  the  Jesuits  seized  the  children,  in  order 
to  train  them  up  for  Popery,  and  expelled  the  parents  (A.D.  1685). 
A  second  emigration  took  place  in  the  next  year,  in  which  their 
preacher,  Joseph  Schaitberger,  by  whose  means,  chiefly,  the  Gospel 
had  been  recently  spread  in  those  valleys,  was  also  compelled  to  leave. 
The  fugitives  made  their  way  to  Augsburg,  where  they  found  refuge, 
declared  their  faith,  were  examined  by  Lutheran  Ministers,  and 
cordially  welcomed  to  the  bosom  of  that  church.  Schaitberger  was  a 
miner,  and,  on  account  of  his  preaching,  had  suffered  imprisonment ; 
but  even  from  the  prison  sent  forth  a  written  confession  of  his  faith. 
From  Nuremberg  he  published  many  writings,  and  especially  an 
"  Evangelical  Epistle"  to  his  brethren  who  remained  behind, — a  work 
full  of  instruction  and  encouragement,  and  which  is  still  read  with 
admiration  in  the  same  country. 

Leopold  Anthony  von  Firmian  became  Prince-Archbishop  of  Salz- 
burg in  1729,  having  purchased  the  pallium  of  Benedict  XIII.  for 
100,000  dollars.  Tribute  and  obedience  from  the  entire  territory, 
four  hundred  square  miles  in  extent,  were  his.  Ardently  devoted  to  the 
pleasures  of  the  table  and  the  chase,  he  left  the  management  of  affairs 
to  a  Tyrolese,  known  as  Chancellor  Rail,  or — as  he  chose  to  Italianize 
his  name,  the  Archbishop's  court  consisting  chiefly  of  Italians — Da 
Rallo.  During  the  forty-four  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  exile 
of  Schaitberger  and  his  companions,  the  seed  of  truth  had  been  dili- 
gently sown  in  secret.  Congregations  often  assembled  at  night  in  the 
depths  of  native  forests,  and  in  the  recesses  of  the  mountains.  Bibles, 
buried  in  the  wilderness,  were  taken  up  and  read  in  those  assemblies, 
and  then  covered  with  earth  again,  the  owners  not  venturing  to  dis- 
close the  places  of  concealment  even  to  their  wives  or  children.  For 
a  time  they  conformed  to  the  ceremonies  of  Romanism ;  but  the 
reluctant  conformity  soon  declined  ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
a  generation,  the  Reformation  had  spread  so  far  and  sunk  so  deep, 
that  it  could  not  be  hidden  in  the  desert  any  longer.  Firmian  might 
not  have  suffered  his  voluptuous  retreat  in  the  archiepiscopal  palace 
to  be  disturbed  by  cares  of  religion ;  but  the  Pope  had  given  back 
half  the  price  of  the  pallium  to  Rail,  in  order  to  engage  his  diligence 
in  uprooting  the  Reformation.  Some  good  men  had  refused  com- 
pliance with  the  profanity  and  superstition  of  their  neighbours  ;  and 
this  honourable  singularity  being  taken  as  a  mark  of  heresy,  they  were 
required  to  conform.  "  Praised  be  Jesus  Christ,"  being  the  common 
salutation  of  the  country,  even  drunkards  and  gamesters  used  it.  The 


THE    SALZBURG    EMIGRATION.  609 

Reformed  would  not  comply  with  that  custom,  fearing  to  take  the 
sacred  name  in  vain  ;  and  some  of  them  were  flogged  hy  order  of  the 
Archbishop,  bound  up  awry  with  dislocated  limbs,  and  exposed  to 
hunger  and  cold  in  the  depth  of  winter.  Under  every  infliction  the 
sufferers  maintained  their  integrity,  and  sent  messengers  to  the  Diet 
of  Ratisbon  (January,  1 730),  to  implore  protection,  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  peace  of  Westphalia.  But  as  the  pious  Salzburgers  had 
never  united  themselves  either  to  the  Lutheran  or  Calvinist  commu- 
nions, the  Baron  von  Zillerberg,  Firmian's  representative  in  the  Diet, 
succeeded  in  defrauding  them  of  the  benefit  of  that  treaty ;  and  when 
the  deputies  returned,  they  were  thrown  into  prison. 

Firmian  then  applied  to  the  Emperor  Charles  VI.,  and  obtained  an 
order  to  the  Bailiff,  the  Count  Von  Seeau,  to  take  a  census  of  the 
inhabitants,  separating  the  Evangelical.  Accompanied  by  two  Capu- 
chin Monks,  Von  Seeau  went  to  the  salt-works  at  Hallstadt,  to  Ischel, 
and  to  Aussee,  and,  having  convened  large  companies  of  workmen, 
addressed  them  in  the  name  of  Caesar.  Most  glad,  said  he,  should  he 
be  to  find  that  they  were  all  good  Catholics,  and  that  they  always  had 
been  such  ;  but  he  knew  that  some  among  them  had  dissembled.  He 
desired  to  ascertain  what  parents  had  allowed  their  children  to  pass 
over  to  Lutheranism,  they  remaining  Catholic  ;  and  what  children,  on 
the  other  hand,  remained  constant  to  the  ancient  faith,  after  their 
fathers  had  forsaken  it.  This  being  made  known,  he  could  easily 
calculate  how  many  parents  and  children  were  united  in  the  same 
faith.  He  earnestly  exhorted  them  not  to  dissemble  any  longer,  by 
appearing  outwardly  to  be  Catholics  while  they  were  Lutherans  iu 
heart ;  but  promised  that  they  who  were  not  Catholics  in  full  sincerity 
should  not  suffer  any  temporal  damage,  although  he  would  much 
prefer  to  have  Catholic  workmen  under  his  jurisdiction.  Therefore  he 
strictly  commanded  every  one  that  was  not  Catholic,  to  apply  to  the 
superior  authority  for  permission  to  quit  the  country,  which  he  might 
then  do  without  the  slightest  hinderance,  and  depart  at  any  time 
with  wife,  children,  and  any  little  property  he  might  possess.  This 
announcement  spread  alarm  throughout  the  country ;  for  as  the 
injunction  came  by  command  of  the  Emperor,  and  at  the  instance 
of  their  Lord  the  Archbishop,  and  as  the  Diet  had  suffered  them  to 
lose  the  benefit  of  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  they  had  no  earthly  refuge, 
and  could  only  cry  to  God  for  help. 

Firmian's  Chancellor  and  the  Jesuits  allowed  some  months  to  pass 
away,  imagining  that  fear  might  do  its  work,  the  fervour  of  devotion 
chill,  and  the  number  of  volunteers  for  banishment  diminish  by  deser- 
tions to  the  Church  dominant.  But  the  Lord's  host  was  not  to  be 
struck  with  panic.  Brail,  therefore,  undertook  to  complete  the  task 
for  which  he  had  been  paid,  and,  attended  by  two  companions  (July 
9th),  went  from  one  chief  town-council  to  another,  took  account 
of  the  names,  incomes,  and  property  of  the  Evangelical  part  of  the 
population,  and  invited  them  to  state  their  grievances.  On  hearing 
from  all  the  same  complaint  of  exclusion  from  the  benefit  of  tolera- 
tion— for  it  was  but  a  bare  toleration — enjoyed  by  other  subjects 
of  the  empire,  he  advised  them,  if  they  must  retain  their  opinions,  to 

VOL.    III.  4    I 


610  CHAPTER    IX. 

keep  them  private,  and  worship  God  in  their  own  way  secretly,  just 
make  their  appearance  at  church,  purchase  favour  of  their  Prelate- 
Prince  by  mere  outward  conformity,  be  quiet,  and  peaceably  submit. 
Thus  he  went  from  town  to  town,  everywhere  calling  in  the  peasantry 
from  the  neighbourhood ;  but  at  each  place  his  amazement  became 
greater,  when  crowds  of  Protestants  fearlessly  avowed  themselves,  and 
showed  that  the  dreaded  Gospel  had  found  entrance  into  the  hearts  of 
all  classes.  The  clerks  had  collected  twenty  thousand  six  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  names  of  bold  confessors,  and  among  them  were  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  wealthy  families.  At  this  his  tone  lowered,  his  proposals 
grew  more  liberal,  and  the  Evangelicals  began  to  fancy  that  they  were  to 
obtain  redress,  and  even  rise  into  favour.  But  no  Priest  bestowed  a  smile : 
it  was  the  Chancellor  alone  who  had  hesitated  to  drive  so  great  a  multi- 
tude to  despair, and  the  Archbishop  gave  no  confirmation  to  his  promises. 
The  illusion  was  instantly  dispelled.  Firmian  spoke  in  a  soft- 
worded,  crafty  edict,  echoing,  at  first  reading,  the  words  of  his  com- 
missioner ;  but  when  perused  more  closely  a  second  time,  he  was 
clearly  understood  to  say  that  nothing  more  had  been  promised  than 
an  investigation  of  grievances,  but  that  troops  would  enforce  his 
pleasure,  and  offer  them  princely  favour  at  the  sword's  point  (July 
30th).  They  appealed  to  Csesar,  but  could  not  gain  a  hearing.  The 
Emperor  refused  to  interfere  between  the  Archbishop  and  his  vassals. 
Every  appearance  of  resistance  towards  a  Priest,  however  slight,  was 
noted,  and  the  offender  punished  as  a  traitor.  Every  effort  of  self- 
protection  drew  down  the  penalty  denounced  on  rebels.  No  prospect 
now  remained  but  that  of  a  general  emigration.  Yet  they  knew  not 
how,  nor  whither.  In  this  perplexity  several  heads  of  families  resolved 
to  call  a  general  meeting,  in  order  to  determine  what  should  be  done. 
At  the  dawn  of  day,  on  Sunday,  August  5th,  1731,  a  great  multitude 
gathered  in  the  valley  of  the  Schwarzach,  where  already  assemblages 
had  been  holden,  and  awaited,  in  solemn  silence,  the  decision  of  their 
elders.  A  table  was  placed  in  the  midst,  and  on  the  table  a  vessel 
filled  with  salt.  One  hundred  aged  men  knelt  round  it,  and  remained 
thus  for  some  time  in  prayer.  Then  they  rose  from  their  knees,  and 
each  plunged  his  right  hand  in  the  stream,  dipped  a  wet  finger  in  the 
salt,  and  all  the  hundred,  raising  their  hands  towards  heaven,  swore 
to  be  faithful  to  God,  to  his  Gospel,  and  to  each  other,  and  to  abide 
united  under  every  trial.  The  salt  was  then  poured  out  upon  the 
ground.*  After  this  ceremony  they  consulted  how  to  lighten  the 
common  burden  of  affliction,  and  agreed  to  send  messengers  to 
Regeusburg,  in  Bavaria,  and  to  the  Protestant  Princes,  to  solicit 
admission  and  shelter  in  their  dominions  ;  and  to  inquire  how  many 
of  the  twenty  thousand  expected  immigrants  might  be  received  in 
each.  This  was  the  great  Council  of  the  Salt-Bond  (Sals-Bund). 

*  Numerous  examples  of  the  use  of  salt  in  covenants  and  bonds  might  easily  be 
collected  on  classic  testimony.  It  would  probably  be  found,  that  in  Salz-Burg,  with  the 
Salz-Amt,  on  the  river  Salza,  and  amidst  the  Salz-Bergen  and  Salz-Werke,  the  use  of 
salt  (salz)  on  such  national  occasions  was  already  an  established  custom,  and  not  an 
arbitrary  ceremony,  as  some  writers  imagine.  The  flowing  water,  the  native  salt,  the 
beloved  soil,  the  ambient  sky,  like  the  oil  and  the  stone,  and  the  "  heap  of  witness  " 
of  the  patriarchs,  were  called  on  to  attest. 


THE    SALZBURG    EMIGRATION.  611 

When  the  report  of  this  meeting  reached  the  Archbishop,  he 
became  very  lofty,  and  called  for  military  help  to  subdue  the  move- 
ment which  he  regarded  as  rebellious.  Priests  ransacked  the  houses 
of  the  Protestants,  seized  Bibles  and  other  books,  and  burnt  them 
openly ;  troops  were  reported  to  be  on  their  march  towards  Salzburg, 
a  cry  of  horror  ran  through  the  principality,  people  hurried  together 
and  armed  themselves,  to  resist  the  imminent  invasion.  A  thousand 
imperial  infantry  first  entered  (September).  Then  came  the  dragoon 
regiment  of  Prince  Eugene,  the  regiment  of  Staremberg,  and  another 
of  cuirassiers  from  Prince  Philip  of  Wurtemberg.  Before  this  arma- 
ment the  thought  of  resistance  was  relinquished,  and  the  people,  on 
the  first  summons,  peacefully  submitted  to  be  disarmed.  Six  thou- 
sand foreign  soldiers,  patrolling  from  town  to  town  and  village  to 
village,  watched  the  roads,  that  none  might  escape,  took  possession 
of  the  houses  of  Protestants,  and  expelled  the  tenants.  A  long 
flourishing  domain  suddenly  lay  waste.  Incited  by  the  Priests,  most 
of  those  soldiers  lost  every  feeling  of  humanity,  and  preyed  on  every 
householder  into  whose  dwelling  it  seemed  good  to  them  to  enter, 
even  if  he  were  not  a  heretic.  Flight  was  hindered,  letters  broken 
open,  every  complainer  charged  with  rebellion,  the  prisons  crammed, 
age  insulted,  the  utmost  licentiousness  unreined.  The  winter  snows 
drove  down  the  shepherds  with  their  flocks  from  the  mountains ;  but 
they  trembled  to  find  themselves  amidst  the  violated  abodes  of  men. 
At  last  Prince  Eugene's  dragoons  laid  down  their  arms  in  remorse 
and  horror,  weary  of  the  barbarities  they  had  been  ordered  to  commit ; 
but  the  Archbishop  sent  swift  couriers  to  Vienna,  requesting  that 
Charles  would  recall  them.  Meanwhile  the  Salzburgers  prudently 
refrained  from  every  hostile  demonstration,  and  their  messengers 
applied  to  the  Emperor  for  relief ;  but  he  threw  them  into  prison  at 
Linz,  as  rebels  ;  and  at  the  courts  of  the  Protestant  Princes  the  agents 
of  both  the  Archbishop  and  Emperor,  with  the  assistance  of  all  the 
partisans  that  ecclesiastical  influence  could  raise,  represented  their 
own  victims  as  political  malcontents,  so  that  asylum  was  almost 
everywhere  refused  to  them.  Frederic  William  I.  of  Prussia  was  the 
only  one  who  would  have  befriended  that  Christian  population ;  but 
his  remonstrances  and  intercession  were  not  heeded.  At  last  it  was 
permitted  them  to  go  to  the  Protestant  states  of  Germany :  yet  they 
were  chased  out,  instead  of  being  dismissed  without  further  outrage. 
Men  were  seized  when  at  work  in  the  fields,  carried  to  the  frontiers, 
and  never  saw  their  families  again.  Upwards  of  a  thousand  selected 
boys  were  torn  from  their  parents,  and  given  to  the  Jesuits  for  educa- 
tion. The  parents  were  then  gathered  into  companies,  driven  away 
by  soldiers,  and  hooted  by  the  Romish  population  as  they  passed  to 
the  banks  of  the  Salza,  to  be  shipped  off,  or  as  they  crossed  the  Bava- 
rian frontier  on  foot.  Already  plundered  and  impoverished,  they  had 
not  sufficient  means  to  procure  sustenance  by  the  way ;  and,  until 
they  reached  friendly  territories,  the  Papists  assailed  them  with  every 
expression  of  contempt  and  aversion.  Yet  they  did  not  murmur,  nor 
turn  back,  but  sang,  in  their  Tyrolese  dialect, — 

4   i   2 


612  CHAPTER    IX. 

"  A  wandering  exile  here  I  roam, 
No  other  name  is  mine  ; 
For  God's  troth  driven  from  land  and  Lome, 
Yet  I  will  not  repine, 
Since  thou,  my  Saviour,  didst  for  me 
The  path  of  grief  not  shun  : 
So  that  I  may  but  follow  thee, 
Let  all  thy  will  be  done." 

A  small  part  of  the  wanderers  had  been  sent  away  by  ships ;  but 
eighteen  thousand  entered  Bavaria,  and  of  these  three  thousand 
perished  before  they  could  cross  the  country,  falling  overpowered  by 
fatigue,  and  victims  to  the  cruelty  of  the  Bavarians.  Most  of  them 
were  welcomed  in  Prussia,  others  found  homes  in  Wurtemberg,  Nurem- 
berg, and  Hesse ;  and  a  few  went  to  Holland  and  North  America 
(A.D.  1732).  The  total  number  of  exiles  and  fugitives  could  scarcely 
have  been  lower  than  thirty  thousand. 

The  Prince-Archbishop  had  said,  when  told  of  the  large  number 
whom  he  was  going  to  expatriate,  that  he  would  clear  the  country 
of  heretics,  although  it  should  afterwards  produce  nothing  but  thorns 
and  thistles.  As  far  as  human  eye  could  search,  they  were  now  all 
expelled ;  and  the  Pope  rewarded  him  with  lavish  praise,  and  the  title 
of  Excelsus,  "  LOFTY."  But  the  Clergy  could  not  believe  that  the 
work  of  expurgation  was  complete,  as,  indeed,  it  was  not ;  and  there- 
fore an  Inquisition  was  established.  Missionaries  went  from  house  to 
house  under  a  show  of  meek  devotion,  listened  to  the  conversation 
of  unsuspecting  women  and  children,  and  then  the  families  were  visited 
with  confiscation,  imprisonment,  and  banishment.  "The  Reck,  or 
*  Rack-Tower,'  in  the  fortress  of  Werfen,  was  used  exclusively  for  the 
torture  of  heretics,  who  were  slung  within  its  dark  walls,  at  an 
immense  depth,  by  chains.  According  to  the  assertion  of  a  traitor, 
Vitus  Loitscherger,  no  fewer  than  two  hundred  persons  were,  in  1 743, 
delivered  to  the  Inquisition.  A  similar  persecution,  though  not  to 
such  an  extent,  befell  the  secret  Protestants  in  Austria  at  about  the 
same  period.  The  mountaineers  in  the  Salzkammergut  were  (A.D. 
1733)  first  treacherously  examined,  under  an  assurance  of  liberty 
of  conscience,  and  then  carried  away  by  the  soldiery,  and  transported 
to  Transylvania.  The  twelve  hundred  first  sent  away  were,  in  1736, 
followed  by  three  hundred  more.  But  when,  in  1738,  a  great  num- 
ber of  Protestants  were  discovered  in  the  Traun  district  and  in  Krems- 
miinster,  permission  to  emigrate  was  refused,  and  some  hundreds 
of  them  were  shut  up  in  a  wretched  situation,  exposed  to  the  incle- 
mency of  the  weather,  and  miserably  fed.  Many  of  them  died.  In 
1740  Count  Von  Seckau  banished  eight  hundred  men,  but  retained 
their  wives  and  families,  whom  he  compelled  to  embrace  '  Catholi- 
cism.'" The  stake  was  generally  disused,  and  the  Austro-Roman 
policy  of  political  or  legal  persecution  became  that  which  is  now  best 
approved  in  Popedom.  But  the  stake  was  not  altogether  laid  aside. 
In  the  year  1747  Jacob  Schmidli,  of  Sulzig,  in  the  canton  of  Lucerne, 
in  Switzerland,  was  burnt  by  order  of  the  Council,  for  reading  the 

*  Menzel,  chap,  ccsxsiii, 


PIUS    VI.    TRAVELS    TO    VIENNA.  613 

Bible,  and  his  house  rased  to  the  ground,  in  order  to  placate  the 
Pope. 

Soon  after  Joseph  II.  had  become  Emperor  (A.D.  1780),  he  mor- 
tified and  astounded  the  Romish  Clergy  by  abolishing  the  orders 
of  Mendicant  Friars  within  his  dominions,  placing  the  others  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishops,  instead  of  the  Pope,  and,  by  an  edict 
of  toleration,  granting  to  every  one  the  free  exercise  of  religion.  The 
laity,  on  the  other  hand,  rejoiced  in  liberation  from  the  ancient  bond- 
age. Profession  of  the  Protestant  religion  revived.  In  Styria,  whole 
villages  suddenly  declared  themselves  Reformed ;  and  in  Carinthia 
twenty-two  thousand  persons  made  a  similar  profession.  Alarmed  at 
the  sudden  revulsion  of  Austrian  policy,  Pius  VI.  resolved  to  make  a 
pilgrimage  from  Rome  to  Vienna,  in  order  to  entreat  Joseph  to  pursue 
another  course.  To  anathematize  so  great  a  Monarch  being  no  longer 
prudent,  he  resolved  to  try  flattery.  In  due  time,  therefore,  found- 
ing his  discourse  on  the  words  of  an  Evangelist,  "  Simon  Peter  said 
to  his  companions,  I  go  a-fishing,"  he  bade  farewell  to  the  Consistory 
of  Cardinals  (February  25th,  1 782),  and  gave  them  directions  for  their 
conduct  during  his  absence.  Prayers  were  daily  recited  in  the  churches 
of  the  Holy  City  for  the  itinerant  Pope,  ( pro  Pontifice  itinerante,)  and 
the  line  of  his  progress  was  beset  by  enthusiastic  multitudes,  who  saw  the 
father  of  the  faithful,  hastening  with  a  small  train,  like  some  lowlier 
Priest,  in  a  travelling-carriage,  trusting  to  rescue  his  tottering  cause 
in  the  capital  of  the  empire.*  The  Imperial  Reformer  and  his  Prime 
Minister  received  their  visiter  with  a  cold  respect  which  often  passed 
into  incivility;  but  the  display  of  ecclesiastical  ceremonies,  the  novelty 
and  profusion  of  Papal  benedictions,  the  creation  of  new  Cardinals, 
and  the  establishment  of  a  new  nunciature  in  Bavaria,  and  the  zealous 
co-operation  of  all  orders  of  Priesthood,  Monkery,  and  Jesuits,  pro- 
duced a  reaction  in  Austria,  in  spite  of  the  Sovereign,  and  gave  rise 
to  commotions,  threats,  and  even  attempts  to  assassinate  Joseph  II., 
which  more  than  checked  the  birth  of  religious  freedom. 

Our  notice  of  Austria  shall  close  with  the  banishment  of  between 
four  and  five  hundred  of  the  inhabitants  of  Zillerthal,  in  the  Tyrol, 
which  took  place  so  lately  as  the  year  1837. 

The  Zillerthal,  or  valley  of  the  Ziller,  is  a  broad  and  lovely  valley, 
occupied  by  a  population  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand,  chiefly  farmers 
and  herdsmen.  Many  of  them  travel  for  purposes  of  commerce  to 
Franconia,  Suabia,  and  the  Rhine,  where  they  mingle  in  the  society 
of  Protestants,  receive  copies  of  the  holy  Scriptures  and  religious 
books,  sometimes  change  their  opinions,  and  even  undergo  a  change 
of  heart,  and  so  return  to  their  country  as  bearers  of  glad  tidings  of 
good.  A  number  of  persons  thus  enlightened,  and  therefore  no  longer 
able  to  conceal  their  faith  under  an  outward  conformity  to  the  idola- 
tries of  the  only  acknowledged  Church,  applied  to  their  Priests, 
according  to  the  provision  of  an  existing  law,  for  certificates  of  their 
•wish  to  become  Protestants,  which,  if  given,  the  Magistrates  would  have 
acknowledged,  and  the  transition  could  not  have  been  legally  prevented. 

*  Diario  de  la  Memorabile  Peregrinacion  Apostolica  de  N.  SS.  P.  Pio  VI.,  a  la 
Imperial  Corte  de  Viena,  en  el  auo  pasado  de  1782,  &c.,  &c.  Barcelona. 


614  CHAPTER    IX. 

But  the  Priests  hesitated :  while  hesitating,  they  received  many 
applications;  and  after  vainly  endeavouring  to  dissuade  the  people 
from  their  purpose,  the  Priests  referred  the  request  for  certification  to 
the  government  at  Innspruck,  and  thence  it  was  sent  up  to  the  imperial 
court.  There  it  lay  unnoticed.  In  the  summer  of  1832,  the  Emperor 
Francis  visited  the  Tyrol,  and  the  "  Inclinants,"  as  they  were  called,  sent 
three  of  their  brethren,  John  Fleidl,  Bartholomew  Heim,  and  Christian 
Brucker,  to  Innspruck,  where  they  were  suffered  to  present  a  petition 
to  the  Emperor,  praying  for  permission  to  leave  the  Church  of  Rome. 
He  read  the  petition,  conversed  with  them  very  graciously,  promised 
that  none  should  oppress  or  disturb  them,  and  said  that  he  would  see 
what  could  be  done.  The  Clergy,  however,  also  petitioned  him  not  to 
allow  religious  divisions,  but  to  forbid  the  Inclinants  the  liberty  which 
was  guaranteed  to  them  by  law.  The  poor  peasants  could  not  prevail 
against  the  powerful  interference  of  the  Nuncio  and  Jesuits  ;  and,  after 
some  brief  correspondence,  they  were  told  that  they  should  suffer  no 
persecution,  nor  be  in  any  way  molested,  if,  persisting  in  their  desire, 
they  would  quit  their  native  land.  The  Captain  of  the  circle  (like 
the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  a  county)  came  to  Zillerthal,  and  summoned 
all  the  petitioners  for  religious  liberty.  Upwards  of  four  hundred 
came  into  his  presence,  and  he  told  them  to  the  effect  that  he  appeared 
there,  not  as  Captain  of  the  circle,  but  as  the  Emperor  himself,  in 
order  to  declare  the  imperial  decision  of  January  llth,  1837.  It  was 
thus : — 

1.  That   they  might  return  to  the   Roman  Catholic  Church,  or 
leave   their   fatherland,    as   he   would   not    tolerate    any  Protestant 
community  in  the  Tyrol. 

2.  That  they  might  have  the  choice,  either  to  be  translocated  into 
Austrian  provinces  where  there  were  Protestant  congregations,  or  to 
emigrate  into  foreign  parts. 

3.  That  they  were  to  declare,  within   fourteen  days,  which  of  the 
two  they  would  prefer. 

4.  That  from  the  date  of  their  declaration,  a  term  of  four  months 
should  be  granted,  to  prepare  for  translocation  or  emigration. 

5.  That  if,  in  four  months,  they  were  not  ready  for  one  or  for  the 
other,  their  freedom  of  choice  would  be  at  an  end,  the  official  autho- 
rities would  summon  them  to  move,  and  the  Emperor  would  locate 
them  where  he  pleased. 

No  one  would  accept  the  first  condition,  and  therefore  they 
requested  a  general  passport,  which  would  leave  them  free  to  the 
wide  world ;  but  His  Imperial  Majesty,  Ferdinand  I.,  could  not  allow 
heretics  so  broad  a  range.  Before  being  trusted  with  a  passport, 
they  were  commanded  to  say  whither  they  would  go.  They  knew 
not  whither;  but  Fleidl,  himself  a  poor  man,  although  now  their 
spokesman  and  representative,  wrote  to  some  friends  in  Bavaria, 
describing  the  position  of  his  brethren,  and  begging  that  some  one 
would  apply  on  their  behalf  to  "the  good  King  of  Prussia,"  one 
of  whose  predecessors,  a  century  before,  had  afforded  refuge  to  the 
out-wandering  Salzburgers.  The  Protestants  in  Munich  pitied  the 
confessors  of  the  Zillerthal,  and  endeavoured  to  procure  their  cause  a 


THE    ZILLERTHAL    EMIGRATION.  615 

favourable  hearing  at  Vienna.  But  our  own  William  IV.  had  heard 
of  their  distress,  and  reiterated  his  entreaty  to  the  King  of  Prussia 
to  interfere,  that  the  persecuted  Tyrolese  might  become  a  colony  in 
Prussia.  Afraid  to  expose  them  to  the  uncertainties  of  a  diplomatic 
correspondence,  wherein  the  Papal  Nuncio  would  have  meddled, 
Frederic  William  III.  sent  his  Chaplain,  Dr.  Strauss,*  to  Vienna, 
who  negotiated  privately  with  Prince  Metternich,  and  obtained  a 
promise  that  such  families  as  wished  to  settle  in  Prussia  should  have 
permission  so  to  do.  Without  this  timely  intercession,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  say  what  sufferings  they  might  not  have  had  to  undergo ;  for 
there  was  no  apparent  disposition  in  the  Captain  of  the  circle,  nor  in 
any  other  authority,  either  at  court  or  in  the  province,  to  lighten  the 
burden  of  the  sentence  which  robbed  them  of  their  legal  right. 
Immediately  after  the  return  of  Dr.  Strauss  to  Berlin,  Fleidl,  with 
some  others,  appeared  there  also.  The  peasant  was  received  as 
cordially  as  if  he  had  brought  credentials  from  the  Sovereign  of  a 
first-class  power.  Dr.  Strauss  met  him  and  his  associates  in  the 
novel  embassy,  and  found  that,  although  no  visible  church  had  ever 
been  organized  in  the  Zillerthal,  they  were  indeed  members  of  the  holy 
and  universal  church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  entertained  a 
pure  doctrine,  with  a  noble  principle  of  trust  and  love  towards  the 
Redeemer.  Fleidl  was  not,  indeed,  received  to  an  audience  by  the 
King,  but  wrote  an  address  worthy  to  be  archived.  In  his  own 
name,  and  in  the  name  of  four  hundred  and  thirty  or  four  hundred 
and  forty  companions  in  the  faith,  he  "  ventured  a  cry  of  distress  on 
the  magnanimity  and  grace  of  His  Majesty,  as  the  august  defender 
of  the  pure  Gospel."  He  briefly  and  temperately  mentioned,  rather 
than  described,  the  vexations  they  had  endured  at  home,  and  made 
reference  to  the  past.  "  Already  once  Prussia  gave  to  our  persecuted 
forefathers  a  secure  asylum  :  we,  too,  have  placed  all  our  trust  in 
God  and  the  good  King  of  Prussia.  We  shall  find  help,  and  not  be 
ashamed."  He  proffered  loyalty  and  service,  asked  for  "a  faithful 
Pastor  and  a  zealous  Schoolmaster,"  and  requested  intercession  at 
Vienna  that  the  time  of  their  departure  might  be  postponed  until  the 
spring  ;  and,  in  conclusion,  wrote,  "  May  God  reward  Your  Majesty 
for  all  the  kindness  which  Your  Majesty  may  show  to  us !  Faithful, 
honest,  and  thankful  will  we  remain  in  Prussia,  and  will  not  lay 
aside  the  good  qualities  of  our  Tyrolese  nature.  We  shall  only 
increase  the  number  of  Your  Majesty's  brave  subjects,  and  stand  in 
history  as  a  lasting  monument  that  misfortune,  when  it  dwells  near 
compassion,  ceases  to  be  misfortune ;  and  that  the  Gospel,  when 
obliged  to  fly  from  the  Papacy,  ever  finds  protection  from  the 
magnanimous  King  of  Prussia.  The  Tyrolese  of  Zillerthal,  by  their 
spokesman,  John  Fleidl  of  Zillerthal"  (May  27th).  The  prayer  was 
fully  answered ;  the  Privy  Councillor  Jacobi  instructed  the  peasant- 
envoy  in  the  civil  institutions  of  the  Prussian  state,  to  which  the  new 
subjects  would  be  required  to  submit ;  and  the  tidings  of  a  refuge 
spread  gladness — yet  a  mournful,  solemn  gladness — through  the 
valley  of  the  Ziller. 

*  Not  to  be  confounded  with  the  unhonoured  name  of  the  author  of  the  Leben  Jcsu. 


616  CHAPTER    IX. 

Preparations  for  departure  had  begun  already.  Houses  and  lands 
were  on  sale,  and  waggons  in  building.  With  a  singular  display 
of  confidence,  they  refused  to  accept  formal  securities  for  the  price 
unpaid,  accepting  the  promise  of  "  their  countrymen  "  as  a  sufficient 
bond.  The  Government,  with  a  yet  more  singular  affectation  of 
generosity,  forgave  them  the  emigration-tax,  and  furnished  the  poorest 
of  them  with  assistance  for  the  journey.  But  an  act  of  inhumanity 
spoiled  the  glitter  of  this  miserable  bounty.  Married  persons,  child- 
ren, and  other  members  of  families,  who  remained  behind,  were 
compelled  to  swear  that  "  they  would  never  know  anything  more 
of  those  that  were  taking  their  departure."  Four  days  before  the 
expiration  of  the  term,  the  departure  began.  Then,  even  their 
enemies  relented,  and  not  a  few  entreated  them  to  remain  in  the 
valley,  lest  they  should  cause  a  scandal  to  the  people  abroad  ;  for  what 
would  be  said  in  the  empire  about  the  Tyrolese  ?  Some  offered  their 
relatives  great  advantages  if  they  would  stay  in  the  Church.  "  The 
family  of  L— — ,  with  seven  children,  had  packed  up  their  scanty 
effects  upon  a  small  cart,  which,  in  the  evening,  was  standing  before 
the  door,  ready  to  depart  the  next  morning.  At  this  moment  a 
female  relative  came  and  offered  the  husband  the  freehold  of  a  rich 
farm,  if  he  would  consent  to  adhere  to  the  Church.  '  I  do  not  sell 
my  religion,'  he  calmly  replied.  Some  Priests  also  performed  their 
part,  for  the  purpose  of  directing  attention  and  sympathy  to  the 
exiles  ;  but  they  did  it  in  their  own  way.  On  the  borders  of  the 
valley  of  Kiitzen,  one  chose  for  the  subject  of  his  discourse,  '  The 
judgment  of  God  upon  the  Lutherans,'  in  which  he  alleged,  'It  is 
too  bad  that  the  people  should  be  allowed  to  take  so  much  money  with 
them  as  two  hundred  thousand  imperial  florins.'  "  * 

Many  of  the  scenes  presented  at  the  departure  must  have  been 
equally  edifying  and  impressive.  We  note  one,  as  described  by  an 
eye-witness.—"  I  found  in  Finkenberg  (one  of  the  twenty  villages 

of  Zillerthal)  Q and  his  family  busily  occupied  in  preparing  for 

their  emigration.  A  deeply-interesting  picture !  The  man,  with  his 
brothers,  was  standing  in  the  entrance,  filling  baskets  for  the  journey. 
The  grey-headed  father  was  within  the  house,  surveying  with  a  keen 
eye  every  corner  of  the  place  still  so  dear  to  him,  lest  anything  should 
be  forgotten.  The  wife,  with  an  infant  child  eight  days  old  at  her 
breast,  was,  with  Christian  resignation,  sitting  by  a  cradle  wherein  a 
sick  boy  was  lying.  At  the  door  stood  the  sister  in  tears,  lamenting 
the  separation  from  her  kindred,  whom  she  would  gladly  have 
followed,  had  she  not  been  held  back  by  her  love  to  her  rigidly 
'  Catholic '  husband.  They  invited  me  to  their  noon-day  meal,  the 
last  they  were  to  partake  of  in  the  paternal  home.  At  table,  the 
father  of  the  family — of  whom  I  may  not  think  it  evil  that  he  could 
not  bear  this  trial  with  the  patience  of  his  Lord  f — confessed  that  he 
felt  the  flesh  still  to  struggle  against  the  spirit :  '  but,'  he  added,  '  I 
hope,  by  God's  help,  it  will  soon  be  overcome.'  Among  other  ques- 

*  Or  £20,000.     They  actually  took  into  Prussia  fifty  thousand  reichs-dollars,   or 
about  half  the  former  sum. 
t  Thia  was  not  impatience. 


THE    ZILLERTHAL    EMIGRATION.  617 

tions,  I  asked  him  if  he  was  going  to  take  his  religious  books  with 
him,  as  the  Bible,  Schaitberger's  Epistle,  &c.,  or  whether  he  had  sold 
them.  '  No,'  replied  he,  smiling,  '  I  do  not  sell  the  word  of  God. 
That  I  have  bestowed  upon  people  by  whom  it  will  be  duly  valued,  as 
others  also  have  done,  because  many  have  earnestly  besought  us  to 
leave  them  some  of  our  little  books.  Besides,  the  good  King  will  not 
fail  to  give  us  others,  when  we  arrive  in  Prussia.'  " 

According  to  the  will  of  the  Austrian  Government,  they  took  their 
way  through  the  imperial  states,  Salzburg,  the  archduchy,  Moravia, 
and  Bohemia.  To  make  the  transit  less  conspicuous,  Metternich 
further  directed  them  to  be  sent  in  small  companies ;  and  the  first 
of  these,  consisting  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  set  out,  carrying 
the  women,  the  younger  children,  and  the  aged  and  the  sick,  on 
waggons,  in  the  beginning  of  September.  The  men,  and  some  of  the 
women,  went  on  foot.  During  its  progress  this  party  met  with  much 
unkindness  from  the  Papists  ;  but  the  Government  prudently  gave 
such  instruction  that  the  following  companies  were  not  molested,  and 
even  the  inns  were  open  to  them.  Protestants  everywhere  received 
them  with  great  affection,  gave  them  lodgings  and  refreshment,  threw 
open  the  churches,  there  to  welcome  them  with  psalms,  discourses, 
and  prayer,  and  gave  them  provisions  for  the  journey. 

There  were  four  companies.  In  succession  they  first  trod  their 
new  fatherland  in  the  mountain-village  of  Michelsdorf,  in  the  circle 
of  Landshut.  Earnest  and  still  the  first  procession  moved  forward, 
and  the  spectators,  in  sympathy,  observed  a  deep  silence.  Then 
came  a  larger  train,  wayworn  and  exhausted,  except  the  children  on 
the  waggons.  "  Pastor  Bellman  stepped  into  the  midst  of  the 
pilgrims,  who,  young  and  old,  crowded  round  him  with  tears  in  their 
eyes,  endeavouring  to  reach  his  hand,  and  catch  a  glimpse  of  his 
countenance.  Every  eye  was  fixed  on  him,  glistening  with  emotions 
of  joy  and  gratitude.  One  party  that  was  encamped  near  the  church 
having  procured  it  to  be  opened,  some  of  them  entered.  In  silence 
they  ranged  themselves  before  the  altar,  when  presently  one  of  them 
perceived,  and  drew  the  attention  of  his  companions  to,  a  portrait 
of  the  King.  With  a  generous  shout  of  transport  they  all  rushed 
towards  the  picture,  contemplating  it  with  eyes  beaming  with  tears 
of  joy :  it  was,  indeed,  the  likeness  of  one  who,  by  his  royal  favour, 
had  caused  their  gladness  at  that  happy  moment." 

The  town  of  Schmiedeberg  was  appointed  to  the  immigrants  as 
their  place  of  abode,  until  a  permanent  settlement  could  be  found. 
There  they  first  assembled  for  united  Evangelical  worship  (October 
8th,  1837).  In  the  open  place  before  the  church  the  Zillerthalers 
were  all  assembled  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  at  the  church-doors  a  body 
of  Clergy  waited  to  give  them  solemn  recognition.  There  sang  the 
united  multitude, — 

"  When  Christ  his  church  defends. 

All  hell  may  rage  and  riot, 
Nor  mortal  foes  nor  fiends 

Shall  give  her  long  disquiet : 
He  who  at  God's  right  hand  doth  sit, 
Shall  ijuell  all  foes  beneath  her  feet." 

VOL.    III.  4    K 


618  CHAPTER    IX. 

The  doors  were  then  thrown  open,  and  the  pilgrims  found  a  spiritual 
home,  under  the  direction  of  Pastor  Siegert  of  Fischbach.  The  royal 
family  of  Prussia  showed  them  a  becoming  attention ;  they  were 
furnished  with  a  church,  with  school  house  and  master,  and  provided 
with  copies  of  the  word  of  God.  Their  permanent  settlement  is  now 
at  Erdmannsdorf,  where  they  are  an  honest,  industrious,  and  flourish- 
ing colony.  What  would  they  have  been  in  Austria  ?  * 

"  The  Kings  of  the  earth  arose,  and  the  Princes  took  counsel  toge- 
ther, against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed."  As  in  Austria,  so  in 
France,  and  even  more  violently  there,  the  tornado  of  persecution 
swept  away  the  congregations  of  the  Reformed.  Instead  of  pursuing 
those  mournful  events  which  filled  up  the  period  between  1572,  when 
the  Huguenots  were  massacred  in  Paris,  and  1598,  date  of  the  edict 
of  Nantes,  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence,  we  will  borrow  one 
general  statement  from  a  document  f  which  described  it  accurately, 
under  the  title  of  "  Complaints  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France 
concerning  the  Acts  of  Violence  which  they  have  suffered  in  many 
Parts  of  the  Kingdom,  and  on  account  of  which  they  have  often 
appealed  in  all  Humility  to  His  Majesty  and  the  Gentlemen  of  his 
Council."  They  therein  pleaded  that  no  degree  of  wrong  or  ignominy 
could  destroy  their  quality  of  subjects,  and  that,  in  a  free  country, 
every  subject  should  find  access  to  the  ear  of  his  King.  Yet  they 
used  the  privilege  with  sorrow  :  they  blushed  to  disclose  the  shame 
of  their  country  to  the  eye  of  strangers.  Haply,  King  Henry  IV. 
might  deign  to  pity  them :  for  he  knew  that  they  were  neither 
Spaniards  iior  conspirators ;  but  had  rendered  His  Majesty  most 
faithful  services,  even  from  their  cradle,  defending  him  against  all 
enemies,  and  preserving  the  crown  upon  his  head.  They  had  once 
hoped  that  a  remembrance  of  their  fidelity  might  have  sufficed  as  a 
warranty  for  protection,  in  return,  against  their  oppressors  ;  but  such 
protection  they  had  not  received,  not  even  from  the  Sovereign  whom 
once  they  had  known  as  the  Prince  of  Navarre,  and  saluted  as  their 
own  chief.  During  eight  years  the  malignity  of  the  Romanists  £  had 
abated  none  of  its  rancour,  nor  had  their  own  sufferings  diminished. 
The  only  difference  perceptible  lay  in  a  calculation  on  the  patience 
of  the  Reformed,  whom  their  enemies  supposed  willing  to  suffer  any 
wrong  rather  than,  by  seeking  redress  or  vindication,  disturb  the 
public  peace.  Peace  they  had  never  had,  but,  at  best,  only  a  deceitful 
truce,  even  worse  than  war ;  but  war  they  dreaded.  Therefore  they 
asked  for  justice.  They  asked  it  of  the  King  who  had  lavished  favour 
on  his  enemies,  now  trusting  that  he  would  not  utterly  cast  off  his 
faithful  servants,  although  he  had  been  alienated  from  them  since  the 

*  Evangelisches  Oesterreich,  &c.,  von  Bernhard  Ranpach,  Hamburg,  1741 — 44, 
contains  an  ample  history  of  tbe  Reformation  in  Austria,  and  its  suppression. 
Geschichte  der  Auswanderung  der  Evangeli.schen  Salzburger  im  Jahre  1732,  by  Karl 
Panse,  Leipzig,  1827,  relates  tbe  incidents  of  tbe  Salzburg  emigration.  The  Protestant 
Exiles  of  Zillerthal,  translated  by  John  B.  Saunders,  from  tbe  German  of  Or.  Khein- 
wald,  gives  a  full  account  of  this  recent  persecution.  These  are  our  leading  autho- 
rities. 

t  As  it  is  abridged   by  M.  Benoit,  in  his  Hiatoire  de  1'Edit  de  Nantes   &c.    liv   v 
Delft,  1693. 

t  Whom  they  always  called  Catholiques. 


COMPLAINTS    TO    HENRY    IV.  619 

time  when,  with  the  terror  of  a  general  massacre  yet  before  him,  he 
had  been  compelled  to  go  to  mass.  In  spite  of  all  his  promises  to 
the  members  of  the  communion  from  which  he  had  been  detached, 
they  had  seen  him,  to  their  grief,  take  a  solemn  oath  at  his  consecra- 
tion, and  renew  the  oath  when  invested  with  the  order  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  exterminate  heresy  and  heretics,  the  Reformed  being 
intended,  although  not  named ;  for  those  names  were  obviously  meant 
to  apply  to  them.  Life,  honour,  and  property  being  no  longer  sure 
to  them,  nothing  remained  but  to  rend  the  veil  of  concealment  woven 
around  their  Sovereign  by  the  hands  of  courtiers,  that,  whether  they 
pleased  or  not,  he  might  see  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  his  most 
faithful  subjects. 

Few  and  feeble  were  their  friends,  dispirited  by  the  mass  of  enmity 
which  pressed  on  them  from  every  side.  Men  of  all  orders,  nobles 
and  commons,  magistrates  and  councillors  of  state,  combined  to  ruin 
and  destroy  them ;  but  it  was  chiefly  the  priesthood,  by  whose 
incitement  all  the  rest  were  incessantly  impelled.  During  fifty  years 
their  fathers  and  their  brethren  had  been  put  to  shameful  deaths, — 
burnt,  drowned,  hung,  murdered  one  by  one,  massacred  in  multitudes, 
and  banished  the  realm  by  edicts.  During  thirty-five  years  seven 
wars  of  extermination  had  been  waged  against  them.  Never  had 
they  been  allowed  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  except  where  too 
numerous  to  be  deprived  of  it  by  force,  and  there  were  many  places 
whose  inhabitants  could  only  hear  a  sermon  by  travelling  ten  or 
twelve  leagues  for  it.  There .  were  entire  provinces,  as  Bourgogne 
and  Picardy,  without  a  single  congregation.  In  others,  as  Provence, 
there  were  but  two,  and  in  some,  as  in  Bretagne,  but  one.  Else- 
where, although  very  numerous,  they  might  only  worship  outside  the 
walls  ;  for  strong  garrisons  were  kept  there  to  disperse  any  worshippers 
who  should  venture  to  assemble  within  those  towns.  Where  congre- 
gations were  permitted,  those  who  frequented  them  were  hooted 
and  pelted  through  the  streets.  At  Pontorsen,  when  a  gentleman 
attempted  to  take  his  infant  child  to  be  baptized,  the  Parliament 
of  Rennes  sent  an  armed  force  to  prevent  his  passage,  killed  two 
men,  and  would  have  killed  more,  if  the  garrison  of  Vitro"  had  not 
turned  out  to  rescue  him.  A  mob  of  thirteen  hundred  men  had 
fallen  on  a  company  of  one  hundred  helpless  persons,  who  were 
about  to  partake  of  the  holy  communion,  at  the  distance  of  a  day's 
journey  from  their  home,  broken  the  doors  and  windows,  and  beaten 
many  of  them  until  they  lay  senseless  on  the  floor  ;  and  this  was  but 
one  scene  out  of  many  of  the  kind.  Some  were  prosecuted  for 
daring  to  offer  prayer  in  their  families.  A  Minister  had  been  fined 
heavily  for  administering  the  sacrament  of  baptism  to  an  infant ;  and 
in  several  places  even  five  persons  were  forbidden  to  pray  together, 
under  the  penalty  of  ten  thousand  crowns,  and  preachers  were 
constantly  exhorting  the  mob  to  drive  the  Reformed  out  of  their 
towns.  Madame,  only  sister  of  the  King,  had  spies  set  over  her 
household ;  and  one  of  her  chief  servants  had  been  imprisoned  for 
praying  in  a  forbidden  place.  In  some  places  they  were  only  per- 
mitted to  have  public  prayers,  without  sermons ;  and  even  this  service 

4   K   2 


620  CHAPTER    IX. 

•was  often  hindered,  as  at  Montagnac,  where  they  had  purchased 
ground  whereon  to  huild  an  oratory,  but  were  not  allowed  to  cover 
it ;  and  the  Constable  and  Parliament  of  Totdouse  had  not  hesitated 
to  silence  the  licensed  prayers.  Troops  of  the  Dukes  of  Nemours 
and  Guise  had  converted  churches  into  stables,  and  assaulted  the 
occupants.  A  long  catalogue  of  such  outrages  displayed  the  malice 
of  their  persecutors,  while  their  own  forbearance  demonstrated  the 
power  of  a  better  spirit. 

Many  edicts,  from  the  edict  of  January,  under  Charles  IX., 
extended  the  privilege  of  worship  into  new  places ;  but,  despite  the 
royal  authority  under  which  they  claimed  it,  "  Catholic  Governors," 
so  called,  refused  to  execute  orders  of  the  kind,  and  many  inferior 
courts  had  published  others  in  contravention  of  the  edicts. 

During  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  the  Reformed  were  allowed  the 
exercise  of  their  religion  in  the  army  ;  but  after  the  accession  of 
Henry  IV.  to  the  crown,  that  privilege  had  been  withdrawn.  Even 
Madame,  his  sister,  found  herself  obliged  to  go  from  Rouen  to  another 
place,  because  the  Pope's  Legate  did  not  please  that  she  should 
partake  of  the  holy  communion  in  that  city,  nor  did  the  King,  who 
was  there,  interpose  to  shield  her  from  the  indignity.  Romanist 
landlords  had  arbitrarily  forbidden  the  celebration  of  worship  on  their 
estates,  in  open  violation  of  treaties  and  engagements.  Even  the 
least  acts  of  private  devotion  were  hindered,  and  many  devout  per- 
sons, in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom,  lay  in  prison  for  no  other 
offence  than  that  of  making  prayer  to  God,  and  their  Psalm-books 
had  been  publicly  burnt  by  the  hangman.  At  Meaux  the  Sergeant- 
Major,  with  his  staff  of  office,  beat  a  respectable  citizen  who  had  been 
heard  to  sing  ;  and  the  King  being  then  at  Monceaux,  only  two 
leagues  distant,  some  deputies  went  from  the  Assembly  of  Loudun 
and  reported  the  outrage  to  His  Majesty,  who  carelessly  replied,  that 
he  "would  speak  to  the  Sergeant- Major."  In  many  places  Bibles 
and  other  books  were  taken  from  their  possessors  ;  and  if  any  were 
found  to  have  concealed  them,  they  were  fined,  imprisoned,  or 
banished.  Two  hundred  persons  had  been  treacherously  surprised 
and  massacred  by  the  garrison  of  Rochefort.  At  Digne,  in  Provence, 
the  Judges,  who  threw  some  one  into  prison  for  this  single  offence, 
did  not  blush  to  forbid  his  brethren  to  meet  together  to  pray  to  God, 
(pour  prier  Dieu,)  under  a  penalty  of  a  hundred  crowns.  The 
Parliament  of  Rennes  did  the  same,  and  also  threatened  to  make 
a  perquisition  of  books,  and  punish  all  who  printed,  sold,  or 
owned  volumes  not  sanctioned  by  themselves.  Sick  persons  were 
prevented  from  receiving  the  visits  of  their  friends,  but  saw  their 
chambers  filled  with  Monks.  Honours  to  Popish  processions  were 
forcibly  extorted  from  reluctant  householders  and  passengers ;  and 
Priests,  with  Magistrates,  went  from  house  to  house  to  find  newly- 
born  infants,  and  baptize  them  by  force,  and  to  ascertain  who  ate 
meat  in  Lent,  or  worked  on  saints'  days.  Various  Parliaments  had 
prevented  the  establishment  of  colleges,  even  where  the  royal  patents 
gave  authority  for  their  erection,  and  many  schoolmasters  were 
forcibly  ejected  from  their  homes.  "  Do  they  wish,  then,"  asked  the 


COMPLAINTS    TO    HENRY    IV.  621 

complainants,   "  to  reduce   us  to  ignorance  and   barbarism  ?     Could 
Julian  have  done  more  ?  " 

The  poor  were  excluded  from  participation  in  common  charity,  and 
driven  out  of  the  towns,  even  where  the  alms  of  the  Reformed  were 
by    far    the    most    abundant.     Priests,    such    as    the   Curate  of   St. 
Etienne  de  Furan,  forbade  their  parishioners  to  allow  heretics  to  rent 
their  houses,  or  take  them  into   their  employ.     Judges — guardians 
of  the  public  peace — encouraged  children  to  insult  aged  Christians  in 
the  streets,  whom  they  then  shut  up  in  prisons,  as  if  to  keep  them 
safe.     The  way  to  offices,  however  trifling,  was  now   closed  against 
"  heretics,"  and  those  who  still  retained  high   office   in  Parliaments 
and    courts    were    covered    with    contumely    while    endeavouring    to 
discharge  the  functions.     From  the  Judges  presiding,  prosecutors  and 
clients  in  courts  often  received  insolence  instead  of  justice,  and  were 
addressed  as  dogs,  Turks,  heretics,  heteroclites  of  the   new  opinion, 
fit  only  to  be  hunted  down  with   fire  and  sword,  and  to  be  driven 
out  of  the  kingdom.      Seguier,  one  of  the  Advocates-General  in  the 
Parliament  of  Paris,  speaking  to  a  case  of  one  Rochechalais,  a  gentle- 
man of  consideration  among  the  Reformed,  pleaded  that  those  people 
were  unworthy  of  the  King's  edicts ;  that  the  benefit  of  laws  only 
belonged  to  Catholics ;  and  that,  if  an  order  were  granted  in  favour 
of  this  gentleman,   the  King's   servants  would   oppose  it,  and  take 
away,   as    from   an   unworthy  person,    the   property  that    might    be 
adjudged   to   him.     The  course  of  justice  was  turned  aside  at  every 
tribunal.     In  birth,  in  life,  in   society,  and  even   at   the  grave,  the 
Reformed  were  covered  with  ignominy  and  oppression.     In  not  a  few 
places  they  were  denied  burial-ground  ;  from  others  the  dead  had  to 
be  carried   many  leagues   for  interment,   and  that   only   on  difficult 
conditions,  as  to  the  number  of  bearers  and  followers,  and  the  hour 
of  the  night, — for  they  were  not  suffered  to  bury  their  dead  before  the 
sun, — and  they  had  to  pay  heavy  fees  for  this  permission.    Often  would 
the  Bishop,  or  some  Priest,  command  the  corpse  interred  at  so  great 
cost  to  be  taken  from  the  grave  again,  or  from  the  ancient  family- 
vault  ;  and  corpses,  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  or  any  other 
consideration   of   decency   or   pity,   were  thrown   up   naked   on    the 
ground,  frequently  after  the  mourners  had  returned  to  distant  dwell- 
ings, and  left  to  be  mangled  by  the  dogs. 

After  all,  the  complainants  declared,  they  had  written  but  a  part 
of  what  might  have  been  told,  and  were  content  only  to  ask  that  they 
might  not  utterly  perish,  but,  for  the  preservation  of  the  state,  which 
i"ell  into  ruin  together  with  its  persecuted  members,  might  yet  be 
suffered  to  exist.  They  had  prayed  for  an  edict  of  relief,  and  were 
told  that  the  time  for  that  act  of  grace  was  not  yet  come.  "  Not  yet 
come ! "  they  remonstrated,  "  after  thirty-five  years  of  cruel  persecu- 
tions, ten  years  of  banishment,  eight  of  exclusion  from  the  kingdom, 
four  that  we  have  been  hunted  down  like  beasts  of  prey  ! "  But  they 
well  knew  the  Pope  to  be  at  the  source  of  this  injustice,  and  were 
threatened  with  even  worse  treatment  than  they  were  then  enduring. 

Then  followed  the  prayer  of  the  petition  :  "  We  ask  an  edict 
of  Your  Majesty  that  shall  give  us  to  enjoy  what  is  the  common  right 


622  CHAPTER    IX. 

of  all  your  subjects  :  less,  indeed,  than  you  have  granted  to  your 
bitterest  enemies,  to  those  who  are  in  league  against  you :  we  ask  au 
edict  that  shall  not  be  made  to  compel  you  to  govern  your  states 
otherwise  than  as  you  please,  nor  force  you  to  exhaust  your  finances 
and  surcharge  your  people.  Let  not  avarice  nor  ambition  mislead 
you.  The  glory  of  God,  the  freedom  of  our  consciences,  the  peace 
of  the  realm,  the  safety  of  our  goods  and  our  lives, — these  alone  are 
the  height  of  our  desires,  the  end  of  our  requests."  * 

Henry  IV.  had  been  at  war  with  Spain,  and  needed  the  loyalty 
of  the  Huguenots.  He  had  narrowly  escaped  death  by  the  knife 
of  Chatel,  a  Jesuit, — not  without  evidence  of  conspiracy  ;  and  the 
Jesuits,  although  sentenced  to  banishment  from  the  kingdom,  main- 
tained their  ground  in  the  provinces,  in  spite  of  the  royal  mandate. 
He  could  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  services  of  the  Reformed  in  bear- 
ing arms  for  the  defence  of  their  country.  Perhaps  he  remembered 
the  matins  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  is  said  to  have  experienced  some 
compunction  for  having  renounced  their  communion,  and  even  sworn 
at  his  consecration,  "  I  will  endeavour,  to  the  utmost  of  my  power, 
and  in  good  faith,  to  expel  from  my  jurisdiction,  and  from  the  lands 
under  my  dominion,  all  heretics  denounced  by  my  Church."  It 
could  bring  no  comfort  to  his  conscience,  that  he  had  promised  the 
Pope  to  make  an  end  of  heresy  in  France,  and  to  admit  the  decrees 
of  the  Council  of  Trent,  as  conditions  of  receiving  absolution  and  a 
blessing.  He  knew  who  were  his  friends  ;  but  had  entangled  him- 
self in  the  toils  of  conflicting  engagements  too  deeply  to  hope  for 
peace.  Policy,  therefore,  if  not  affection,  now  inclined  him  to  grant 
the  petition  ;  and,  at  Mantes  (April  7th,  1598),  he  signed  the  edict 
so  well  known  by  the  name  of  that  city,  and  which  served  to  shield 
the  Reformed  from  extreme  oppression  for  a  time.  The  edict,  con- 
taining ninety-two  articles,  with  a  supplementary  document  of  fifty- 
six,  conferred  some  additional  privileges  of  worship  in  an  enlarged 
number  of  towns ;  confirmed  them  in  occupation  of  the  "  towns 
of  surety," — independent  municipalities,  such  as  were  numerous  in 
France,  and  some  of  them  with  their  own  Governors  and  garrisons ; 

*  The  massacre  of  Chataigneraye,  referred  to  in  these  complaints,  was  the  deed  of  a 
lady !  At  Chataigneraye,  a  small  town  in  Poitou,  the  Reformed  were  wont  to  congre- 
gate for  worship  from  the  surrounding  places.  The  lady  of  the  manor,  a  woman 
notorious  for  cruelty  to  her  tenants  on  account  of  their  religion,  had  observed  that  the 
men  carried  arms, —  a  precaution  necessary  in  case  of  attack  by  the  armed  leaguers,  who 
overran  the  country.  For  the  sake  of  preserving  her  game,  as  she  pretended,  she 
ordered  all  who  came  to  "  preaching  "  on  her  estate  to  come  unarmed,  and  accompanied 
the  order  with  such  severe  threateniugs,  that  the  poor  people  obeyed  perforce.  As  soon 
as  she  was  satisfied  that  they  habitually  came  without  any  means  of  defence,  she 
managed  to  engage  the  garrison  of  Rochefort  to  march  into  the  town  while  the  congre- 
gation was  at  worship  in  the  house  of  a  gentleman  named  Vaudore,  fall  on  them 
unawares,  and  murder  many  of  them  on  the  spot.  Two  hundred  were  cut  to  pieces, 
without  distinction  of  sex  or  age  ;  an  infant  brought  thither  to  receive  baptism  being 
among  the  number.  A  child,  in  hw  simplicity,  offered  the  savage  who  seized  him  eight 
sous  for  his  life  ;  but  the  Duke  of  Mercosur,  it  seems,  had  forbidden  ransom  to  be  taken, 
the  offer  could  not  be  accepted,  and  the  child  was  cut  down  at  a  stroke.  The  Dame 
of  La  Chataigneraye  made  herself  merry  at  the  exploit  of  her  leaguers,  and  carefully 
collected  the  names  of  the  two  hundred  slain,  that  she  might  ascer'ain  who,  of  those 
whom  she  hated,  had  fallen  on  that  day.  Five  or  six  of  the  brigauds  were  taken  and 
hung  ;  but  sufficient  justice  had  not  been  done  to  prevent  similar  atrocities. 


THE    EDICT    OF    NANTES.  623 

required  mutual  amnesty  of  offences,  and  laid  an  injunction  of 
reciprocal  charity  on  both  Romanist  and  "  pretended  Reformed," 
guarding  the  pride  of  the  one,  and,  as  far  as  they  were  recognised, 
the  rights  of  the  other.  To  protect  the  subjects  of  indulgence  from 
abuse  of  justice,  a  new  set  of  tribunals  was  forthwith  to  be  established, 
and  a  sum  of  forty-three  thousand  three  hundred  crowns  was  granted 
from  the  royal  treasury,  and  distributed,  at  the  Synod  of  Montpellier, 
between  the  universities,  academies,  and  churches.  The  number  of 
churches,  we  may  note,  was  then  diminished  to  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-three.  De  Thou,  President  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  now- 
better  known  as  the  historian,  and  the  Lord  de  Calignon,  Chancellor 
of  Navarre,  a  zealous  Protestant,  and  one  who  resisted  the  offer  of  the 
chancellorship  of  France  as  a  bribe  to  apostacy,  are  said  to  have  spent 
three  years  in  arranging  the  articles  of  this  edict.  But  jealousy  and 
mistrust  in  regard  to  the  instrument  itself,  the  delay  of  Parliaments 
in  placing  it  on  their  registers,  so  as  to  give  it  force  of  law,  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  Romish  Clergy,  and  the  fluctuation  of  politics,  much 
diminished  the  benefits  that  appear  on  the  face  of  it.  And  the 
restoration  of  the  Jesuits  to  favour  was  alone  sufficient  to  undermine 
a  fabric  of  security  thrown  up  as  an  expedient  to  satisfy  an  aggrieved 
party,  rather  than  as  a  national  defence  against  intolerance.  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  Henry  IV.  ceased  to  reign,  assassinated  by  Ravaillac 
(May  14th,  1610),  the  Reformed  again  fell  under  the  malignity 
of  their  ancient  persecutors. 

Formidable  through  number  and  influence  in  all  ranks  of  society, 
not  excepting  the  royal  family,  having  privilege  of  a  distinct  jurisdic- 
tion, which  was  guaranteed  by  the  occupation  of  two  hundred  towns 
and  fortresses,  and  further  acknowledged  by  an  allotment  of  revenue 
and  nomination  of  Governors  by  the  crown,  the  Reformed  could  not 
suddenly  be  overpowered ;  nor  was  the  Church  in  haste  to  attempt 
the  victory  by  force  which  she  hoped  to  gain  by  policy,  not  in 
France  alone,  but  in  all  Europe. 

First  of  all,  then,  a  corrupt  administration  of  the  law,  as  defined 
by  the  edict  of  Nantes,  and  confirmed,  with  trifling  variations,  by 
registration  in  the  Parliaments,  gave  rise  to  incessant  litigation. 
Questions  of  right,  which  ought  to  have  been  set  at  rest,  were  raised 
again  ;  and,  in  the  mixed  courts,  the  Romish  party  being  generally 
the  stronger,  their  policy  prevailed  in  the  decisions,  to  the  extinction 
of  equity,  and  often  to  the  most  flagrant  violation  of  justice.  While 
the  Reformed  were  pouring  in  appeals  for  redress  at  court,  the  Clergy 
held  an  Assembly  of  their  own  in  Paris  (A.D.  1615),  to  agree  on 
the  amount  of  contributions  to  be  rendered  from  the  ecclesiastical 
revenues  to  the  state,  and  on  compensation  to  be  demanded  from  the 
King  in  favour  of  the  Church.  They  complained  bitterly  to  Louis 
XIII.  of  the  state  of  religion  in  his  kingdom  of  Navarre ;  where  there 
was  such  a  paucity  of  Priests,  they  said,  that,  at  Beam,  the  children 
of  the  few  remaining  "Catholics"  often  grew  up  unbaptized. 
"  Pretended  Reformed "  Ministers,  they  said,  lived  on  the  revenues 
of  the  Church,  and  the  faithful  were  dying  without  the  sacraments. 
"  More  tolerable,"  said  the  Bishop  of  Beauvais,  "  was  the  condition 


624  CHAPTER    IX. 

of  Christians  under  the  power  of  Turks,  than  under  the  intolerance 
of  these  Protestants."  The  complaint  was  found  to  be  exaggerated, 
and  led  to  no  immediate  result ;  but  they  instituted  a  conversion-fund 
by  depositing  thirty  thousand  livres  as  a  beginning,  in  order  to 
pension  deserters  from  the  Evangelical  church  at  Beam,  and  thus 
obtain  their  agency  for  the  corruption  of  the  rest.  Louis,  also,  when 
at  Bourdeaux  shortly  afterwards,  found  occasion  to  gratify  the  Priests 
by  disarming  the  Reformed  part  of  the  population,  under  pretence 
of  a  suspicion  that  they  were  in  treasonable  correspondence,  or  were 
likely  so  to  be.  In  Auvergne,  some  of  the  most  powerful  families, 
secretly  associated  in  the  Romish  league,  spared  no  pains  to  injure 
the  Reformed  minority,  whose  complaints  resounded  in  the  Louvre, 
but  were  scarcely  heeded.  In  Provence  the  Protestants  quarrelled 
among  themselves  ;  and,  while  they  spent  their  strength  in  angry 
debates  in  Synods  and  Assemblies,  their  adversaries,  ever  one  to 
promote  the  cause  of  their  own  Church,  took  advantage  of  the  schism. 
While  Calvinists  and  Arminians  wrangled,  Popery  prevailed.*  At 
Charenton  the  Jesuit  Arnoux  provoked  Du  Moulin  and  his  colleagues 
to  enter  into  controversy.  But  a  book  -f-  which  they  presumed  to 
dedicate  to  the  King  in  defence  of  Evangelical  doctrine  was  laid  before 
the  Parliament  of  Paris,  thence  taken  to  the  King's  council-chamber, 
and  there  suppressed.  In  the  heat  of  this  controversy,  the  forbidden 
volume  being  in  every  one's  hands,  and  the  Reformed  Synod  assem- 
bled at  Vitro",  the  Clergy  met  again  in  Paris  (A.D.  1617),  and,  profit- 
ing by  the  irritation  of  their  party,  the  King  himself  included, 
renewed  their  efforts  of  demolition.  At  the  head  of  a  numerous 
clerical  deputation,  the  Bishop  of  Macon  harangued  His  Majesty. 
He  called  the  Reformed  "monsters,"  and  their  church,  although 
legally  established,  "  Hagar,  the  concubine,"  the  servile  rival,  fit  only 
to  be  driven  to  the  desert ;  and  confessed  that  his  brethren  only  bore 
•with  her  for  the  sake  of  peace.  He  represented,  in  piteous  and 
indignant  language,  the  persecution  said  to  be  suffered  by  Catholics 
in  the  cautionary  towns.  At  Montpellier,  for  example,  the  inhabitants 
would  not  suffer  a  Jacobin  monkery  to  be  established  within  the 
walls,  reasonably  fearing  to  admit  inmates  of  the  kind.  Neither 
would  they  give  licence  to  a  Jesuit  preacher  whom  the  Bishop  had 
sent ;  for  they  dreaded  the  consequences  of  his  political  orations. 
But  he  chiefly  descanted  on  the  humiliation  of  his  communion  in  the 
principality  of  Beam.  There,  as  in  England,  the  churches  and 
church-lands  had  been  transferred  to  the  Reformed,  a  change  which 
he  denounced  as  abominably  sacrilegious.  "With  priestly  confidence 
he  demanded  one  hundred  parish  churches  to  be  restored  to  their 
original  service ;  and  affirmed,  as  roundly  as  if  he  were  speaking 
truth,  that  twenty-five  persons  out  of  every  thirty  were  addicted  to 
the  ancient  superstition.  And  he  wound  up  the  harangue  by  exhort- 

*  Let  it  not  be  thought  that  the  author  is  indifferent  to  this  controversy,  which  is 
many  ages  older  than  Luther.  But  doctrinal  exaggerations  rankle  and  luxuriate  as 
piety  decays,  and  then  the  common  enemies  of  evangelical  religion  triumph,  a.t  at  this 
day. 

t  "  Defense  de  la  Confession  de  Foy  des  Eglises  Reformees  de  France,  contre  les 
Accusations  du  Sieur  Arnoux.  Jesuite,"  &c. 


MASS    RESTORED    AT    BEARN.  625 

ing  Louis  to  take  the  Cross ;  not  to  go  beyond  sea  to  chase  the  enemy 
of  Christendom  from  the  holy  places  of  Palestine,  but  to  deliver  the 
churches  of  Beam  from  the  profanation  of  the  Protestants. 

The  King  had,  twice  at  least,  promised  that  the  Jesuits  should  be 
excluded  from  the  cautionary  towns,  unless,  indeed,  his  answer  to  the 
petition  of  his  subjects  was  a  refined  equivocation  ;  *  but  he  now 
declared,  in  an  order  to  the  Council  of  State,  that  not  only  might 
Jesuits,  or  any  other  Catholic  preachers,  be  sent  into  Montpellier,  but 
into  all  the  other  towns,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Bishops,  and  that  he 
had  never  intended  otherwise.  And  as  for  Beam,  although  it  was  an 
independent  state,  and  the  monarchy  elective,  Louis  XIII.  deprived  it 
of  its  independence  by  annexing  it  to  France,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
granted  the  Assembly  of  Clergy  an  order  for  the  restitution  of  ecclesi- 
astical property  and  the  re-establishment  of  "  the  Catholic  religion  " 
throughout  the  province  (A.D.  1617).  The  King  marched  to  Pau  at 
the  head  of  an  army,  caused  mass  to  be  said  at  Navarrin,  just  fifty 
years  after  it  had  been  abolished  in  the  reign  of  Jeanne  d'  Albret,  and 
received  the  most  emphatic  praise  and  congratulation  of  the  Nuncio 
Bentivoglio  and  the  French  Bishops  (October  19th,  1619).  Having 
made  sure  of  Beam,  the  united  chiefs,  temporal  and  spiritual,  pro- 
ceeded to  get  possession  of  the  cautionary  towns,  either  by  treachery 
or  force,  and  were  not  long  in  depriving  the  Reformed  of  most  of 
them.  In  order  to  raise  up  the  Papal  hierarchy  on  the  ruins  of  the 
Reformation,  the  King  of  France  and  his  Generals  marched  from 
province  to  province,  seized  on  one  place  after  another,  and  treated  as 
rebels  every  one  who  appealed  to  the  edict  of  Nantes,  and  to  his  own 
repeated  acts  of  confirmation.  Strange,  indeed,  was  the  position 
of  affairs.  Louis  and  his  army  were  sitting  down  before  Rochelle,  the 
chief  town  and  fortress  of  P.-otestantism  in  France,  and,  while  con- 
ducting the  operations  of  the  siege,  he  received  letters-apostolic  from 
the  Pope,  exhorting  him  not  to  lay  down  his  arms  until  he  had  taken 
the  city,  and  deprived  the  heretics  of  every  place  of  surety.  The 
"Prince  of  the  Church"  lavished  praises  on  his  valiant  and  devoted 
son,  promised  him  the  protection  of  all  saints,  and  commended  the 
zeal  with  which  he  had  imitated  the  virtues  of  his  ancestors,  who  had 
paid  no  less  honour  to  the  exhortations  of  the  Popes  than  to  the 
commands  of  God  (July  10th,  1621).  From  Roehelle  the  King 
hastened  to  Montauban,  where  another  division  of  his  army  pressed  a 
siege  ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  raise  it.  Meanwhile,  an  ambulatory 
Synod  of  Priests,  at  Paris,  at  Poitiers,  and  at  Bourdeaux,  watched 
the  course  of  the  crusade,  raised  the  tithe-charges  on  their  flocks, 

*  The  Cahier,  or  memorial  of  the  Assembly  of  Saumur,  in  1611,  contained  the 
following  article: — *'  LI  1 1.  Qn'il  ne  soil  permis  aux  Jesu'ites  de  dresser  college, 
semiuaire,  ou  maison  d'habitation  ;  precher,  enseigner,  coufesser,  n'y  meme  faire 
residence  en  aucune  des  dites  places,  tenues  par  ceux  de  la  dite  religion,  et  qu'il  plaise 
a  Sa  M.  restraiudre  lea  dites  Jesuites  par  tout  son  royaume,  aux  lieux  auxquela  ils 
furent  restraints  par  leur  retablissemeut  t'ait  en  1'an  1603."  The  rescript  placed  oppo- 
site this  request  reads  thus  :  "  Aucun  college  de  Jesuites  ne  peut  etre  etabli  en  aucun 
endroit  de  ce  royaurue  que  par  la  permission  de  Sa  Majeste,  qui  y  saura  bieu  pourvoir, 
en  sorte  qu'ils  n'uyent  aucune  occasion  de  se  plaiudre."  But  even  under  this  word  of  a 
King  could  lie  concealed  the  arriire  petu>ee  of  a  Je.suit. — See  Beuoit,  tom.  ii.,  Recneil. 
&c.,  p.  23. 

VOL.     III.  4     L 


626  CHAPTER    IX. 

and   offered   the  increase,    "a   million   of   gold,"   for   the    King    to 
finish  it. 

The  Duke  of  Mayenne,  a  popular  man,  fell  before  Ville  Bourbon. 
His  death  was  made  the  signal  for  revenge  on  the  heretics.  At  Paris, 
especially,  so  great  was  the  fury  of  the  populace,  that  for  five  days 
the  Protestants  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses,  every  moment 
expecting  to  be  massacred.  Fray  Domingo  de  Jesus  Maria,  an  apostle 
of  persecution  in  Bohemia,  a  saint  and  wonder-worker  in  Vienna  and 
in  Rome,  adored  by  the  populace  of  Spain,  his  native  country,  and 
by  the  fanatics  of  Germany  and  Italy,  and  once  honoured  with  a  sort 
of  ecclesiastical  ovation  by  the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  hurried  from  Italy 
to  France,  there  to  preach  up  slaughter.  But  failing  at  Paris,  where 
his  grimaces  excited  more  disgust  than  veneration,  he  hung  upon  the 
skirts  of  the  camp,  and  exhorted  vast  congregations  to  join  their 
forces  to  those  of  the  military  for  the  extermination  of  image-breakers, 
exhibiting  a  disfigured  picture  of  the  Virgin,  which,  he  said,  the 
Lutherans  had  insulted  ;  and  his  rhetoric,  although  two  centuries 
past  the  time  in  France,  was  not  wholly  without  effect.  The  Papists 
of  Saumur  were  persuaded  to  massacre  their  fellow-townsmen  ;  but 
the  Governor,  by  vigilance,  saved  them  from  the  perpetration  of  that 
crime.  At  Paris,  however,  the  devotees  could  no  longer  be  restrained. 
A  woman  was  murdered  in  the  street,  because  she  would  not  bow 
down  before  an  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  many  houses  were 
broken  open  and  pillaged.  A  mob  of  zealots  went  to  Charenton, 
burnt  down  the  church,  a  spacious  and  venerable  building,  and 
destroyed  the  library.  The  Priests  looked  on  complacently ;  but  the 
civil  authorities  interfered,  placed  the  Reformed  under  the  protection 
of  the  King  and  of  justice,  and  appeased  the  tumult. 

The  trickery  of  a  counterfeited  justice,  and  weight  of  arm,  equally, 
and  in  alternation,  served  the  cause  of  spiritual  and  civil  despotism. 

Commissaries  went  into  the  provinces,  professing  to  investigate  and 
redress  grievances,  in  ostensible  fulfilment  of  the  edict  of  Nantes ;  a 
Romanist  and  a  Reformed  Commissioner  being  always  united.  But 
the  representative  of  the  oppressed,  being  nominated  by  the  oppressor, 
dared  not  maintain  the  interests  of  his  client ;  and  his  concurrence  in 
robbery  or  persecution  aggravated  the  wrong  it  was  pretended  to 
remove.  The  sentences  of  public  tribunals  were  no  less  corrupt  than 
the  decisions  of  those  mock-arbitrators.  "  I  plead  against  a  heretic," 
said  the  Advocate ;  "  I  have  to  do  with  a  sectarian  hateful  to  the 
state,  with  one  of  a  religion  which  the  King  is  determined  to  extir- 
pate." And  if  the  defendant  murmured,  he  was  answered,  "  You 
have  the  remedy  in  your  own  hands  :  why  do  you  not  turn  Catholic?" 
Inquisitors  collected  information  of  unguarded  sayings,  uttered  in  the 
confidence  of  domestic  life  for  twenty  years  befoi-e,  and  communicated 
them  to  Magistrates  for  their  guidance  in  decisions  on  the  bench. 

Forced  or  venal  conversions  followed  the  labours  of  Monks  and 
soldiers,  and  repaid  the  outlay  of  the  conversion-fund.  A  few  exam- 
ples may  serve  to  illustrate  this  method  of  reviving  Catholicism,  as 
Ranke  would  call  it.  The  little  town  of  Wals,  in  the  Ardeche, 
surrendered  to  the  royal  troops  after  receiving  a  few  cannon-shot, 


MILITARY    CONVERSIONS.  627 

and  oil  dishonourable  conditions.  The  Duke  of  Montmorency  put  a 
zealous  garrison  into  the  castle ;  the  Consuls  first  asked  pardon  on 
their  knees,  and,  although  the  population  was  so  entirely  Calvinist 
as  to  be  called  "  the  little  Geneva,"  mass  was  forthwith  established, 
the  Jesuits  began  their  mission,  and,  in  a  few  weeks,  the  former 
religion  almost  disappeared.  The  town  of  Foix,  capital  of  the  old 
county  of  that  name,  was  inhabited  by  some  Reformed  families,  until 
the  Capuchin  Monk  Villate,  an  emissary  of  the  Bishop  of  Pamiers, 
appeared  there  as  preacher  of  the  Advent  and  Lent  sermons  (A.D. 
1 022).  His  seditious  discourses,  monkish  controversies,  conferences 
proposed  to  the  Minister,  and  all  enforced  by  the  pious  violence 
of  the  Governor,  brought  over  all  those  families  to  the  Church 
of  Rome.  None  withstood  him  beside  the  Minister  and  his  wife,  who 
were  permitted  to  quit  the  place,  but  accompanied  by  a  trumpeter, 
given  them  under  the  name  of  escort,  and  who  proclaimed  the 
triumph  of  the  Monk  as  he  followed  the  two  confessors  through  the 
streets  of  Foix,  and  along  the  road  which  led  out  of  the  province.  The 
Priests  of  the  town  gave  Villate  a  certificate  that  he  had  wrought  the 
wonderful  conversions  by  the  power  of  the  word  of  God  alone ;  and 
some  headlong  proselytes  displayed  their  zeal  in  the  new  cause  by 
demolishing  their  former  church,  as  no  longer  wanted,  after  deposit- 
ing its  furniture  in  the  mass-houses.  The  share,  however,  taken  by 
the  King  and  court  in  effecting  the  conversions  of  Foix,  was  not  very 
carefully  concealed ;  and  the  Archbishop  of  Ambrun,  addressing  the 
King  with  reference  to  this  victory,  did  not  scruple  to  call  him  "  the 
Apostle "  whose  prudence  and  whose  arms  had  wrought  out  those 
conversions ;  plainly  attributing  to  terror  what  the  certificate  of  the 
Priests  had  attested  to  be  the  result  of  instruction.  The  Nuncio  at 
Paris  boasted  that  the  mildness,  love,  patience,  and  good  example 
of  the  Clergy  had  subdued  the  obstinacy  of  the  heretics,  while  it  was 
remarkable  that  their  wonders  were  uniformly  wrought  in  the  track 
of  a  destroying  army ;  and  when  it  was  boasted  that  one  zealous 
Missionary  had  reclaimed  eighteen  hundred  persons  in  Beam,  no  one 
sincerely  ascribed  the  glory  to  any  other  "  Apostle  "  than  the  King. 

The  Marquis  of  Ornano,  under  colour  of  war,  made  a  martial  entry 
into  Aubenas,  a  town  at  the  foot  of  the  Cevennes.  When  two 
Regents  of  the  place  met  him  to  pay  the  usual  respects  to  their  liege 
Lord,  he  took  off  their  caps,  the  mark  of  office,  convened  the  council, 
excluded  all  Councillors  who  belonged  to  the  Reformed  Church,  con- 
fided the  regency  to  Romanists,  disarmed  all  the  Reformed,  and 
levied  a  contribution  on  them  for  the  maintenance  of  the  garrison 
which  he  lodged  there  to  superintend  the  conversion  that  should 
follow.  For  as  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  professed  the  Evange- 
lical religion,  this  array  was  necessary.  The  converters  played  their 
part  so  vigorously,  that  in  three  weeks,  if  their  report  was  not  exagge- 
rated, two  hundred  and  fifty  families  solicited  admission  to  the  bosom 
of  the  holy  Roman  Church ;  and  the  heads  of  those  families  signed, 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  a  declaration  that  they  had  embraced 
the  only  saving -faith  of  their  own  free  accord,  and  after  the  anxious 
desire  of  many  years.  Other  places  followed  in  the  train  of  Aubenas  : 

4   L  2 


628  CHAPTER    IX. 

Amand,  for  example,  where  the  Governor,  instructed  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Bourges,  desired  the  inhabitants  to  choose  between  a  party 
of  Priests  to  receive  their  abjuration,  or  two  hundred  soldiers  to  be 
let  loose  upon  their  families.  They  had  not  the  spirit  which  sus- 
tained the  Huguenots  of  an  earlier  age,  and  therefore  chose  the  easier 
condition  of  the  two.  In  short,  throughout  his  inglorious  campaign, 
Louis  XIII.  took  Missionaries  with  his  troops  to  convert  those  who 
did  not  at  once  surrender,  and  hangmen  with  gibbets  to  dispatch  some 
of  the  more  steadfast  for  the  terror  of  the  rest.  Thrice  he  waged 
•war  on  his  Protestant  subjects,  when  intolerable  oppressions  had  pro- 
voked them  to  take  measures  of  self-defence  ;  and  thrice  he  granted 
them  concessions  of  peace  as  soon  as  their  courage  threatened  him 
with  shameful  defeat ;  and  all  this  within  six  years. 

At  length  Rochelle  succumbed  to  force  of  arms,  after  suffering  the 
extreme  horrors  of  famine  ;  and  then  the  King,  changing  the  treaty 
of  capitulation  into  the  form  of  an  edict  "  of  grace  and  pardon," 
declared  his  pleasure.  The  preamble  of  that  edict  is  the  hypocritical 
manifesto  of  a  bigot.  The  love,  if  it  may  be  believed,  which  he  bore 
to  his  subjects,  the  compassion  which  he  entertained  for  the  miseries 
brought  upon  his  poor  kingdom  by  wars  and  divisions  for  a  long  time 
afflicted,  had  touched  him  sensibly.  Laying  aside  all  consideration 
of  his  own  comfort,  braving  inclemencies  of  season  and  perils  of  war, 
he  had  laboured  most  lovingly  to  bring  the  refractory  to  obedience. 
Great  and  puissant  armies  had  seconded  his  arguments  ;  and  God,  he 
said,  had  blessed  him  with  success.  Sweet  summonses  of  goodness, 
intermingled  with  the  battery  of  cannons,  had  failed,  indeed,  to  sub- 
due the  hatred  of  the  men  of  Privas,  towards  whom  clemency  could 
not  any  longer  be  extended  ;  but  other  rebellious  subjects,  specially 
the  Duke  of  Rohan  and  the  Lord  of  Soubise,  with  the  citizens 
of  many  places  and  occupants  of  many  fortresses,  had  repented  at  his 
feet,  and  to  them  he  gave  a  free  award  of  mercy.  Moved  by  his  own 
mere  compassion,  he  spared  further  effusion  of  blood  and  desolation 
of  provinces,  in  hope  that  his  aforesaid  subjects,  having  such  manifest 
tokens  of  the  goodness  treasured  up  in  his  heart  for  them,  would 
return  the  more  sincerely  to  their  duty,  and  be  inseparably  united  to 
his  obedience.  Waiting  for  that  grace  and  mercy  of  God  which  could 
touch  and  illuminate  their  hearts  to  return  unto  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  could  dry  up  the  fountain  of  such  deplorable  divisions  ;  and  having 
maturely  debated  the  affair  with  his  Council,  and  taken  their  advice, 
by  his  full  power,  special  grace,  and  royal  authority,  he  decreed  and 
signed  an  irrevocable  edict,  of  which  the  chief  provisions  were,  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  and  apostolic  religion  should  be  everywhere 
restored  ;  his  subjects  of  the  pretended  Reformed  religion  suffered  to 
exercise  it  peaceably,  but  exhorted  to  divest  themselves  of  passion,  so 
as  to  receive  the  light  of  heaven  and  be  capable  of  restoration  to  the 
bosom  of  the  Church  in  which,  for  eleven  centuries,  the  Kings 
of  France  had  lived  without  intermission  or  change.  "  For  we  can- 
not in  any  other  or  better  way  express  unto  them  our  fatherly  affec- 
tion, than  by  desiring  that  they  should  walk  with  us  in  the  same 
pathway  unto  eternal  salvation  by  which  we  ourselves  are  going." 


MISSIONARY    DISPUTANTS.  629 

An  amnesty  to  persons  named,  and  provisions  for  the  future  execution 
of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  are  the  substance  of  several  articles  ;  but  one 
condition  of  peace  is  most  notable.  All  the  fortresses  and  cautionary 
towns  were  to  be  dismantled  (July,  1G29).  Armed  resistance  thus 
became  almost  impossible,  and  the  desired  conversion  to  Romanism 
might  be  enforced  with  little  cost  to  the  treasury  of  France  for 
munition  of  war. 

The  conversion  of  the  Protestants,  then,  became  the  great  business 
of  this  very  zealous  King.  A  set  of  Missionaries  were  immediately 
intrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  enterprise.  Turbulent  and  dispu- 
tatious, they  harangued  the  multitude  with  ludicrous  effrontery, 
provoked  riots,  and  not  unfrequently  courted  street-quarrels,  in  order 
that  they  might  prosecute  for  assault,  and  get  damages.  Untaught 
laymen,  taken  from  the  lowest  regions  of  society,  and  equipped  with 
a  few  polemic  common-places,  ran  from  one  Consistory  and  Synod  to 
another,  challenging  learned  Ministers  to  disputation.  On  temporary 
platforms  erected  in  the  streets,  like  mountebanks,  they  delivered 
speeches  and  carried  on  mock-debates,  to  turn  the  verities  of  the 
Gospel  into  ridicule ;  thus  gathered  proselytes  from  the  dregs  of  the 
populace,  and  afterwards  received  a  stipulated  reward  for  each 
trophy  of  their  diligence.  When  they  could  not  otherwise  pro- 
duce an  effect,  they  would  beguile  the  incautious  into  some  expres- 
sion that  might  pass  for  treason,  and  of  which  the  recall  might 
be  equivalent  with  a  renunciation  of  the  truth.  "  Charlemagne  and 
St.  Louis  were  Catholics:  are  they  damned?  So  is  the  reigning 
Sovereign  a  Catholic  :  will  he  be  damned?"  To  escape  the  dilemma, 
many  professed  themselves  willing  to  follow  the  King  in  his  way  to 
heaven  !  But  the  exploits  of  such  Missionaries,  and  the  dishonesty 
of  the  civil  magistracy  of  France,  are  the  chief  material  for  domestic 
history  through  all  the  remainder  of  this  reign.  Yet  the  loyalty 
of  the  Reformed  rose  superior  to  every  trial;  and  when  Louis  XIV. 
came  to  the  throne  in  1643,  the  Queen  Regent  published  an  edict  in 
their  favour  in  his  name,  and  when  he  came  of  age  he  issued  a  decla- 
ration confirmatory  of  that  edict  and  the  edict  of  Nantes,  and  willed 
that  the  transgressors  of  those  laws  by  persecution  should  be  punished 
as  disturbers  of  the  public  peace  (May  21st,  1652). 

These  acts  of  favour  had  been  merited  by  their  adherence  to  the 
young  King  when  his  succession  to  the  throne  was  disputed ;  and  the 
politic  mildness  which  the  Cardinals  Richelieu  and  Mazarin  could  well 
afford  to  show  towards  a  ruined  yet  numerous  people  had  conci- 
liated the  confidence  of  a  new  generation.  But  the  confidence  was 
vain.  The  Church  might  not  have  been  displeased  to  see  the  heretic 
sect  in  a  state  of  languishing  humiliation,  but  the  cordiality  of  royal 
favour  towards  that  sect  aroused  an  unconquerable  jealousy.  The 
fruit  of  this  ripened  after  the  lapse  of  four  years  in  an  explanatory 
instrument,  whereby  the  King  so  limited  and  obscured  his  own  con- 
cessions, that  they  found  themselves  again  exposed  to  the  malevolence 
of  their  perpetual  persecutors.  And  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris,  which  had  refused  to  register  the  former  edict  and 
declaration,  received  the  present  document  (A.D.  1656)  into  its  archives 


630  CHAPTER    IX. 

without  delay,  and  a  storm  of  persecution  slowly  gathered  over  the 
trembling  Churches.  We  have  now  to  watch  the  course  of  the  murky 
cloud  until  it  bursts  in  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes. 

The  last  National  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Churches  was  holden  at 
Loudun,  in  the  year  1659.  The  cessation  of  syuodical  action  is  a  fact 
of  great  importance  in  relation  to  the  policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
for  the  suppression  of  Protestantism.  Let  us  make  a  few  retrospective 
notes,  therefore,  to  mark  the  interference  of  the  civil  authority  in  the 
last  six  Synods. 

T.  First  Synod  of  Charenton,  or  24th  National  (A.D.  1623).  We 
find  this  officially  described  as  assembled  "  by  the  authority  and  per- 
mission of  Louis  XIII."  The  Seigneur  Auguste  Galland,  First 
Commissary  of  the  King,  one  of  his  Privy  Councillors,  and  a  member 
of  the  Reformed  Churches,  came,  by  authority  of  His  Majesty,  to  open 
the  Synod,  and  be  present  at  all  its  sessions.  He  was  mild  and 
cautious,  well  chosen  to  be  a  beginner.  As  soon  as  the  officers  of  the 
Synod  were  elected,  this  Commissary  declared  that  he  was  there  by 
virtue  of  the  King's  letters-patent,  verified  in  the  court  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris,  by  which  it  was  ordained  that  a  Commissary  should 
assist  in  all  assemblies  of  the  King's  subjects  of  the  pretended 
Reformed  religion,  whether  Colloquies  or  Synods,*  to  take  care  that 
no  matters  were  proposed  or  debated,  except  such  as  might  be  per- 
mitted, according  to  the  edicts,  and  that  a  report  of  all  proceedings 
should  be  made  to  the  King.  He  then  read  the  letters-patent, 
empowering  his  attendance,  and  reciting  the  preceding  letters,  which 
gave  general  permission  for  the  holding  of  synodal  assemblies  under 
this  new  restriction.  It  had  appeared  that  the  deputies  of  the  said 
religion  were  about  to  meet  at  Charenton  from  all  the  provinces  of  the 
kingdom  ;  and  Galland  was  instructed  to  watch  very  carefully  that 
nothing  should  be  treated  contrary  to  the  King's  service,  nor  preju- 
dicial to  the  public  peace ;  to  prevent  every  proposal  or  debate  which 
did  not  relate  exclusively  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  said  reli- 
gion, and  to  bring  up  a  report  to  His  Majesty,  marking  exactly  every 
thing  of  importance  that  should  have  been  transacted.  The  letters- 
patent  having  been  read,  M.  de  Montmartin,  Deputy-General  for  the 
Churches  to  His  Majesty,  reported  that  as  soon  as  he  and  his 
colleague,  M.  Maniald,  had  been  informed  of  the  King's  intention, 
they  had  gone  to  him,  and  endeavoured  by  many  reasons  to  dissuade 
him  from  making  this  declaration  ;  but  that  His  Majesty  paid  no 
regard  to  anything  they  could  represent,  having  already  caused  the 
declaration  to  be  verified  in  the  Parliament  of  Paris.  It  therefore 
remained  with  the  assembly  to  address  His  Majesty  on  the  subject,  as 
they  might  judge  best.  After  long  debate  in  the  presence  of  the 
Commissary,  it  was  resolved  that,  considering  that  Colloquies  and 
Synods  were  accused,  by  the  King's  declaration,  of  having  passed 
beyond  the  limits  of  their  duty,  notwithstanding  that  they  had 

*  A  Colloquy  was  a  meeting  preparatory  to  the  Synod,  like  a  Congregation  before  a 
session  of  Council.  The  words,  "  oil  assemblies,"  &c.,  are  to  be  taken  as  inclusive  of 
Provincial,  as  well  as  National,  Synods  ;  so  that  the  court  assumed  a  general  oversight 
on  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Churches  throughout  the  provinces. 


SYNODS.  631 

observed  the  utmost  caution  to  the  contrary,  in  all  their  deliberations ; 
and  also  considering  that  by  this  measure  the  benefits  accorded  to 
them  by  edicts  were  diminished,  and  their  privileges  almost  entirely 
revoked  ;  it  was  resolved  to  present  an  authentic  Placet  to  His  Majesty, 
praying  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  maintain  the  Churches  in  their 
ancient  liberty.  But  the  Synod,  desiring  to  demonstrate  their  obedi- 
ence and  fidelity  to  the  King,  admitted  the  said  Seigneur  Galland 
among  the  deputies,  to  be  an  eye  and  ear  witness  of  the  sincerity  and 
honesty  of  their  proceedings,  trusting  that  the  King  would  be  so 
satisfied  therewith,  as  to  leave  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  ancient 
liberty.  A  deputation  from  the  Synod  bearing  a  letter  to  the  King 
were  admitted  to  audience,  and  returned  with  the  intelligence  that 
thenceforth  foreigners  were  not  to  be  admitted  as  Ministers  in  their 
Churches,  notwithstanding  the  freedom  with  which  foreigners  enjoyed 
lucrative  benefices  and  high  dignities  in  the  Romish  Church  in  France. 
As  to  the  presence  of  a  Commissary,  His  Majesty  was  inflexible.  He 
also  disapproved  of  their  amicable  correspondence  with  the  Reformed 
Churches  of  Holland,  and  their  reception  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
of  the  Synod  of  Dort ;  and  they  consented  to  receive  no  foreigners  as 
Pastors  for  the  future,  nor  to  make  mention  of  foreign  Synods.  Two 
Scotchmen,  Primrose  and  Cameron,  being  obnoxious  to  the  Jesuits, 
were  sent  out  of  France  by  royal  order. 

II.  Synod  of  Castres,  25th  National  (A.D.  1626).     This  Synod  was 
convened  by  the  King  himself,  the  letter  of  convocation  being  written 
in  exceedingly  gracious  language.   He  promised  them  favour  as  long  as 
they  rendered  him  obedience,  exhorted  them  to  live  peaceably  with  their 
Romish  neighbours,  and  required  them  to  promise  that  they  would  have 
no  correspondence  nor  alliance  with  persons  out  of  the  kingdom.    As 
they  had  been   driven  to  seek  foreign  aid  M-hen  the  King  had  made 
war  on  them,  this  furnished  a  fair  pretext  for  that  requirement;  but 
the  truth  was,  that  the  clerical  advisers  at  court  desired  to  weaken  the 
common  cause  of  the  Reformed  by  separating  their  Churches,  and  coun- 
teracting their  tendency  to  an  Evangelical  and  catholic  union.     The 
King  commanded  that  no  Minister  should  quit  the  kingdom  without  his 
permission    previously    obtained.     The    Synod  submitted,   and   their 
isolation  became  almost  complete. 

III.  Second  Synod  of  Charenton,  26th  National  (A.D.  1631).     Over 
this    Synod   the  King  ruled,  through  his  Commissary  Galland.     He 
insisted  on  the  observance  of  the   restrictions  already  imposed,  and 
required  the  Synod  to  expel  some  Ministers  who  had  preached   or 
written  offensively  during  the  civil  war.  The  Synod  yielded.  They  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  obtaining  permission  for  the  union  of  the  churches 
of  Beam,  or  rather  the  wrecks  of  those  churches,  with  the  National 
Synod.    The  Commissary  wished  to  prevent  it ;  but  it  was  shown  that 
the  union  had  been  previously  sanctioned,  and  the  King  conceded.    It 
was  a  point  of  little  consequence. 

IV.  Synod  of  Alen^on,  27th  National  (A.D.  1637).     Nothing  could 
be  more  humiliating  than  the  position  of  the  Reformed  Churches  as 
represented  at  Alencon.     At  the  opening  of  this  Synod,  the  Marquis 
of   Claremont,  their    Deputy-General,   presented    the   royal    mandate 


632  CHAPTER    IX. 

of  convocation.  It  suffered  the  assemblage,  "  but  on  condition  that 
no  other  matters  should  be  discussed  than  those  permitted  by  the 
edicts,  and  that  the  Sieur  de  St.  Marc,  Councillor  of  His  Majesty  in 
his  Council  of  State,  should  assist  in  person."  St.  Marc  addressed 
the  assembly  to  the  following  effect : — "  Gentlemen,  I  am  come  to 
your  Synod  to  inform  you  of  the  pleasure  of  His  Majesty.  You  know 
that  I  have  preached  and  taught  the  obedience  due  to  the  superior 
powers.  All  authority  is  of  God ;  and,  therefore,  on  this  immovable 
foundation,  you  ought  to  obey.  Besides,  the  goodness  of  His 
Majesty,  and  the  care  he  takes  of  you,  make  obedience  at  once  your 
duty  and  your  interest.  Now  His  Majesty  commands  me  to  say,  that 
as  long  as  you  are  faithful  towards  him,  he  will  continue  his  affection 
and  observe  his  edicts  towards  you.  But  with  regard  to  his  power, 
of  which  strangers  have  experienced  the  weight,  how  many  proofs 
have  we !  His  power  seems  more  than  human  ;  and  thereby  God  pub- 
lishes to  the  whole  world  that  he  upholds  our  King  with  his  own 
hand,  and  makes  him  terrible  to  all  around.  I  shall  say  nothing 
of  those  fortresses  and  cautionary  towns  on  which  you  placed  too 
much  reliance  while  you  had  them,  but  which  are  now  come  to 
nothing ;  whereas,  since  you  have  depended  only  on  the  favour  of  His 
Majesty,  your  condition  is  much  happier  and  more  secure.  No  doubt 
you  have  often  reflected  on  the  admirable  providence  of  God,  which 
makes  his  royal  authority  your  safeguard.  Here  are  you  without 
support,  and  with  your  multitude  of  people,  subject,  like  the  sea,  to 
perpetual  agitation,  and  yet  the  King  preserves  you  in  liberty  of  con- 
science and  peaceful  exercise  of  your  religion.  The  earth,  poised  in 
air,  is  a  miracle,  great  as  that  of  the  creation ;  and  as  God  sustains  it 
by  the  same  power  which  brought  it  into  being,  even  so  are  you  pre- 
served by  the  power  of  the  word  of  His  Majesty.  Therefore,  gentle- 
men, you  who  are  Ministers  should  be  models  of  wisdom  and  good 
conduct  in  your  churches.  Among  the  signal  effects  of  the  King's 
goodness  which  you  have  received,  not  the  least  is  this,  that  in  time 
of  war  you  can  assemble  here.  All  the  provinces  of  the  kingdom, 
like  so  many  lines  converging  from  the  circumference,  can  meet 
peaceably  in  this  Synod.  Could  you  have  any  clearer  proof  of  his 
goodness,  and  of  his  confidence  in  your  loyalty  ?  This  alone  should 
engage  you  to  bow,  more  submissively  than  ever,  to  his  royal  pleasure. 
And  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  conduct  yourselves  very  wisely,  in  your 
words  and  actions  ;  and  that  you  will  render  His  Majesty  all  the 
honour  and  obedience  which  are  due  to  him  from  you."  After  this 
effusion  of  mingled  sarcasm  and  contempt,  the  Commissary  proceeded 
to  unfold  the  sovereign  commands.  In  order  to  enjoy  the  protection 
of  the  King,  and  to  be  attached  to  his  service  alone,  they  were  forbid- 
den to  hold  any  sort  of  correspondence  with  foreigners,  or  even  with 
ill-affected  persons  at  home.  The  Provincial  Synod  of  Nismes  and 
M.  Rousselet,  a  Minister,  being  a  native  of  the  canton  of  Bern,  had 
received  a  letter  from  that  country,  in  spite  of  statutes  which  "  forbade 
the  King's  subjects  to  receive  letters  from  any  foreign  country." 
Correspondence  with  the  Swiss  Republic  was  especially  offensive  to 
His  Majesty ;  and  neither  the  Synod  nor  M.  Rousselet  ought  to  have 


SYNODS.  633 

presumed  to  break  the  seal  of  a  letter  brought  thence,  but  should  have 
delivered  it,  unopened,  into  the  hands  of  the  royal  Commissary  there 
present.  Not  only  foreign,  but  domestic,  correspondence  was  to  be 
forthwith  and  for  ever  discontinued.  No  more  miff/it  Provincial 
Synods  act  collectively  ;  nor  could  there  be  any  meeting  or  communi- 
cation tending  to  a  Synod,  nor  any  transaction  of  business,  such  as 
the  nomination  of  Ministers  or  deputies  for  the  sake  of  communica- 
tion from  one  province  to  another.  They  were  not  a  body  politic,  he 
said ;  and,  therefore,  even  when  assembled  there  in  Synod,  they  must 
not  presume  to  correspond  with  any  other  body,  touching  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  His  Majesty  also  willed,  that  all  Ministers  should  preach 
obedience,  never  resist  his  mandates,  and,  although  the  Government  or 
civil  magistrate  should  give  orders  which  seemed  contrary  to  liberty 
of  conscience,  they  were  to  put  the  best  construction  on  such  orders, 
and  quietly  obey,  suppressing  every  murmur  or  complaint  of  persecu- 
tion. For  the  sake  of  peace,  too,  it  was  strictly  forbidden  to  speak 
disrespectfully  of  the  Pope,  as  if  he  were  Antichrist ;  or  of  the  sacra- 
ments, as  if  they  were  idolatrous.  If  the  Catholics  were  offended,  the 
Protestants  would  be  put  under  interdict.  Any  incivility  of  theirs 
would  cause  their  Ministers  to  be  silenced,  and  their  congregations 
dispersed  ;  while  the  offenders  would  incur  more  grave  penalties.  No 
book  treating  on  religion  was  to  be  sold  until  it  had  passed  under 
censorship.  Marriages,  as  well  as  books,  should  undergo  revision ;  and 
the  Churches  were  to  admit  the  validity  of  all  acts  of  the  civil  power 
in  matters  of  divorce.  No  Minister  was  to  quit  his  place  of  abode  to 
preach  elsewhere,  not  even  in  a  church  annexed  to  his  own,  but  to 
keep  the  sound  of  his  voice  within  the  walls  of  that  single  church  to 
which  he  belonged  by  residence.  His  Majesty  also  laid  some  restric- 
tion on  their  financial  administration,  and  prescribed  a  method  for 
levying  a  rate  on  congregations  for  the  maintenance  of  Ministers. 
And  then  came  an  unprecedented  interference  with  spiritual  disci- 
pline. "  I  have  yet  a  word  more  for  you,"  said  the  Commissary, 
"and  then  I  will  finish.  The  Synod  of  Nismes  has  decreed,  that 
baptism  is  null  when  administered  by  a  person  who  has  no  vocation 
nor  commission ;  and  directs  Pastors  to  baptize,  without  any  scruple, 
infants  on  whom  women  or  other  unauthorized  persons  have  poured 
water,  pronouncing  the  usual  words.  His  Majesty  wishes  this  article  to 
be  corrected,  for  the  reasons  which  I  will  give  you  in  the  words  of  the 
original  order."  *  This  order  was  an  explicit  assumption  of  authority 

*  "  Because  hence  arises  the  opinion  of  rebaptizing.  For  by  their  doubt  as  to  voca- 
tion, they  oblige  themselves  to  rebaptize  all  those  who  have  been  baptized  by  persona 
whose  vocation  they  do  not  approve,  and  of  which  they  constitute  themselves  the  only 
judges  and  arbitrators ;  although  the  Catholic  Church  does  not  approve  their  vocation, 
and  although  they  do  not  themselves  make  the  least  difficulty  of  saying  that  they  have 
not  any  such,  yet  their  baptism  is  acknowledged  ;  because  it  is  a  sacrament  of  which  the 
virtue  and  efficacy  is  ex  opere  operate,  and  not  at  all  e.v  opcre  operands  ;"  (from  the 
tiling  done,  and  not  from  the  person  who  does  it ;)  "  so  that  the  Synod  has  done  what  it 
was  not  its  business  to  do,  by  treating  as  invalid  this  sacrament  which  was  administered 
by  persons  who,  it  said,  had  no  vocation  nor  commission  to  administer  it,  since  the 
Catholic  Church,  in  which  they  cannot  pretend  that  there  is  any  defect  of  vocation,  haa 
decided  this  point,  and  judged  that  all  Christians  may  baptize,  in  case  of  necessity. 
Therefore,  when  the  word  and  water  have  been  employed,  the  Church  will  not  allow  this 
to  be  repeated." — Synodes  Nationaux  des  Kglises  Keforim'e*  de  France.  Aymon. 

VOL.    III.  4     M 


634  CHAPTER    IX. 

over  the  Reformed  Churches  both  as  to  doctrine  and  discipline,  delivering 
them  to  the  Priests  and  their  agents, — the  very  persons  who  had  heen 
constantly  endeavouring,  by  forcible  or  clandestine  baptisms,  to  estab- 
lish a  claim  for  ecclesiastical  control  over  the  families  of  Protestants. 

The  members  of  the  Synod  were  spirit-broken.  They  answered 
St.  Marc  timidly,  and  sent  a  deputation  to  the  King,  with  letters 
professing  the  most  profound  submission  to  his  authority,  as  vice- 
gerent of  God ;  but  venturing  to  affirm  that  the  decision  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Synod  of  Nismes  in  regard  to  baptism  was  justifiable,  as  being 
in  accordance  with  an  article  of  their  general  Confession  of  Faith  which 
His  Majesty  acknowledged.  Louis  answered  them,  as  "  dear  and 
good  friends,"  in  language  of  most  lofty  graciousness  ;  but,  "  at  the 
same  time,  gave  them  warning  that  it  would  be  for  their  interest  to 
separate  as  quickly  as  possible,  lest,  if  they  protracted  their  sittings 
in  Alencon,  their  continuance  should  be  regarded  as  a  transgression 
of  royal  edicts  and  declarations."  They  sent  the  King  a  memorial 
of  grievances,  disclosing  a  sad  catalogue  of  sufferings ;  but  he  refused 
to  answer  it  until  the  Synod  should  have  been  dissolved. 

V.  Third  Synod  of  Charenton,  28th  National  (A.D.  1644).     Louis 
XIV.,  a  child,  six  years  of  age,  being  on  the  throne,  under  the  regency 
of  his  mother,  Caumont,  Lord  of  Boisgrellier,  Commissary,  opened  the 
sessions    with    a    panegyric    on    their    "  incomparable "     King,    and 
delivered    a   multitude   of  prohibitions.     No   Minister,   not  being   a 
native  of  France,  might  be  admitted  into   the  assembly.     No   com- 
plaint might  be  made  of  infractions  of  edicts,  since  there  were  courts 
for  the  hearing  of   such  complaints.     No   correspondence   could  be 
held  with  the  provinces  during  the  sittings.     No  books  printed  with- 
out previous  censure.  No  Minister  or  other  person  excommunicated  for 
having  gone  over  to  the  Church  of  Rome.     No  foreigner  thenceforth 
to  be  received  as  a  Minister.    Provincial  Synods  not  to  appoint  public 
fasts.    Mention  of  martyrs,  persecutions,  torments,  or  other  querulous 
expressions,  not  to  be  heard  in  sermons.     The  Pope  not  to  be  called 
Antichrist,  nor  the  Church  of  Rome  said  to  be  idolatrous,  nor  her 
sacraments  spoken  of  contemptuously.  No  private  collections  to  be  made 
for  the  support  of  Ministers,  nor  any  one  prosecuted  for  not  paying  a 
Minister  his  salary.     No  children  to  be  sent  for  education  to  Switzer- 
land, Holland,  or  England  ;  nor  any  one  ordained  who  had  studied  in 
a  foreign  University.     No  books  of  devotion  to  be  used  wherein  were 
words  disrespectful  to  the  Church  of  Rome.     No  one  to  preach  in 
places   not   privileged.     No   bells   to  be    hung  in    churches  without 
licence,  nor  any  unlicensed  meetings  for  church-business  to  be  holdeu. 
Parents  not  to  be  reproved  for  sending  their  children  to  Popish  schools. 
The  Synod  was  exhorted  to  be  thankful  for  having  received  permission 
to  assemble  so  near  Paris  ;  and  to  remember  that  the  population  of  that 
city  would  be  a  severe  witness  of  all  their  actions,   and   be  circum- 
spect.     While   these   prohibitions    delivered   in  the    Synod   indicated 
unmitigated   severity  in  the  Government,  decrees  of  a  similar  kind 
extinguished  every  vestige  of  civil  equality  in  the  provinces. 

VI.  The  Synod  of  Loudun,    and    the  last  National    (A.D.    1560). 
The  Commissary,  31.   de  Magdelaine,  assured  the  assembly  that  they 


LAST    NATIONAL    SYNOD.  G3b 

were  indebted  to  the  Cardinal  Mazarin,  the  King's  Prime  Minister, 
for  permission  to  meet  again,  after  an  interval  of  fifteen  years.*  He 
reiterated  the  usual  restrictions,  and  declared  that,  Provincial  Synods 
being  sufficient  for  every  purpose  of  discipline,  a  National  Synod 
would  not  be  again  convened.  He  furthermore  warned  them  that  on 
the  slightest  manifestation  of  disobedience  to  any  of  the  King's 
injunctions,  they  would  be  immediately  dispersed,  and  the  offenders 
punished.  Thus,  by  the  management  of  two  Cardinals  and  their  Clergy, 
continuously  administering  in  Paris  the  policy  of  Rome,  the  Reformed 
Church,  under  a  colour  of  legal  establishment  and  royal  protection, 
was  reduced  to  the  lowest  state  of  bondage,  and  made  ready  for 
extinction.  Its  synodical  action  was  first  controlled  by  the  King,  or 
rather  by  the  Jesuits,  whose  impulses  he  obeyed,  and  then  suppressed. 

Strong  places,  given  to  the  defenders  of  Christian  liberty,  as  a 
guarantee  for  the  observance  of  treaties,  had  been  taken  from  them 
by  force,  and  dismantled.  Assemblies  for  the  management  of  their 
temporal  affairs,  which  had  been  granted  to  them  and  acknowledged 
through  successive  reigns,  were  gradually  suppressed,  leaving  them  with- 
out any  certain  union  of  counsels  for  self-preservation.  National  Synods 
not  only  allowed,  but  legalized,  were  then  controlled  by  their  enemies, 
as  we  have  just  seen,  and  afterwards  suddenly  annihilated,  leaving  the 
Churches  without  means  of  mutual  support  and  common  action. 
Still,  there  was  a  distinct  system  of  jurisdiction  to  guard  their  social 
existence  ;  and,  to  the  apprehension  of  Rome,  it  only  remained  to 
abolish  that,  in  order  to  sweep  away  the  last  vestige  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  France.  Now  that  the  army  had  reconquered  the  towns  and 
fortresses,  and  a  royal  Commissioner  had  sufficed  to  wear  out  the  Synod, 
a  perversion  of  justice  was  the  means  best  suited  to  overpower  the 
Chambres  miparties,  "  Courts  of  the  Edict,"  or  mixed  tribunals  estab- 
lished by  the  edict  of  Nantes,  in  which  the  Reformed  assisted  to 
administer  justice.  These  Courts  were,  for  a  time,  regarded  with  con- 
fidence ;  and  in  them  only  could  the  persecuted  hope  for  refuge.  To 
suppress  them  at  once  would  have  been  impolitic,  and  it,  in  fact, 
required  twenty  years  more  to  bring  them  down ;  but  the  Court 
of  Rome  had  learnt  the  efficacy  of  quiet  perseverance ;  and  successive 
Pontiffs  rejoiced  in  the  ever-brightening  prospect  of  a  renovated  eccle- 
siastical fabric  beyond  the  Alps.  Domestic  persecution  went  on 
simultaneously  with  those  public  wrongs. 

As  often  as  the  Queen-Mother,  Anne  of  Austria,  needed  the  help 
of  her  Protestant  subjects  to  guard  the  throne  of  the  infant  Louis 
XIV.,  she  was  loud  in  their  praise,  and  gladly  accepted  the  loyalty  to 
France  which  not  even  the  atrocious  oppression  of  half  a  century 
could  alienate.  But  when  she  lay  on  her  death-bed,  when  all  other 
considerations  gave  way  before  the  influence  of  the  religion  in  which 
she  trusted,  she  obeyed  the  injunctions  of  her  Confessor,  and  gave  reite- 
rated entreaties  to  her  son  to  consecrate  the  energies  of  his  manhood 
to  the  extermination  of  those  heretics.  The  Clerks  who  crowded  her 

*  There  has  been  a  feeble  revival  of  the  Synod  of  the  French  Reformed  Churches, 
since  the  last  establishment  of  republicanism,  but  without  a  Confession  of  Faith.  It  is 
but  a  shadow. 

4   M   2 


636  CHAPTER    IX. 

chamber  and  beset  the  throne,  the  masters  who  had  moulded  the 
young  King  after  the  fashion  of  his  Church,  applauded  their  pupil 
when  he  assured  his  dying  mother  that  he  would  not  fail  to  destroy 
the  heresy,  root  and  branch.  A  Priest  who  had  studied  the  multifa- 
rious edict  of  Nantes  with  the  eye  of  a  casuist  and  a  lawyer,  and 
taken  part  in  the  production  of  numerous  orders  issued  during  the 
preceding  ten  years,  compiled  a  new  document,  to  be  declaratory 
of  the  King's  mind,  and  embodying  the  worst  provisions  which  had 
been  issued  at  various  times  in  a  code  for  universal  application.  Louis 
gave  his  sign-manual  to  this  "  declaration  of  fifty-nine  articles " 
(April  2d,  1666).  From  day  to  day  its  effects  became  more  and  more 
disastrous.  The  King,  indeed,  preserved  some  show  of  dignified 
impartiality,  and  even  admitted  a  venerable  Minister,  Du  Bosc,  to  an 
audience,  with  unusual  affability,  and  seemed,  for  a  moment,  to  be 
influenced  by  his  expostulations  ;  but  it  was  a  feint.  The  Clergy  had 
so  instructed  him,  and  there  could  be  no  redress. 

The  Ministers  of  Christ  laboured  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  and  to 
reclaim  the  erring ;  but  whenever  a  Romanist,  or  even  a  Jew,  yielding 
to  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  approached  their  communion,  some  act 
of  the  civil  power  frustrated  his  intention,  and  at  length  it  was  made 
illegal  for  any  one  to  become  a  Protestant.  Ever  since  the  Psalms 
of  Marot  and  Beza  had  first  resounded  in  the  public  walks  of  Paris, 
in  the  chambers  of  the  Louvre,  and  in  the  prisons  of  the  martyrs,  the 
same  strains  had  been  heard  from  the  lips  of  their  children.  Now 
this  was  prohibited,  except  in  congregations  lawfully  assembled  ;  and 
it  became  a  crime  to  sing  the  songs  of  Zion.  But  when  the  officers 
came  into  their  houses,  demanding  the  fine,  not  a  few  answered  by 
singing  the  first  lines  of  the  French  paraphrase  of  the  thirty-fourth 
Psalm  :— 

"  Jamais  ne  cesserai 
De  magnifier  le  Seigneur  : 
En  ma  bouche  aurai  son  honneur 
Tant  que  vivant  serai." 

And  some  paid  double,  in  anticipation  of  the  like  breach  of  law  they 
intended  to  commit  next  day.  But  the  sound  of  psalmody  was  soon 
silenced.  The  Bailiff  of  Rouen  gave  a  sentence  which  forbade  the 
Reformed  to  sing  aloud,  either  in  the  town  or  by  the  way,  either  on 
land  or  water.  In  place  after  place  the  preachers  were  also  silenced. 
Often  the  Ministers  chose  to  obey  God  rather  than  man,  and  were 
taken  from  the  pulpit  to  the  jail.  Sometimes,  when  the  Ministers 
of  the  place  feared  to  break  through  the  prohibition,  others  came  to 
preach  for  them.  Des  Loges,  for  example,  Minister  of  Lusignan, 
supplied  for  Cuville  at  Couhe"  after  the  church  had  been  demolished. 
In  that  hour  eighteen  hundred  persons  drank  the  word  of  life.  The 
parish  Priest,  bold  in  a  notion  of  authority,  went  among  the  crowd  as 
they  were  assembling,  and  bade  them  disperse ;  but  one,  in  mask,* 
answered  for  the  rest,  that  preaching  would  not  be  hindered  that  day. 
Nor  was  it.  Des  Loges  addressed  the  solemn  assembly  without  dis- 

*  Persons  masked  themselves  to  avoid  recognition  by  their  persecutors ;  not,  like  t'.ie 
Romanists  in  their  carnivals,  to  commit  evil  with  impunity. 


LEGAL    PERSECUTION.  637 

turbauce,  and  then  baptized  several  children,  all  their  parents  being 
persons  of  rank,  who  dedicated  their  offspring  to  God  openly,  with  no 
other  prospect  than  poverty  and  shame  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. Not  only  was  Evangelical  worship  often  prevented,  but  reve- 
rence was  exacted  to  idolatrous  processions  ;  and  the  Protestant  who 
refused  to  defile  his  conscience  by  thus  worshipping  the  wafer,  soon 
found  himself  in  prison.  At  length  it  was  but  for  the  Priests  to 
request  it,  and  churches  were  placed  under  interdict,  until  Evangelical 
worship  ceased  throughout  entire  districts. 

Tradesmen  and  artificers,  wishing  to  rid  themselves  of  competition, 
began  to  petition  that  "  pretended  Reformed "  might  not  be  allowed 
to  follow  their  calling  or  exercise  their  craft ;  and  towns  were  by  that 
means  decimated  of  their  most  industrious  and  honest  inhabitants. 
Sempstresses  and  midwives,  although  generally  persons  of  doubtful 
reputation,  were  not  allowed  to  practise  if  they  did  not  go  to  the  altar 
and  confessional ;  while  civic  and  judicial  honours  were  equally 
withdrawn  from  Nonconformists. 

Manifold  were  the  contrivances  for  bringing  over  unsound,  weak, 
or  infant  Protestants  to  a  profession  of  Popery.  At  first,  children 
of  twelve  or  fourteen  years  were  declared  free  to  quit  their  parents, 
and  be  affiliated  to  the  Church.  Orphans,  and  children  dissatisfied 
with  the  unkindness  of  stepmothers,  were  decoyed  from  their  homes, 
and  not  suffered  to  return  again.  The  age  at  which  a  child  became 
competent  to  choose  his  faith  was  afterwards  reduced  to  seven  years. 
Magistrates  stole  infants  without  regard  to  age  ;  and  when  parents, 
full  of  anguish  and  indignation,  appealed  to  Parliaments  for  redress, 
the  crime,  instead  of  being  punished  by  the  legislator,  received  his 
sanction,  and  outrage  the  most  inhuman  passed  into  the  character 
of  law.  The  law,  with  inexorable  cruelty,  burst  open  the  chambers 
of  the  dying,  and  compelled  the  Christian,  in  his  last  agony,  to  hear 
the  exhortations  of  Monks  to  renounce  his  faith,  and,  while  yet  con- 
scious of  what  went  on  around  him,  to  suffer  the  profane  handling 
of  the  Priest  who  laid  the  crucifix  upon  his  lips,  anointed  his  rigid 
frame  with  chrism,  placed  the  wafer  in  his  mouth  ere  the  last  sigh 
told  of  the  soul's  deliverance,  and  after  death  the  curate  and  the 
sexton  would  steal  away  the  corpse  to  bury  it  amidst  the  exultations  of 
the  Church,  and  the  wailings  of  the  heart-broken  survivers.  The  most 
worthless  persons  were  borrowed  to  swell  processions,  and  to  decoy 
proselytes.  One  Jean  de  Versse,  an  Advocate  of  the  Parliament 
of  Bourdeaux,  had  plunged  himself  into  debt  by  profligacy ;  but 
Louis  XIV.  bought  him  over  by  an  order  (March  24th,  1673), 
exempting  him  from  the  necessity  to  pay  his  debts  for  three  years. 
That  expedient  for  strengthening  the  cause  of  "Catholicism"  after- 
wards became  very  common.  False  brethren,  allured  by  "  pieces 
of  silver,"  betrayed  the  true  ;  and  the  piety  which  had  long  languished 
for  want  of  spiritual  food,  died  at  last,  under  shocks  of  perfidy  and 
desertion. 

The  general  history  of  the  French  Churches  during  this  period  is 
much  occupied  with  notices  of  a  scheme  for  alluring  French  Protest- 
antism into  a  reunion  of  Churches;  a  resorption  of  the  Reformed 


638  CHAPTER    IX. 

Churches  by  the  Church  dominant.  The  scheme  was  not  altogether 
ineffectual ;  but,  being  made  fully  known,  it  aroused  the  opposition 
of  the  Provincial  Synods,  which  still  lingered  under  the  control  of 
Commissaries  ;  but  the  King  forbade  the  excommunication,  or  even 
censure,  of  some  unfaithful  Ministers  who  had  fallen  into  the  snare. 
The  effort  of  Rome  at  this  day  to  corrupt  the  Church  of  England, 
and  to  set  Protestants  against  each  other,  is  more  likely  to  succeed, 
because  more  artfully  conducted.  After  the  experience  of  two  more 
centuries,  she  better  understands  the  methods  of  seduction. 

As  Rome  does  not  acknowledge  any  other  society  than  her  own  to 
be  a  Church,  she  could  freely  employ  the  Kings  of  France  to  control 
the  spiritual  affairs  of  Protestants.  The  King  used  his  assumed  pre- 
rogative to  prohibit  the  Reformed  Clergy  from  ministering  to  congre- 
gations that  could  not  maintain  Pastors  of  their  own.  The  force 
of  this  restriction  was  broken  for  a  time  by  the  collective  efforts 
of  the  richer  and  poorer  churches  which  supplied  resident  Clergy  to 
the  latter ;  but  the  Priests,  through  the  King,  destroyed  the  union 
of  resources  by  forbidding  one  church  to  help  another.  This  reduced 
the  weaker  to  a  state  of  destitution.  But  heavier  strokes  followed  in 
the  interdiction  of  congregations,  and  the  demolition  of  churches  by 
royal  authority.  Strong  bodies  of  military  kept  guard  round  the 
buildings  while  masons  pulled  them  to  the  ground ;  and  each  act 
of  demolition  was  perpetrated  under  the  sanction  of  a  legal  judgment, 
sentence  being  given  on  account  of  some  infraction  of  an  edict,  or  some 
alleged  defect  in  the  tenure  of  the  ground  on  which  the  sanctuary  stood. 

Then  came  the  suppression  of  the  mixed  tribunals.  Four  Reformed 
and  four  Romish  Councillors  had  been  appointed  to  sit  together  in 
the  "Chambers  of  the  Edict;"  but  it  frequently  happened  that  the 
former,  dispirited  by  the  means  employed  to  nullify  their  influence, 
attended  irregularly.  This  afforded  pretext  for  a  declaration  (July 
14th,  1665),  empowering  the  Romish  Councillors  to  act,  even  if  their 
colleagues  were  not  there  in  sufficient  number.  Another  declaration 
(April  2d,  1666)  transferred  all  cases  of  relapse,  apostasy,  and  blas- 
phemy from  the  "  Chambers  of  the  Edict "  to  the  Parliaments,  there  to 
be  dealt  with  according  to  the  canon  law.  Some  members  of  those 
courts  in  Paris  and  Rouen  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  betrayed 
beyond  the  boundary  of  their  proper  jurisdiction  ;  and  no  sooner  was 
this  proved  than  both  Chambers  were  abolished  by  a  royal  order 
(October,  1668).  Then  it  was  that  Du  Bosc  obtained  the  unusual 
favour  of  an  audience  of  the  King ;  but  all  that  His  Majesty  would 
give  was  a  worthless  promise  that  justice  should  be  done  to  his 
brethren  when  brought  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Parliaments.  All 
the  other  "  Chambers  of  the  Edict "  were  forthwith  abolished  (January 
29th,  1669).  Ten  years  afterwards  the  Chambres  miparties,  or  inferior 
mixed  Committees,  were  universally  and  finally  dispersed  (A.D.  16/9). 
No  barrier  now  remained  to  prevent  Louis  XIV.  from  accomplishing 
the  pleasure  of  his  Church. 

The  most  eminently  learned  and  pious  of  the  Reformed  Clergy,  and 
even  of  the  laity,  were  prosecuted,  and  subjected  to  heavy  fines 
and  imprisonment,  with  all  imaginable  indignity,  for  every  truthful 


THK    DAME    DU    CHAIL.  639 

sentence  concerning  Popery  which  they  might  have  preached  or 
written.  Examples  of  Christian  constancy  multiplied,  as  the  final 
persecution  drew  near ;  the  fury  of  the  priesthood  and  the  meek 
fidelity  of  their  victims  appearing  each  day  in  more  conspicuous  con- 
trast. The  history  of  an  honourable  lady,  the  Dame  Du  Chail,  illus- 
trates the  state  of  things  in  France,  on  the  eve  of  the  revocation 
of  the  edict  of  Nantes. 

Marie  Cardin,  born  of  Romish  parents,  handsome,  heiress  to  a  large 
estate,  and  admired  by  the  nobility  of  her  neighbourhood,  became  the 
wife  of  M.  Du  Chail,  a  gentleman  who,  to  obtain  her  hand,  passed 
over  to  communion  with  the  Church  to  which  she  belonged.  But  this 
abandonment  of  one  nominal  religion  for  another  led  him  to  compare 
the  two ;  the  effort  of  comparison  aroused  his  conscience  ;  he  per- 
ceived and  mourned  his  error,  and  resolved  to  make  a  public  confes- 
sion of  it.  His  wife  soon  partook  of  these  sentiments,  and  received 
instruction  from  him  in  the  doctrine  of  eternal  life ;  and  they  both 
felt  an  intense  desire  to  confess  the  Saviour.  They  had  several  chil- 
dren, to  whom  they  imparted  the  same  truths ;  but  the  severe  declar- 
ations of  the  King  against  relapsed  converts  long  deterred  M.  Du 
Chail  from  making  the  intended  confession.  At  length  he  fell  sick, 
and  sending  for  M.  Pain,  Minister  of  Fontenai,  together  with  the 
President  of  the  same  place,  he  divulged  the  secret,  and  made  a 
solemn  profession  of  his  faith  (June  4th,  16/3).  The  Minister,  a 
man  universally  esteemed  for  an  unostentatious  yet  earnest  zeal,  and 
sincere  piety,  rejoiced  in  the  unexpected  convert  whom  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God,  not  his  own  ministrations,  had  brought  into  the  church. 
Twice  only  he  had  visited  him,  when  he  was  arrested  for  having  done 
so,  and  punished  with  an  imprisonment  of  four  months,  after  which 
he  was  permitted  to  quit  the  dungeon  and  remain  in  detention  under 
the  roof  of  a  relative  in  Poitiers.  Meanwhile,  M.  Du  Chail  was  tor- 
mented with  incessant  vexations  by  the  Lieutenant-criminal,  and  by 
Monks  who  haunted  him  until  it  pleased  God  to  take  his  soul  to  the 
world  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling.  The  body  was  then 
carried  to  the  palace,  a  legal  suit  instituted  against  it,  and  it  was 
within  a  very  little  of  being  deprived  of  sepulture.  Two  Romish 
Notaries  produced  his  last  testament,  wherein  he  had  directed  that  his 
body  should  be  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Reformed  ;  but  the 
Judge  insisted  on  executing  on  the  corpse  all  the  rigour  of  the  canon 
law.  His  friends,  however,  adduced  some  provisions  of  the  civil  law, 
applicable  in  such  a  case  ;  and  the  Judge,  submitting  to  a  com- 
promise, ordered  that  the  deceased  relapse  should  neither  be  buried  in 
the  Protestant  nor  Popish  cemetery.  The  interment,  therefore,  took 
place  secretly,  and  with  great  danger  of  tumult,  in  a  distant  spot, 
unknown  to  the  public.  As  soon  as  the  authorities  had  known  that 
M.  Du  Chail  had  incurred  the  penalties  denounced  on  the  relapsed, 
they  had  separated  his  wife  from  him,  and  endeavoured  to  prevent 
her  from  coming  to  his  chamber,  her  own  mother  aiding  them  in  this 
barbarity.  But  her  ingenuity  and  persevering  courage  baffled  all 
their  vigilance ;  and  although  a  garrison  of  archers  were  in  the  town, 
and  employed  to  watch  the  avenues,  she  waited  at  his  bed-side  to  the 


640  CHAPTER    IX. 

last  hour.  Her  own  conversion  not  having  been  made  known,  they 
intrusted  her  with  the  care  of  her  children,  with  strict  injunctions  to 
bring  them  up  in  the  Roman  faith,  and  never  to  abandon  it  herself. 
Both  those  injunctions  she  disregarded.  Her  children  were  diligently 
instructed  in  the  holy  Scriptures ;  she  presented  her  abjuration 
secretly  to  a  Minister  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  often  went  to 
communicate  at  Rochelle.  The  light  could  not  burn  invisibly  under 
a  bushel.  Her  conversion  became  known:  the  children  were  taken 
from  her,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  Jesuits ;  and  the  eldest,  who 
also  had  professed  the  Christian  faith,  was  watched  with  keenest 
jealousy.  These  Jesuits  appointed  a  Romish  guardian  of  their  own 
choice  ;  but  the  indefatigable  mother  found  means  to  instil  the  pre- 
cious truths  of  Christianity  into  their  minds  with  a  resistless  force 
of  maternal  tenderness,  that  mocked  the  heartless  lessons  of  their 
keeper.  Her  interference,  being  discovered,  brought  down  on  her 
incessant  vexations ;  and  on  the  death  of  her  bigoted  mother  she 
found  herself  disinherited,  and  reduced  to  poverty,  unless  she  would 
consent  to  remain  a  "  Catholic."  Not  only  did  she  refuse  to  make 
such  a  promise,  but  conveyed  away  the  children,  by  assistance  of  some 
trusty  friends,  and  would  not  disclose  the  place  of  their  concealment. 
More  than  sixty  thousand  livres  of  her  money  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Jesuits ;  and,  foreseeing  imprisonment,  she  endeavoured  to 
escape.  An  unfaithful  valet  discovered  her  hiding-place,  and  they 
threw  her  into  prison.  By  no  allurement  nor  terror  could  they  extort 
n  disclosure  of  the  place  where  her  six  children  had  found  asylum  : 
and,  although  all  the  property  was  confiscated  which  had  fallen  to 
her  from  her  husband,  and  she  was  reduced  to  indigence,  the  grace 
of  God  sustained  her  above  the  power  of  men.  They  threatened  to 
take  her  to  Paris,  and  put  her  to  the  torture ;  but  fearing  the  disgrace 
that  such  a  procedure  might  bring  upon  the  Church,  or  willing  to 
allow  the  lady  to  escape  for  the  sake  of  retaining  the  wealth  that  had 
fallen  into  their  coffers,  they  left  her  prison  open,  and  she  escaped. 
Soon  she  found  a  welcome  in  England  with  five  of  her  children,  the 
eldest  remaining  in  France,  as  he  was  of  age,  and  hoped  to  recover 
something  from  the  ruins  of  his  house  (A.D.  1681). 

To  go  into  voluntary  exile,  or  by  banishment,  Ministers  daily  left 
their  flocks  ;  for  a  general  attack  of  legal  persecution  drove  away  the 
timorous,  or  forced  away  the  more  eminent.  The  outflow  of  emigra- 
tion now  began  ;  for  the  exhausted  host,  after  the  warfare  of  more 
than  a  century,  was  giving  way  before  its  conquerors.  Then  the 
Clergy  of  the  dominant  sect,  elate  with  a  victory  that  could  be  no 
longer  doubtful,  held  another  Assembly  at  Paris,  and  petitioned  the 
King  for  new  orders  and  declarations,  which  would  inevitably  disperse 
the  remnant.  Ruvigui,  Deputy-General  of  the  Reformed,  laboured  to 
obtain  a  hearing  at  court  on  their  behalf,  but  utterly  in  vain.  He 
obtained  an  audience  of  the  King,  represented  the  claims  of  his 
brethren  for  humanity  and  justice,  and  pointed  out  the  evils  which 
•would  befall  France  if  that  course  of  persecution  were  persisted  in. 
Louis  heard  him  with  chilling  indifference,  complimented  him  for 
good  intention,  but  said  that  "  he  considered  himself  so  indispensably 


ATTEMPTED    RESTORATION    OF    WORSHIP.  641 

bound  to  endeavour  the  conversion  of  all  his  subjects,  and  the  extir- 
pation of  heresy,  that  if  the  doing  it  should  require  him  with  one 
hand  to  cut  off  the  other,  he  would  submit  to  that."  *  Far  different 
was  the  reception  given  to  the  deputation  from  the  Priests.  The 
Coadjutor  of  Aries,  a  man  whose  dangerous  eloquence  had  been 
employed  for  fifteen  years  against  the  persecuted  churches,  led  them 
into  the  royal  presence  (July  10th,  1680).  Laying  aside  the  language 
of  complaint  which  those  churchmen  had  hitherto  used,  he  launched 
into  a  profusion  of  thanks  and  eulogies.  He  promised  himself  the 
happiness  of  seeing  heresy  expire  at  the  feet  of  the  King.  The  later 
edicts,  he  affirmed,  had  been  dictated  by  divine  inspiration,  those 
especially  which  excluded  heretics  from  honours  and  employments. 
That  which  had  destroyed  the  tribunals  of  heresy  was  a  dispensatrix 
of  justice  ;  and  the  means  employed  for  bringing  back  heretics  to  the 
bosom  of  the  Church  were  "  sweet  and  innocent,  worthy  of  the 
goodness  and  wisdom  of  the  King,  and  conformable  to  the  intentions 
of  the  divine  Shepherd."  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  all  the  desires 
of  the  Priests  were  satisfied ;  that  orders  and  declarations  were  issued 
at  their  pleasure. 

The  execution  of  them  was  inexorably  rigorous.  Could  the 
Reformed  have  then  united,  they  might  have  displayed  resistance ; 
but  so  subtle  and  so  universally  diffused  was  the  spirit  of  oppression, 
that  combination  was  impossible.  The  Provincial  Synods  were  dis- 
united :  in  none  of  them  could  a  murmur  be  uttered  with  impunity ; 
for  a  Romanist  Commissioner  was  everywhere  substituted  to  the 
officer  formerly  chosen  from  among  themselves.  Some  members 
of  the  last  Synod  of  Lower  Languedoc,  holden  at  Usez  in  1682, 
therefore  held  private  conversations,  and  agreed  to  attempt  a  system 
of  secret  correspondence, — such  an  expedient  as  naturally  results 
from  the  grievances  of  despotism,  but  which  is  seldom  successful,  ia 
most  frequently  subject  to  grave  objections,  even  for  purposes  of 
political  reform,  and  is  altogether  to  be  deprecated  for  any  spiritual 
end,  however  good.  There  was  great  diversity  of  opinion  when  the 
plan  was  proposed.  All  agreed  that  the  sufferings  of  their  churches 
were  scarcely  to  be  borne,  yet  the  judgment,  the  policy,  and  even  the 
conscience,  of  many  forbade  any  secret  combination.  A  few  persons, 
designated  Directors,  then  avowed  themselves  to  be  advocates  of  their 
brethren,  and  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Duke  of  Noailles,  which 
only  served  to  awaken  suspicion  of  a  plot,  and  suggest  the  employ- 
ment of  military  force,  either  to  provoke  or  crush  rebellion.  The 
same  Directors  also  held  a  secret  meeting  at  Toulouse  (A.D.  1683), 
where  six  persons  were  present,  and  prepared  a  plan  "  for  the  main- 
tenance of  liberty  of  conscience,  and  the  public  exercise  of  the 
Reformed  religion."  They  entirely  abstained  from  recommending 
any  measure  of  resistance  ;  but  proposed  that  all  the  churches  which 
had  been  placed  under  interdict  in  Lower  Languedoc,  the  Cevennes, 
Vivarais,  and  Dauphine,  should  simultaneously  resume  their  public 
worship,  and  prepare  for  that  moral  demonstration  by  repentance, 

*  Burnet's  History  of  his  own  Times,  i.,  657,  folio  edition,  or  iii.,  77,  Oxford. 
VOL..    III.  4    N 


642  CHAPTER    IX. 

prayer,  and  unity,  according  to  the  twenty-sixth  article  of  their 
Confession  of  Faith.*  They  proposed  preparatory  meetings  for 
deliberation,  a  day  to  be  set  apart  for  fasting  and  prayer,  and  then  a 
general  assemblage  for  confession  of  sins  and  sermons,  not  so  osten- 
tatious as  to  be  offensive,  nor  yet  so  stealthy  as  to  be  without  the 
appearance  of  publicity.  But  the  majority  of  the  interdicted  congre- 
gations could  not  be  so  suddenly  induced  to  re-assemble,  even  if  there 
had  been  perfect  uniformity  of  judgment.  A  few  of  them  did  meet, 
just  enough  to  show  that  there  was  a  secret  direction  ;  but  so 
timidly,  and  at  such  unequal  times,  that  the  want  of  concert  was  not 
less  evident.  As  soon  as  the  Reformed  of  Vivarais  began  to  assemble, 
the  Romanists,  either  startled  by  the  unexpected  congregations,  or 
pretending  so  to  be,  took  up  arms,  and  stood  ready  either  for  defence 
or  attack.  An  alarm  spread  that  a  religious  war  was  imminent ;  and 
this  popular  armament,  encouraged  by  persons  of  rank,  went  on 
rapidly  in  many  other  places.  In  several  baronial  castles  armed 
bands  impatiently  waited  occasion  to  verify  the  rumour,  and  the 
Reformed  themselves  then  found  it  necessary  to  arm  in  self-defence. 
The  Deputy-General,  dreading  a  second  St.  Bartholomew,  when  he 
saw  Paris  in  a  state  of  extreme  agitation  with  the  alarm  of  a  Huguenot 
insurrection  in  the  provinces,  wrote  to  discountenance  the  attempt  to 
recover  their  privilege  of  religious  worship  in  the  interdicted  places  ; 
and  the  Directors,  conscious  that  the  effort  was  impracticable,  yet  full 
of  confidence  in  the  goodness  of  their  cause,  and  the  rectitude  of 
their  intention,  addressed  a  "  request "  to  the  Marquis  of  Louvois, 
imploring  him  to  intercede  with  the  King  for  a  restoration  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes,  which,  as  they  truly  said,  had  been  reduced  to  a 
shadow.  The  request  was  presented  to  His  Majesty,  but  never 
answered. 

The  Romanist  bands  began  to  disperse  the  re-assembling  congrega- 
tions. One  act  of  violence  led  to  another.  A  sharp  skirmish  took 
place  at  Bourdeaux,  in  which  the  Reformed  were  beaten,  but  not 
until  many  had  fallen  on  the  other  side  ;  and  the  Court  and  Church, 
purposing  to  avoid  the  hazard  of  a  civil  war,  published  an  amnesty, 
and  by  that  means  gained  leisure  to  take  advantage  of  the  pretext 
now  afforded  for  proceeding  against  heretics  with  increased  severity. 
One  by  one  almost  every  man  who  had  carried  arms  in  self-defence 
was  charged  with  some  act  of  sacrilege  or  word  of  blasphemy,  and 
punished  accordingly.  Many  were  put  to  the  rack,  and  then  hung ; 
and  the  Intendant  of  Dauphine'  signalized  his  zeal  by  breaking  alive 
on  the  wheel  a  fine  young  man  named  Chamier,  whose  chief  sin  was 
being  grandson  of  an  eminent  Christian  of  the  same  name.  Atrocities, 

*  "  Therefore  we  believe  that  it  is  not  lawful  for  any  man  to  withdraw  himself  from 
the  congregations  of  God's  saints,  and  to  content  himself  with  his  private  devotions  ; 
hut  all  of  us  jointly  are  bound  to  keep  and  maintain  the  unity  of  the  church,  submitting 
themselves  unto  the  common  instruction,  and  to  the  yoke  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  this  in. 
all  places  wheresoever  he  shall  have  established  the  true  discipline,  although  the  edicts 
of  earthly  Magistrates  be  contrary  thereunto  :  and  whosoever  do  separate  from  this  order, 
do  resist  the  ordinance  of  God  ;  and,  in  case  they  draw  others  aside  with  them,  they  do 
act  very  perversely,  and  are  to  he  accounted  as  mortal  plagues." — Quick's  Synodicon, 
Preface. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    M.     HOMEL.  Q43 

not  inferior  to  any  that  have  been  related  of  the  crusaders  amongst 
the  Vaudois,  were  committed  by  dragoons  let  loose  upon  the  people. 
The  inhabitants  of  many  parishes  in  the  neighbourhood  of  St. 
Fortunat  fled  in  panic  to  the  mountains  ;  but  the  zealots  led  the 
troops  after  them,  and  they  were  outraged  and  slaughtered  without 
pity.  Helpless  women  and  children  were  singled  out  for  the  infliction 
of  horrid  cruelties.  A  woman,  Catherine  Raventel,  being  found  in 
the  pains  of  child-birth,  the  troopers  killed  her,  and  then  cut  the 
flesh  from  the  face  of  one  of  her  children,  eight  years  of  age,  and 
chopped  off  the  hand  of  a  younger  one.  A  wretch  named  St.  Ruth, 
Captain  of  that  band,  acquired  the  title  of  "  New  Apostle," — a  title 
freely  rendered  him,  no  doubt,  by  the  Priests  whom  he  served.  His 
chief  exploit  appears  to  have  been  the  murder  of  two  thousand 
persons  at  once,  whom  he  surprised  at  worship,  and  surrounded  by 
six  thousand  soldiers.  Throughout  the  troubled  provinces  dragoons 
were  billeted  on  the  Protestants,  and,  amidst  the  inclemency  of  a 
hard  winter,  those  inmates  consumed  their  food,  forced  them  to  sell 
their  furniture  and  clothing  to  buy  more,  and,  when  all  was 
exhausted,  began  the  work  of  compulsory  conversion  with  horrid  zeal. 
Torture  was  no  longer  inflicted  in  the  chambers  of  Inquisitions,  but 
in  every  house.  Women  and  children  were  shut  up  in  solitary  apart- 
ments, bound  with  cords,  and  kept  without  food  until  life  was  nearly 
extinct,  that  they  might  consent  to  have  their  names  taken  by 
Notaries,  and  sign  declarations  that  they  had  embraced  the  Catholic 
faith  on  conviction,  and  without  violence.  Others  were  laid  before 
large  fires  until  they  became  insensible.  Others  were  swung  by  cords 
over  burning  straw,  or  suspended  in  chimneys.  Some  were  hung  up 
over  cess-pools,  and  half  suffocated  in  the  mephitic  vapour ;  or,  lashed 
to  chairs,  they  were  carried  to  the  churches  to  hear  sermons,  and 
then  required  to  profess  themselves  converted. 

When  the  dragoons  had  exhausted  their  store  of  terrors,  Monks 
tried  their  skill  in  conferences,  exhortations,  and  wearisome  civilities. 
With  those  mingled  another  class  of  Missionaries,  the  "  Ladies  of 
Mercy,"  who  strove  to  win  converts  by  profuse  charities.  Thus  a 
threefold  mission  was  let  loose, — of  the  sword,  of  the  cowl,  and  of  the 
purse. 

Then  took  place  the  martyrdom  of  Isaac  Homel,  Minister  of  Soyon, 
in  Vivarais.  He  was  seized  when  endeavouring  to  escape,  in  com- 
pany with  Audoyer,  another  Minister,  zealous  even  to  intemperance. 
This  man  purchased  life  by  changing  religion,  and  giving  information 
of  M.  Homel,  who,  he  told  the  soldiers,  would  be  "a  good  prize." 
To  secure  the  "  prize,"  they  accused  him  of  promoting  rebellion  ;  and, 
either  by  exaggeration  or  invention,  suborned  witnesses  confirmed  the 
accusation.  His  Judges  were  not  convinced  that  he  was  guilty,  not 
even  of  that  honest  resistance  which  persecutors  count  as  rebellion  ; 
but,  being  intimidated  by  the  prevailing  fury,  they  condemned  him  to 
be  broken  on  the  wheel.  The  orders  which  they  were  required  thus 
to  execute  had  been  prescribed  by  the  Jesuits,  to  satisfy  whom  M. 
Homel,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age,  was  made  a  public 
example  at  Tournon,  where  the  Society  had  a  college.  The  executioner 

4   N   '_> 


644  CHAPTER    IX. 

was  made  drunk,  that  he  might  do  the  work  according  to  the  pleasure 
of  his  masters ;  and,  instead  of  dispatching  him  after  ten  or  twelve 
blows  of  the  iron  bar,  as  usual,  he  made  him  suffer  forty,  with  long 
intervals,  and  poured  forth  the  most  insulting  language  after  each. 
Then  he  gave  the  mortal  blow,  after  leaving  his  victim  to  linger  for 
two  days  upon  the  scaffold.  "  I  count  myself  happy,"  said  this 
dying  saint,  "  that  I  can  die  in  my  Master's  quarrel.  Did  not  my 
gracious  Redeemer  descend  from  heaven  to  earth,  that  I  might  be 
lifted  up  to  heaven  ?  Did  not  he  undergo  a  shameful  death,  that  I 
might  gain  a  blessed  life  ?  And  if,  after  all  this,  I  should  lose  the 
life  that  is  eternal,  by  endeavouring  to  prolong  that  which  is  frail  and 
miserable,  should  not  I  be  most  ungrateful  to  my  God,  and  an  enemy 
to  my  own  happiness  ?  No,  no !  I  am  immovable.  I  breathe  after 
that  hour.  When  will  that  good  hour  come  to  end  this  present 
miserable  life,  and  give  me  the  joy  of  that  life  which  is  infinitely 
blessed  ?  Farewell,  dear  wife  !  I  know  your  tears  hinder  you  from 
bidding  me  farewell.  Be  not  troubled  at  the  scaffold  upon  which  I 
must  expire.  It  shall  be  my  triumphal  chariot  to  carry  me  to 
heaven."  This,  and  much  more,  he  said  in  the  presence  of  the 
Judges,  who,  having  heard  his  final  protestation  of  innocence,  ordered 
the  reeling  executioner  to  do  his  office.  He  began  by  breaking  his 
arms  and  legs ;  and,  this  done,  they  asked  him  whether  he  would  die 
a  "  Catholic."  "  How,  my  Lords  !  "  he  answered  :  "  if  I  had  intended 
to  change  my  religion,  I  would  have  done  it  before  my  bones  had 
been  thus  broken.  I  wait  only  for  the  hour  of  my  dissolution. 
Courage,  0  my  soul !  courage !  Thou  shalt  presently  enjoy  the 
delights  of  heaven.  And  as  for  thee,  my  poor  body,  thou  shalt  be 
turned  to  dust,  indeed,  but  soon  to  be  raised  again  a  spiritual  body. 
Thou  shalt  see  things  which  never  entered  into  the  heart  of  man, 
things  which  cannot  be  conceived  of  in  this  life."  Then,  looking  on 
his  wife,  who  could  not  leave  him  in  his  suffering,  he  said  again  : 
"  Farewell,  once  more,  my  dearest  wife !  I  am  waiting  for  you. 
Though  you  see  my  bones  broken  to  shivers,  my  soul  is  filled  with 
unutterable  joys."  It  is  said  that  he  had  kissed  his  Judges  before 
they  left  him  to  the  executioner ;  that  they  turned  from  him  shedding 
floods  of  tears ;  and  that,  during  the  two  days  of  torment,  when  he 
had  all  his  bones  broken,  he  did  not  utter  a  single  cry,  but  lay  in 
silence,  with  his  eyes  lifted  up  towards  heaven  (October  20th,  16b3). 
Several  other  Ministers  were  also  broken  on  the  wheel,  a  much  larger 
number  hung,  and  many  deprived  of  all  their  property,  and  placed 
under  perpetual  interdict. 

Many  persecutors  acquired  an  infamous  pre-eminence.  Such  was 
the  Bishop-Count  of  Ledeve.  At  one  time  we  find  him  exempting 
masons  from  attending  at  mass  on  the  Lord's  day,  that  they  might  do 
"  the  better  work"  of  building  up  the  windows  of  a  church  while  the 
Minister  was  preaching.  Or  he  is  in  prison,  endeavouring  to  convert 
a  young  woman,  first,  by  persuasions,  which  produce  no  effect,  then 
by  prayers,  which  make  no  impression,  and,  lastly,  by  blows,  which 
are  equally  ineffectual.  When  the  troops  had  come  into  his  neigh- 
bourhood, he  assembled  all  the  Reformed  inhabitants  of  St.  Andre 


INTERDICTS.  645 

to  propose  that  they  should  be  converted;  and,  on  their  refusal, 
threatened  them  with  the  most  brutal  outrage,*  and  caused  the  threat 
to  be  fully  carried  into  execution  (February,  1684).  A  fit  companion 
of  the  Bishop  was  the  Countess  of  Marsan,  proprietress  of  the  town 
of  Pons.  Heavily  laden  in  conscience  with  the  remembrance  of  a 
nefarious  life,  she  had  learned  from  her  Confessor  a  way  of  expiation. 
Without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  she  caused  Protestants  to  be  appre- 
hended, imprisoned,  beaten,  and  tormented,  in  ways  unheard  of, 
except  among  her  kindred  zealots,  in  order  to  their  "  conversion." 
But  she  especially  delighted  in  kidnapping  and  tormenting  children. 
After  suffering  in  the  prison  of  her  castle  during  three  or  four  weeks, 
many  gave  way  ;  but  some,  and  even  younger  children  among  them, 
kept  their  faith,  and  were  discharged  as  impracticable.  Jean  Brun,  a 
little  orphan  boy,  twelve  years  of  age,  was  stolen  from  his  guardian, 
and  brought  into  her  presence.  Her  servants  laboured  hard  to  over- 
come his  constancy,  and,  at  last,  succeeded  by  suspending  him  with 
cords  in  places  where  he  was  nearly  suffocated, f  until  terror  and 
distress  overcame  him.  Another  child,  Jaques  Pascalet,  was  shut  up 
in  a  cell  in  the  tower  of  her  castle,  and  damp  hay  and  straw  burnt  at 
the  entrance  until  he  became  insensible.  This  failing  to  extort 
a  recantation,  they  drove  him  round  a  table  until  he  fainted  with 
exhaustion ;  but  after  he  had  still  refused,  on  being  roused,  to 
accept  the  privileges  of  their  religion,  they  succeeded  by  a  last 
attempt.  The  poor  boy  sank  into  a  lethargy,  from  which  they 
slightly  roused  him  by  persevering  blows  with  the  palms  of  their 
hands,  and,  having  caused  him  to  ejaculate  or  to  repeat  a  word  of 
abjuration  while  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness,  took  him  as  a  convert, 
and  nursed  him  into  life  again. 

Church  after  church  now  fell  with  scarcely  any  judicial  formality. 
Let  one  scene  represent  a  multitude.  The  church  of  Marenne,  con- 
sisting of  united  congregations,  to  the  number  of  thirteen  or  fourteen 
thousand,  had  but  one  very  spacious  building  in  which  to  celebrate 
public  worship.  Du  Vigier,  a  Councillor  of  the  Parliament  of  Bour- 
deaux,  formerly  a  Protestant,  purchased  favour  by  apostacy,  of  which 
he  proved  the  reality  by  leading  the  persecution  in  that  province. 
Having  laid  an  interdict  on  the  church,  and  an  order  to  prevent  the 
usual  congregation  on  the  Sunday,  he  was  careful  not  to  serve  the 
notice  on  the  Minister  until  the  preceding  night  was  far  advanced. 
In  the  morning  nearly  ten  thousand  persons  assembled  outside  the 
church ;  but  the  doors  might  not  be  opened.  They  had  brought 
twenty-three  infants  to  be  baptized,  and  several  couples  were  also 
there  to  receive  the  nuptial  benediction.  The  multitude  stood  for 
eome  time  in  silent,  unresisting  grief,  and  then  broke  out  into  loud 
lamentation.  Relatives  and  friends  who,  from  their  childhood,  had 
gone  up  to  the  house  of  God  in  company,  embraced  each  other,  and 
wailed  aloud.  Then,  when  the  paroxysm  of  grief  was  spent, — and 
there  is  a  mingling  of  horror  in  such  grief  which  no  one  can  conceive 

*  He  threatened   them — the  words   are   his  own — "  de  faire  venir  les  dragons  yii 
eaccageroient  leurs  maisons,  et  cjui  violeroient  leurs  femmes." 
t  Dans  les  latrines. 


646  CHAPTER    IX. 

who  has  not  felt  it,* — they  separated  in  silence,  and  went  home, 
never  more  in  this  world  to  join  in  solemn  assembly.  Yet  they 
dispersed  but  slowly.  Trembling,  as  they  stood  on  a  spot  where 
assemblage  was  declared  unlawful,  they  stood  hand  in  hand,  gazing 
on  their  sanctuary,  and  lifting  their  eyes  heavenward,  in  bewildering 
sorrow  that  choked  the  utterance  of  prayer.  The  parents  walked  a 
distance  of  seven  leagues,  carrying  the  babes  to  receive  holy  baptism ; 
but  it  was  winter,  and  several  of  them  died  from  exposure  to  the  cold. 
The  pretext  for  closing  this  church  was,  that  some  relapsed  had 
entered  it,  and  the  children  of  some  persons  recently  converted.  But 
not  even  this  was  proved. 

The  solicitude  of  parents  to  present  their  children  to  God  in 
baptism,  although  they  were  perfectly  free  from  the  Romish  notion 
of  baptismal  regeneration,  could  not  be  repressed.  Long  journeys 
were  taken  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  duty,  and  often  to  the  sacrifice 
of  life.  Before  the  interdiction  of  Rochelle,  parents  used  to  bring 
them  thither  by  water,  even  in  tempestuous  weather ;  and  it  is  related 
that  some  boat-loads  of  persons,  bringing  children  for  baptism,  were 
lost  in  a  storm  between  Royan  and  Bourdeaux.  Inconceivably  pre- 
cious was  the  word  of  God  in  those  days  of  spiritual  famine.  Some 
there  were  who  travelled  fifty  or  sixty  leagues  to  hear  a  sermon  and 
unite  with  a  praying  congregation  ;  and  not  only  young  persons  did 
this,  who  had  strength  to  carry  them,  and  rich  persons,  who  could 
procure  conveyance,  but  the  poor  and  the  aged  went  forth  as  on  pil- 
grimage ;  and  infirm  limbs,  tottering  under  the  burden  of  threescore 
years  and  ten,  or  fourscore  years,  were  dragged  slowly  to  the  far-distant 
house  of  prayer,  that  the  ancient  saint  might  there  pay  solemn  valedic- 
tion to  the  church  beneath,  preparatory  to  joining  in  those  high  solemn- 
ities of  the  church  above  on  which  no  interdict  shall  evermore  be  laid. 

Even  then,  so  deeply  stupefied  in  moral  ignorance  as  not  to 
perceive  that  their  cruelties  could  only  have  produced  horror  of  the 
system  that  so  laboured  to  maintain  its  own  existence,  the  French 
priesthood  made  another  effort  after  a  reunion  of  churches.  They 
could  only  exhibit  a  few  names  of  Reformed  Clergy  who  were  said  to 
desire  such  a  reconciliation ;  but,  even  then,  some  of  the  reputed  pos- 
tulants for  peace  with  Rome  had  courage  to  disclaim  the  signatures. 
Amidst  those  scenes  of  suffering,  Bossuet,  Bishop  of  Meaux,  was 
heartless  enough  to  manage  that  Claude  should  be  invited  to  a  confer- 
ence with  him,  for  the  satisfaction  of  a  young  lady  who  wished  to  be 
convinced  by  the  charm  of  a  Bishop,  in  order  to  join  the  "  Catholic 
Church."  Claude  came  ;  and  the  Bishop  repented  of  the  experiment, 
but  endeavoured  to  recover  his  credit  by  writing  a  book  on  the  varia- 
tions of  Protestants.  This,  however,  drew  from  the  pen  of  Basnage 
the  "  History  of  the  Religion  of  the  Reformed  Churches." 

A  succession  of  orders  now  came  forth,  preparatory  to  the  revoca- 

*  The  author  has  felt  it,  and  the  remembrance  is  indelible.  He,  too,  received  an 
interdict,  and  saw  a  crowded  congregation  dispersed,  while  a  strong  armed  force,  with 
fixed  bayonets,  stood  by  to  enforce  obedience.  God  had  given  him  a  commission  to 
preach  the  Gospel  ;  but  a  Popish  magistracy  declared  that  such  preaching  was  a  crime 
against  the  state.  This  took  place  in  Cadiz,  April  7th,  1839. 


CLERICAL    MEETING    AT    VERSAILLES.  647 

tion  of  the  edict.  Some  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Reformed 
Church  petitioned  the  King  for  a  revival  of  the  edict  in  its  original 
form  ;  but  their  petition  was  not  even  honoured  with  an  answer.  Yet 
the  majority  of  them  could  not  be  persuaded  to  believe  that  the  edict 
would  ever  be  revoked.  The  simplicity  of  Protestantism  blinded 
them,  as  it  has  blinded  us,  to  the  policy  and  projects  of  the  Court 
of  Rome.* 

Restrictions  and  prohibitions  without  end  gave  occasion  to  factitious 
crimes,  from  which  the  most  circumspect  scarcely  could  be  free ;  nor 
could  the  utmost  caution  save  the  object  of  legal  persecution  from 
suborned  or  fabricated  evidence,  and  arbitrary  judgment.  Ministers 
were  taken  to  prison  in  irons,  amidst  the  indignities  of  the  rabble, 
and  shut  up  with  felons,  or  confined  in  solitary  cells,  to  endure 
hunger,  cold,  and  iron.  Before  the  madness  of  bigotry  natural  affec- 
tion vanished,  and  once  more  children  gave  up  parents  to  prison,  and 
parents  children.  The  Ministers  of  God  were  made  the  song 
of  drunkards,  and  old  age  and  piety  lost  their  reverence.  By  a  royal 
edict  (January  8th,  1685),  Ministers  were  deprived  of  the  few  exemp- 
tions they  had  enjoyed  ;  and  by  other  such  acts  of  arbitrary  power 
the  Reformed  were  placed  under  disabilities  equivalent  with  the  horrors 
of  an  ancient  excommunication  ;  and,  lest  they  should  escape  to  pub- 
lish those  atrocities  in  any  other  country,  it  was  enacted  that  no  one 
should  leave  the  kingdom,  and  any  attempt  to  do  so  was  made  punish- 
able as  treason.  Calling  them  Huguenot,  rebel,  and  traitor,  the  King 
openly  declared  that  he  had  nothing  so  much  at  heart  as  to  labour, 
for  the  glory  of  God,  to  extirpate  the  heresy  of  Calvin. 

How  to  do  this  most  easily  and  effectually  was  now  the  great 
question  ;  and  the  Romish  Clergy  held  a  meeting  at  Versailles  (May, 
1 685),  to  take  it  into  final  deliberation.  This  meeting  had  been 
expected  for  six  months  previously  ;  and  the  Reformed  trembled  when 
they  saw  the  Priests  journeying  thither  from  all  quarters.  The  more 
eloquent  prepared  the  way  by  congratulatory  harangues,  containing 
intimations  of  measures  which  the  directors  of  the  plot  would 
desire  to  see  employed.  They  recounted  the  names  and  deeds 
of  Princes  who  bad  aggrandized  the  Church  in  ancient  times,  and 
extolled  the  labours  of  the  reigning  King  for  the  oppression  of  the 
Reformed  as  worthy  of  higher  praise  than  any  of  his  predecessors  had 
merited,  for  he  had  raised  up  the  Catholic  Church,  as  they  said,  from 
depression,  dispersion,  and  servitude,  and  restored  it  to  prosperity  and 

*  It  was  just  at  this  time  that  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  contrived,  by  false  accusa- 
tion, to  obtain  a  sentence  from  the  Parliament  of  Paris  that  the  principal  church  at 
Rochelle  should  be  demolished.  The  Ministers  were  taken  to  the  Bastille,  and  the 
demolition  went  on.  The  church-bell  was  lowered  from  the  tower,  whipped,  for  having 
served  heretics,  and  then  buried  and  uuburied,  to  show  that  it  came  to  life  again  to  serve 
Catholics.  Due  rich  lady  attended  at  the  disinterment,  as  a  sage  fcmme  does  at  a 
birth  ;  and  another  accepted  the  office  of  nurse.  It  was  interrogated.  It  answered.  It 
promised  not  to  go  to  preaching  any  more.  It  was  made  to  do  peuance,  then  reconciled, 
then  baptized,  and  consigned  to  the  parish  of  St.  Bartholomew.  But  when  the  Governor, 
who  had  sold  it  to  the  parish,  demanded  payment,  he  was  told  that  as  the  bell  had 
been  a  Huguenot,  and  was  recently  converted,  it  would  have  to  be  indulged  with  a  delay 
of  three  years  for  the  payment  of  its  debt.  This  is  Catholic  piety, — to  profane  its  own 
ceremonies,  and  then  to  pay  its  debts  in  wit. 


648  CHAPTER    IX. 

glory.  The  Bishop  of  Valence  and  the  Coadjutor  of  Rouen  lauded 
the  King  for  the  means  he  had  used  to  accomplish  this  glorious  work, 
— means  the  most  gentle,  and  most  worthy  of  the  Gospel.  The 
Bishop  declared  that,  without  violence  and  without  arms,  the  King 
had  caused  the  pretended  Reformed  religion  to  be  abandoned  by  all 
reasonable  persons  ;  and  yet  no  one  reminded  him  that  he  had 
himself  been  one  of  the  first  to  apply  to  the  court,  two  years  before, 
for  troops  to  be  sent  into  his  province  to  kill  the  Protestants,  and  that 
they  had  been  sent  accordingly.  The  Coadjutor  *  affirmed,  that  by 
winning  the  heart  of  heretics  the  King  had  subdued  the  obstinacy 
of  their  spirit,  and  by  his  beneficence  had  melted  down  their  obdu- 
racy. "  Perhaps,"  said  he,  "  they  would  never  have  returned  into 
the  bosom  of  the  Church,  but  by  the  way  strewed  with  flowers,  which 
was  thrown  open  to  them  by  the  King,  who  has  only  contended  with 
the  pride  of  heresy  by  the  gentleness  and  wisdom  of  his  government. 
Laws,  supported  by  benefits,  have  been  his  only  weapons."  And  he 
testified  to  the  joy  experienced  by  the  Church  that  the  King  had  not 
used  fire  and  sword  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work.  Yet, 
besides  the  violences  committed  in  Poitou,  Guyenne,  Perigord,  Sain- 
tonge,  and  Aunix  by  the  chiefs  Marillac,  De  Muin,  Carnavalet,  Du 
Vigier,  the  Countess  of  Marsan,  and  many  others ;  besides  that 
Dauphine,  the  Vivarais,  and  the  Cevennes  were,  at  that  moment,  reek- 
ing with  the  blood  which  had  been  shed  ;  (while  by  the  proscription 
of  many  families  who  had  fled  through  terror  of  the  gibbet,  the 
wheel,  and  the  galleys,  and  by  the  ruin  of  multitudes  more  whom  pil- 
lage and  taxation  had  reduced  to  beggary,  many  places,  once  populous 
and  flourishing,  were  desolate  ;) — besides  all  this,  the  plan  for  subject- 
ing the  whole  kingdom  to  the  same  treatment  was  already  formed, 
and  troops  were  already  distributed  on  the  places  where  these  bar- 
barous executions  should  commence.  The  business  of  that  convoca- 
tion, which  consisted  in  devising  measures  of  persecution  to  be  effected 
by  means  of  orders,  each  counteracting  some  article  of  the  edict 
of  Nantes,  or  involving  the  Reformed  in  some  additional  perplexity, 
then  proceeded.  Requests  were  forwarded  to  the  King  to  issue  such 
orders  as  they  desired  ;  and,  after  undergoing  a  few  trifling  alterations, 
they  were  published  with  the  usual  formalities. 

The  lamentations  of  the  persecuted,  and  their  reasonable  com- 
plaints against  the  real  authors  of  this  decisive  stroke,  supplied  the 
priesthood  with  a  pretext  of  indignation.  The  whole  assembly  of  the 
archbishopric  of  Paris  marched  in  a  body  to  the  King  (July  24th), 
complained  bitterly  that  they  had  been  slandered  by  the  heretics,  and 
implored  him,  for  the  honour  of  the  Church,  to  put  those  heretics  to 
silence.  In  a  few  days  their  desire  was  satisfied  by  an  edict  forbid- 
ding all  persons  to  preach  or  write  against  the  faith  and  doctrine 
of  the  Roman  Church,  or  to  impute  to  its  members  doctrines  they  did 
not  entertain,  or  even  to  "  speak  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  manner 
whatever,  against  the  Catholic  religion  ;*"  and  commanding  Ministers 
to  teach  in  their  sermons  the  dogmas  of  their  own  religion  only,  and 

*  A  Coadjutor  is  a  person  appointed  by  the  Archbishop  to  assist  a  Bishop  who  is 
become  too  infirm  to  perform  his  duties.  He  usually  succeeds  to  the  mitre. 


DRAGONNADES.  64!) 

the  rules  of  morality,  without  meddling  with  anything  else.  To  make 
the  silence  complete,  and  that  no  sentence  might  thenceforth  reach 
the  eye  any  more  than  the  ear  of  a  Frenchman  to  impugn  or  counter- 
act the  errors  of  the  dominant  sect,  the  edict  also  suppressed  every 
book  containing  passages  offensive  to  the  Church.  Every  Romish 
preacher  put  out  his  utmost  strength  to  inflame  the  multitude,  and 
the  press  teemed  with  publications  in  defence  of  the  Papacy  ;  but 
the  Reformed  were  sentenced  to  be  silent  as  the  grave.  As  a  sect 
only  tolerated,  they  were  commanded  to  make  no  unfavourable  allu- 
sion to  the  true  religion.  This  edict  virtually,  although  not  formally, 
revoked  the  edict  of  Nantes.  The  Archbishop  of  Paris  had  an  Index 
prohibitory  ready  for  publication,  the  fruit  of  many  years'  labour ;  and 
it  was  instantly  given  to  his  own  province,  and  generally  adopted 
throughout  France.  Versions  of  the  Bible  made  by  heretics  are  noted 
in  that  list,  although  they  certainly  contained  no  literal  statements 
relating  to  the  creed  of  Pius  IV.  The  search  followed,  and  the  dis- 
persion of  the  ecclesiastical  and  private  libraries  of  the  Reformed  was 
an  immediate  consequence. 

Louis  XIV.  again  let  loose  dragoons  and  soldiers  of  all  sorts  on  his 
defenceless  subjects,  to  be  the  last  missionaries  of  his  Church.  Lest, 
however,  the  heretics  should  escape  from  France,  the  roads,  the  sea- 
ports, the  merchant-ships,  and  even  the  fishing-boats,  were  watched 
and  searched,  to  prevent  the  "  evasion  of  fugitives."  The  Intendant 
Foucaud  first  resumed  those  terrible  operations  at  Beam.  The  first 
thought  of  the  persecuted  was  to  save  themselves  by  flight.  But  it 
was  impossible  to  escape.  Priests  led  soldiers  into  the  forests 
to  hunt  them  down.  Every  expedient  short  of  torture  was  soon 
exhausted ;  and  lists  of  converts,  as  they  were  called,  attested  their 
diligence.  Yet  a  great  part  of  those  conversions  consisted  merely 
of  the  record  of  names  which  made  those  to  whom  they  belonged 
liable  to  be  prosecuted  for  relapse.  At  a  town  called  Muslac,  the 
Bishop  of  Lescaz  officiated,  forcing  wafers  into  the  mouths  of  men 
who  were  dragged  into  the  church,  beaten  to  the  ground,  handcuffed, 
and  laid  on  the  steps  of  the  altar,  there  to  be  converted  by  that  out- 
rageous ministration,  and,  being  registered  as  converts,  were  after- 
wards imprisoned  for  the  sin  of  relapse.  Foucaud  instructed  the 
newly-arrived  troops  in  the  duties  of  their  vocation,  and  not  only 
permitted,  but  ordered,  them  to  perpetrate  cruelties  which  are  too  vile 
to  be  described.  A  favourite  method  of  conversion  was  to  keep  the 
obstinate  awake  for  many  days  and  nights.  The  noise  of  voices,  roar- 
ing blasphemy,  of  drums  beaten  in  the  rooms,  and  of  furniture  hurled 
from  its  place  and  broken  to  pieces,  was  continued  by  relays  until 
sound  ceased  to  produce  its  usual  effects.  Then  knives  and  pincers 
were  applied.  The  sufferers  were  dragged  from  place  to  place,  with 
tobacco  burnt  under  their  nostrils,  and  their  limbs  were  bound  with 
cords.  Then  again  they  were  swung  in  chimneys,  and  half  suffocated 
with  smoke.  Their  treatment  of  women  was  horrible  :  it  was  not  only 
the  brutality  of  which  a  drunken  soldier  is  often  guilty,  but  such  as 
fiends  might  have  invented  ;  for,  binding  them  hand  and  foot,  they 
applied  fire  to  their  bodies.  Officers,  as  well  as  common  soldiers, 

VOL.    III.  4    O 


650  CHAPTER    IX. 

laid  them  on  hot  charcoal,  and  thrust  their  heads  into  the  mouths 
of  heated  ovens,  to  force  them  to  recant.  Tears,  cries,  and  convulsive 
writhings  provoked  the  mirth  of  those  tormentors ;  but  when  the 
confessors  of  Christ  had  already  carried  his  cross  through  long  assaults, 
they  generally  endured  that  last  ordeal  without  yielding  up  their  faith, 
although  many  died  under  the  hands  of  those  terrible  "  converters." 
To  relate  the  wanton  destruction  of  property  by  soldiers  quartered 
in  the  houses  of  persons  of  all  classes,  and  to  relate  even  a  small 
part  of  the  sufferings  of  the  aged,  the  delicate,  and  the  infirm,  would 
be  impossible. 

Of  all  the  Priests  we  do  not  hear  that  any  one  interposed  his  influ- 
ence to  mitigate  those  horrors.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  body 
of  them  at  Beam  gave  proof  of  their  destitution  of  both  religion  and 
humanity,  by  holding  a  festival  to  celebrate  the  capture  of  Pau,  which 
was  taken  by  their  crusaders.  The  shaven-headed  Clerks  walked  in 
procession  through  the  town,  followed  by  a  long  train  of  shuddering 
converts.  At  a  grand  mass  and  a  Te  Deum  in  their  temple,  the  Par- 
liament joined  ;  and  while  it  seemed  that  hell  had  poured  forth  its 
scouts  all  over  town  and  country  to  inspire  a  barbarity  and  hate  which 
this  world  had  never  seen  before,  except  sometimes  in  the  service 
of  Papal  Rome,  they  dared  to  challenge  the  vengeance  of  Almighty 
God,  by  singing :  "  We  believe  that  thou  shalt  come  to  be  our  Judge. 
We  therefore  pray  thee,  help  thy  servants,  whom  thou  hast  redeemed 
with  thy  precious  blood." 

The  doings  of  Beam  were  so  satisfactory  to  the  Ecclesiastics,  that 
the  same  system  was  followed  in  many  other  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
France  was  at  once  a  field  of  blood.  Myriads  of  persons,  overcome 
by  fear,  or,  perhaps,  thinking  that  such  a  concession  might  be  justi- 
fied, avoided  the  ultimate  consequences  of  resistance  by  pronouncing 
the  sentence,  "  I  return,"  (Je  me  reams,)  or  exclaiming,  "  Jesus, 
Mary!"  or  making  a  sign  of  the  cross,  and  then  subscribing  a  form 
of  reconciliation.  Rochelle,  Montauban,  and  the  other  cautionary 
towns,  having  been  long  dismantled  in  readiness  for  this,  were  occu- 
pied with  troops,  who  proceeded  in  like  manner ;  and  the  conversion 
of  those  places  was  formally  reported  to  the  King.  Only  one  cere- 
mony remained  to  crown  the  triumph  of  the  Church,  and  that  was  the 
revocation  of  the  edict. 

For  some  reasons  of  state,  the  King  and  court  did  not  intend  to 
publish  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  until  the  next  year,  after 
the  opening  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris  ;  and  in  order  to  put  the 
Reformed  off  their  guard,  and  check  the  emigration  which,  in  spite 
of  every  prevention,  continued  to  flow  through  the  extensive  sea-board 
and  wide  frontiers  of  the  kingdom,  they  endeavoured  to  amuse  them  with 
a  false  hope  of  better  treatment  by  an  edict  (September  1 5th),  which 
allowed  some  facilities,  hitherto  refused,  for  the  celebration  of  mar- 
riages. Yet  the  dragoons  continued  their  atrocities  ;  and  other  ordi- 
nances, especially  one  for  the  expulsion  of  all  strangers  from  Paris, 
showed  that  no  permanent  relaxation  of  severity  was  to  be  expected. 
The  Chancellor  Le  Tellier  had  been  for  some  time  bending  under  the 
weight  of  age  and  disease,  and  feared  that  he  should  die  without  the 


REVOCATION    OF    THE    EDICT    OF    NANTES.  651 

consolation  of  blotting  out  the  last  trace  of  heresy.  Like  Anne 
of  Austria,  he  longed  to  commend  himself  to  God,  when  on  his  death- 
bed, by  persecuting  his  people  unto  death ;  and  implored  the  King  to 
allow  him  an  opportunity  for  the  acquisition  of  merit,  by  hastening 
the  revocation  which  his  official  signature  would  render  valid.  The 
Marquis  of  Chateauneuf  drew  up  the  necessary  document,  and  having 
obtained  the  cordial  approval  of  all  dignitaries  concerned,  brought 
it  to  the  chamber  of  the  sinking  Chancellor  (October  18th),  who, 
unable  to  lie  in  his  bed,  was  moving  painfully  across  the  room,  sup- 
ported en  the  shoulders  of  two  servants.  With  a  tremulous  hand  he 
affixed  the  signature ;  he  saw  the  great  seal  appended ;  and  then, 
exulting  in  the  prospect  of  numberless  imprisonments,  tortures,  con- 
fiscations, and  deaths  that  would  certainly  ensue  all  over  France,  he 
recited  with  passionate  devotion  the  words  of  Simeon,  "  Nunc  dimittis" 
fyc.  :  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according 
to  thy  word  :  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  This  was  his 
last  act  of  office.  That  it  might  be  his  last,  he  refused  to  sign  any 
other  instrument ;  and  after  a  few  days  received  the  sorry  viaticum 
which  is  given  by  Rome  to  her  doubting  children  for  their  last  fatal 
journey,  and  expired. 

Louis  declares  in  the  preamble  that  Henry  the  Great,  his  grand- 
father of  glorious  memory,  wishing  to  prevent  the  peace  which  he  had 
procured  for  his  kingdom,  at  cost  of  so  many  wars,  from  being  dis- 
turbed by  occasion  of  the  pretended  Reformed  religion,  as  it  had  been 
under  the  Kings  his  predecessors,  gave  an  edict  at  Nantes  in  April, 
1598.  That  edict  would  have  determined  the  conduct  to  be  observed 
towards  persons  of  the  said  religion,  the  places  where  they  might 
worship,  and  the  extraordinary  Judges  that  might  administer  justice  to 
them,  with  other  articles  calculated  to  maintain  tranquillity  in  the 
kingdom,  and  diminish  the  aversion  of  those  of  both  religions  towards 
each  other,  that  he  might  be  better  able  to  labour,  as  he  was  resolved 
to  do,  to  restore  to  the  Church  those  who  had  so  lightly  left  it.  He 
then  recounts  the  intentions  and  the  acts  of  the  King  his  father,  as 
well  as  his  own  ;  and  proceeds  to  falsify  history  in  these  terms : 
"Now  seeing,  with  the  just  gratitude  which  we  owe  to  God,  that  our 
cares  have  had  the  effect  which  we  proposed,  since  the  best  and  great- 
est part  of  our  subjects  of  the  said  pretended  Reformed  religion  have 
embraced  the  Catholic ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  execution  of  the  edict 
of  Nantes,  and  of  all  that  has  been  ordained  in  favour  of  the  said 
pretended  Reformed  religion,  is  now  useless,  we  have  judged  that  we 
can  do  nothing  better,  in  order  to  efface  utterly  the  remembrance 
of  the  troubles,. confusion,  and  ills  which  the  progress  of  this  false 
religion  has  caused  in  our  kingdom,  and  which  gave  occasion  to  the 
said  edict,  and  so  many  other  edicts  before  and  after  it,  than  to  revoke 
entirely  the  said  edict  of  Nantes,  the  particular  articles  which  have 
been  accorded  since,  and  all  that  has  been  done  in  favour  of  the  said 
religion." 

The  articles  of  this  edict  are,  1.  The  revocation.  2.  Prohibition 
of  meetings  for  worship  of  any  kind,  or  .under  any  pretext.  3.  Pro- 
hibition, addressed  to  lords  of  estates,  of  whatever  tenure,  of  every  sort 

4  o  2 


652  CHAPTER    IX. 

of  religious  meeting  of  the  Reformed  on  their  lands.  4.  An  injunc- 
tion on  all  the  Ministers  to  embrace  the  Catholic  Apostolic  Roman 
religion,  or  to  quit  the  kingdom  within  fifteen  days,  without  deliver- 
ing sermon  or  exhortation  within  that  time,  under  penalty  of  the 
galleys.  5.  An  offer  to  conforming  Ministers  of  the  immunities 
of  their  former  order  during  life,  with  a  pension  equal  to  their  former 
income,  and  one  third  more,  and  a  pension  of  half  that  amount  for 
their  widows.  6.  Conforming  Ministers,  wishing  to  act  as  advocates, 
were  to  be  exempted  from  preliminaries  required  in  other  cases.  7. 
Prohibition  of  schools,  and  all  things,  in  general,  that  would  mark 
any  kind  of  concession  in  favour  of  that  religion.  8.  Forcible  bap- 
tism of  the  children  of  the  Reformed,  under  penalty  of  at  least  five 
hundred  livres  for  each  omission,  and  subsequent  Popish  education.  9.  A 
promise  of  peaceable  possession  to  any,  then  out  of  the  country,  who 
might  choose  to  return  and  peaceably  occupy  their  estates  and  pro- 
perty. 10.  Absolute  prohibition  of  all  persons,  of  whatever  age, 
from  going  out  of  the  kingdom,  under  penalty  of  the  galleys  for  the 
men,  or  confiscation  of  body  and  goods  for  the  women.  11.  A  reite- 
ration of  the  orders  already  in  force  against  the  relapsed.  Under 
condition  of  entire  submission  to  the  second  and  third  articles,  and 
until  it  should  please  God  to  enlighten  them,  as  others,  persons  of  the 
said  religion  might  live  at  peace  in  France.  Courts  of  Parliament  were 
ordered  to  register  the  edict. 

Such  as  would  entirely  submit  to  a  deprivation  of  every  religious 
exercise,  might  live  at  peace,  "  until  it  should  please  God  to  enlighten 
them."  Honestly  interpreted,  this  would  mean  that  they  should  not 
be  troubled  any  more.  And  so  many  thought  the  words  were  to  be 
understood.  La  Reynie,  Lieutenant  of  Police  in  Paris,  convened  the 
principal  merchants  of  the  proscribed  religion,  and  told  them  that 
they  might  be  quite  at  ease  in  their  houses,  fearing  nothing.  On 
receiving  this  assurance,  many  who  had  prepared  to  quit  the  country 
changed  their  purpose;  and  many  who  had  concealed  themselves, 
awaiting  opportunity  for  flight,  ventured  to  come  back  again.  But 
they  only  came  in  time  to  receive  dragoons.  "  Until  it  should  please 
God  to  enlighten  them"  meant,  when  pronounced  by  Louis  and  the 
Jesuits,  until  a  renewed  mission  of  rapine  and  torture  could  undertake 
to  enlighten  them.  Still  many  clung  to  the  fairer  exposition  of  the 
words,  and  some  less  designing  Romanists  hesitated  to  repeat  the 
abominations  of  months  gone  by.  The  Duke  of  Noailles,  for  one,  on 
receiving  an  order  which  seemed  at  variance  with  the  letter  of  the 
edict,  wrote  to  the  Marquis  of  Louvois  for  explanation,  which  was 
conveyed  in  these  words  : — "  I  doubt  not  that  some  lodgments  laid  a 
little  more  heavily  on  the  few  that  remain  of  nobility  and  third  estate 
of  those  religionaries,  will  show  them  their  mistake  as  to  the  edict 
which  M.  de  Chateauneuf  has  drawn  up  for  us  ;  and  His  Majesty 
desires  that  you  will  explain  yourself  very  severely  against  those  who 
wish  to  be  the  last  to  profess  a  religion  that  displeases  him,  and 
of  which  he  has  forbidden  the  exercise  throughout  the  kingdom." 
And  yet,  again,  the  same  Marquis  circulated  a  general  order  ending 
thus  : — "  His  Majesty  wills  that  those  who  do  not  choose  to  be  of  his 


CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    REVOCATION.  653 

religion  shall  feel  the  utmost  severities.  And  those  who  wish  to 
enjoy  the  stupid  glory  of  being  last,  must  be  pushed  to  the  last 
extremity."  All  the  acts  that  followed,  both  at  court  and  in  the 
provinces,  corresponded  with  these  announcements  of  the  royal  will. 

In  the  many  ordinances  of  disability  which  had  been  issued, 
Advocates  and  Councillors  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris  had  not  been 
included  ;  but  these  last  inflictions  of  civil  degradation  were  imme- 
diately consummated  (November  5th  and  23d).  Other  Parliaments 
followed ;  and  a  noble  company  of  confessors,  rather  than  surrender 
their  faith,  resigned  their  seats.  With  contempt  of  the  privilege 
of  Ambassadors, — a  privilege,  however,  which  France  was  never  the 
slowest  to  exact  at  foreign  courts, — the  Judge  of  Police  at  Paris 
published  an  ordinance  (December  3d)  forbidding  the  inhabitants  of 
Paris  who  "  still  called  themselves "  of  the  Reformed  religion,  to 
attend  at  worship  in  the  houses  of  Ambassadors  and  other  Ministers 
of  foreign  powers.  Those  representatives  indignantly  observed,  that, 
by  a  treaty  with  pirates,  the  religion  of  Mohammed  had  long  been 
exercised  at  Marseilles  without  any  such  restriction  of  privacy  as  this 
imposed  upon  the  religion  of  their  masters.  Nor  was  this  all.  The 
Dutch  Consul  at  Nantes  was  openly  assaulted,  his  beard  was  plucked 
out  by  the  roots,  and  his  life  endangered  by  the  mob.  Yet  he 
had  no  adequate  redress.  Many  foreigners,  in  spite  of  an  order 
published  in  their  favour,  merely  to  save  appearances  abroad,  were 
involved  in  the  common  persecution. 

Pouring  fury  on  all  that  were  helpless,  the  Ecclesiastics  obtained 
further  authorizations  to  enact  a  universal  inquisition.  The  edict 
requiring  all  infants  to  be  baptized  by  Priests,  and  to  be  educated 
accordingly,  had  not  mentioned  children  born  before  the  day  of  its 
date.  That  omission  was  now  supplied  by  a  supplementary  order ; 
and  many  thousands  of  children  were  at  once  seized,  shut  up  in 
monasteries  and  convents,  and  never  seen  again  by  their  parents. 
From  children  the  brave  Captains  of  crusade  passed  on  to  women  ; 
and  ordained  that  the  wives  of  their  coerced  proselytes,  who  had 
refused  to  cast  away  their  faith,  and  thus  shown  that  it  was  stronger 
in  them  than  in  their  husbands,  were  to  be  deprived  of  maintenance, 
and  left  to  beggary.  Widows  were  included  under  the  same  disci- 
pline. Still  unsated  with  vengeance,  they  fixed  upon  the  dead,  and 
ordered  that  all  bodies  of  deceased  heretics  should  remain  unburied. 
But  those  who  had  no  compassion  for  the  living,  shrank  with  horror 
from  outraging  the  dead ;  and  the  laity  refused,  in  this  particular, 
to  fulfil  the  pleasure  of  the  Priests.  After  a  short  time,  therefore, 
this  order  was  allowed  to  be  neglected,  and  a  pit  covered  the  carcase 
from  the  execration  of  the  Church. 

The  army  seemed  to  be  more  fully  initiated  than  ever  before  in  the 
tastes  and  customs  of* the  sacrificers.  Fire  had  always  been  the 
chosen  element  for  purgation  of  heresy,  and  was  employed  more 
familiarly  than  ever.  The  dragoons,  no  doubt  well  instructed, 
observed  an  obedient  uniformity  in  its  application.  Quartered,  as 
usual,  in  the  dwellings  of  the  Reformed,  they  solicited  conversion  by 
stripping  their  hosts  naked,  (as  they  did  Fariuel,  at  Villeneuve 


654  CHAPTER    IX. 

d'Agenois,)  and  making  them  turn  spits  for  days  and  nights  unceas- 
ingly before  immense  fires.  They  applied  lighted  candles  to  their 
arms  and  legs,  and  held  them  there,  like  Bonner,  until  the  skin  blis- 
tered and  dropped  off.  They  made  them  hold  burning  charcoal  in 
their  hands  until  it  ceased  to  glow.  They  compelled  women  to  hold 
red  coals  until  they  had  pronounced  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  and  if  the 
poor  creatures  spoke  too  rapidly,  they  forced  them  to  receive  another 
handful,  and  hold  it  fast  until  a  gruff  dragoon  had  mouthed 
it  slowly.  Some  they  scorched  and  disfigured  by  firing  gunpowder 
close  to  their  faces.  Or  they  tied  them  down  with  the  soles  of  their 
feet  close  to  the  bars  of  a  hot  fire,  or  burnt  them  with  heated  irons. 
The  parish  Priest  of  Roman  amused  himself  by  scorching  a  country- 
man named  L'Ecale,  whom  he  had  caused  to  be  brought  into  the 
parsonage  for  the  purpose.  In  his  own  kitchen  he  took  the  spark- 
ling irons  from  the  fire,  and  burnt  the  flesh  from  the  neck  and  hands 
of  the  poor  man,  while  his  daughter,  Louise,  hung  from  the  ceiling 
by  her  arms,  and  was  then  again  suspended  by  her  feet.  But  neither 
for  those  pains,  nor  for  fifteen  days'  torment  afterwards  in  prison, 
would  L'Ecale  and  his  Louise  brook  the  Popish  creed.  But  the 
uniformity  of  these  tortures  is  at  once  accounted  for  by  the  fact,  that 
among  the  dragoons  of  those  days  were  many  Jesuits,  who  instructed 
their  novel  comrades  in  the  pyrotechnics  inquisitorial. 

The  nobility  were  not  generally  consigned  to  the  insolence  of  sol- 
diers, but  to  the  sullen  barbarity  of  jailers.  A  few,  after  extreme 
difficulty,  were  permitted  to  leave  France,  but  not  to  carry  any  part 
of  their  property  with  them.  No  effort  was  spared  to  publish  in 
foreign  courts  that  this  was  not  a  religious  persecution,  but  that  the 
persons  thus  treated  were  incorrigible  traitors  ;  and  when  the  cele- 
brated Claude,  who  had  been  expelled  with  other  Clergy,  published 
in  Holland  a  small  book,*  which  gives  "  a  short  Account  of  the  Com- 
plaints and  cruel  Persecutions  of  the  Protestants  in  the  Kingdom 
of  France,"  f  and  a  translation  of  it  appeared  in  London,  James  II. 
commanded  that  diligent  search  should  be  made  after  both  the 
translator  and  the  printer,  that  they  might  be  prosecuted  for  false 
and  scandalous  reflections  on  His  most  Christian  Majesty,  contained 
in  that  volume.  A  copy  of  the  original  work,  and  another  of  the 
English  version,  were  burned  by  the  hangman  in  front  of  the  Royal 
Exchange  to  placate  Innocent  XI.,  Louis  XIV.,  and  James  II. 

The  multitudes  of  persons  who  had  professed  to  be  converted  in 
those  days  of  terror  were  intensely  miserable.  As  Bishop  Burnet, 
who  was  then  in  France,  not  being  safe  in  England,  says,  they  were 
to  be  distinguished  in  the  street  by  "  a  cloudy  dejection  in  their  looks 
and  deportment."  £  Intendants,  Judges,  and  soldiers  forced  them  to 
attend  at  mass,  hear  sermons,  and  walk  in  professions.  The  slightest 
expressions  of  reluctance  exposed  them  to  repetitions  of  the  former 
barbarities,  or  to  slavery  for  life  in  the  galleys.  An  inhabitant  of 
Nerac,  named  Guizard,  seventy  years  of  age,  who  had  been  forced  to 

*  "  Plaintes  des  Protestans  cruellement  opprimez  dans  le  Royaume  de  France." 
t  London,  Redmayne,  1 707.     English  translation  reprinted. 
1  Burner's  Own  Times,  vol.  i.,  p.  660,  or  iii.,  p.  81,  Oxford. 


PASTORS    OF    THE    DESERT.  655 

receive  the  host,  was  accused  of  having  rejected  it.  He  constantly 
denied  the  charge  ;  but,  as  it  seemed  expedient  to  make  an  example 
of  a  reputed  contemner  of  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  for  the  terror 
of  thousands  who  also  loathed  it,  the  Judges  condemned  him  to  do 
public  penance,  and  then  be  burnt  alive.  The  Parliament  of  Guyenne 
confirmed  the  sentence,  and  Guizard  suffered  at  the  stake.  Some 
others  were  accused  of  a  similar  expression  of  abhorrence,  and  but 
narrowly  escaped  the  same  condemnation. 

Notwithstanding  the  strictness  of  the  law,  and  the  vigilance  of  the 
court,  the  "converts"  deserted  in  every  direction.  Many  were  detected, 
and  sent  to  galleys,  or  immured  in  convents  and  other  prisons.  Many 
taken  on  board  ships  by  English  and  Irish  Papists  were  carried  back 
again  to  French  ports,  and  delivered  to  the  authorities.  Not  a  few 
were  conveyed  to  Spain,  and  buried  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition. 
Some  were  captured  in  the  British  Channel  by  Moorish  pirates,  and 
landed  in  Barbary,  where  the  French  Consuls  claimed  them  as  their 
master's  fugitives,  and  sent  them  back  in  irons.  But  at  least  as 
many  others  effected  their  escape.  Even  the  ships  of  war,  stationed 
on  the  coast  to  prevent  evasion,  received  them  on  board  for  handsome 
fares,  and  lauded  them  on  our  island.  Secretaries  furnished  passports  at 
high  prices,  sentinels  were  easily  bribed  to  let  those  pass  who  had  no 
passports,  and  every  imaginable  form  of  disguise  was  adopted  to  cover 
their  flight.  All  Protestant  states  welcomed  them,  rendered  them 
hospitality,  and  afforded  them  privileges.  But  in  France  there  could 
be  no  pity.  Now  the  galleys,  the  jails,  the  monasteries,  were 
crowded  with  captives,  until  the  keepers  feared  that  it  would  be  soon 
impossible  to  hold  so  great  a  multitude  in  custody ;  and  their  appre- 
hensions were  relieved  by  sending  recusants  to  the  American  planta- 
tions. A  company  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  was  first 
embarked  at  Marseilles  (March  12th,  1687)  in  two  ships,  one  of  which 
was  wrecked  on  the  voyage,  and  thirty-seven  persons  were  drowned. 
Many  others  died  from  ill-treatment.  But  Frenchmen  could  not  work 
like  Negroes,  and  the  plan  was  not  continued. 

On  the  other  hand,  several  of  the  banished  Ministers  felt  it  to  be 
their  duty  to  return  to  France  again,  revisit  the  remnants  of  their 
churches,  and  unite  with  numerous  congregations  which  were  said  to 
be  collected  in  remote  forests  and  solitudes,  especially  in  the 
Cevennes.  A  few  of  them  soon  ceased  from  the  perilous  labour  ;  but 
some,  as  Pastors  of  the  desert,  continued  in  that  honourable  service 
until  the  close  of  their  pilgrimage  on  earth.  Most  of  the  congrega- 
tions were  dispersed  by  force ;  but  there  were  a  few  that  eluded  the 
power  of  the  Government,  and  met  by  thousands  under  the  open  sky, 
far  from  town  or  cultivated  land.  Dispersions,  however,  were  not 
made  without  much  bloodshed.  The  troops  had  instructions  to 
surround  the  congregation  as  soon  as  their  spies  had  marked  the  spot, 
and  then  to  advance  in  silence,  seize  them  all,  murder  a  few  on  the 
spot,  and  take  the  remainder  to  prison.  Thirty  or  forty  persons  gene- 
rally fell ;  and  once,  in  the  mountains  of  Vivarais  (February,  lo"89), 
more  than  three  hundred  were  deliberately  killed  by  direction  of  the 
Intendant,  who  had  come  with  the  soldiers  to  the  place.  The  judicial 


656  CHAPTER    IX. 

executions  which  followed  were  not  less  barbarous.  A  young  gentle- 
man named  Tommeiroles,  eighteen  years  of  age,  was  beheaded  for  the 
single  offence  of  having  been  present  at  one  of  those  meetings. 
Manuel  of  Nismes,  a  manufacturer,  and  one  of  his  workmen,  were 
hung.  Meirieu  and  Salendre  were  put  to  death  at  Ledignan.  To 
these  might  be  added  long  lists  of  persons  who  suffered  the  same 
penalty.  An  inhabitant  of  Nismes,  accused  of  having  opened  his 
house  to  a  preacher,  and  of  having  been  known  to  pray  to  God, 
was  broken  on  the  wheel.  The  preachers  and  exhorters  *  generally 
suffered  most;  and  the  names  of  many  of  these  martyrs  are  still 
honourably  treasured  in  the  diptychs  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of 
France.  Often  the  Judges  trembled  before  them  when  they  preached 
Christ  in  their  last  hours  ;  and,  at  the  scaffolds,  drums  were  beaten  to 
prevent  their  voices  from  being  heard  by  the  spectators.  At  length 
the  court,  finding  that  the  Gospel  could  not  be  suppressed  as  long  as 
there  were  living  persons  in  the  country  who  retained  its  power, 
instead  of  making  emigration  penal,  commanded  all  who  called  them- 
selves of  the  Reformed  religion  to  quit  France,  and  actually  seized 
and  expelled  many.  But  the  foot-prints  of  truth  were  sunk  so  deeply 
in  the  land  that  no  power  could  erase  them,  and  persecution,  some- 
times violent  and  sometimes  exhausted,  yet  losing  strength  as  time 
advances,  still,  lingers  in  that  troubled  country  ;  and  even  there  almost 
resigns  its  office  to  those  who,  by  the  various  methods  of  diplomacy 
and  legislation,  and  the  arts  of  popular  delusion,  hope  to  buttress  the 
tottering  seat  of  Antichrist.  With  portentous  uniformity  Rome  pur- 
sues these  methods  now,  not  only  in  France,  but  throughout  the 
world,  far  surpassing  the  most  skilful  statesmen  of  Europe  in 
steadiness  of  purpose  and  in  unity  of  action.  For  our  part,  we 
have  no  other  effectual  weapon  of  defence  than  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God.  Would  that  it  were  used  more 
faithfully !  f 

*  These,  who  were  distinguished  as  Predicants  and  Proposants,  were  laymen  who 
first  preached  after  the  banishment  of  their  Ministers. 

f  Histoire  de  1'Edit  de  Nantes,  &c.,  &c., — a  Delft,  chez  Adrien  Beman,  MDCXCIII., 
— is  a  full  histor)'  of  the  events  preceding  the  edict  of  Nantes,  of  those  of  the  period 
which  intervened  until  its  revocation,  and  of  the  consequences  of  the  revocation.  Acfes 
Ecclesiastiques  et  Civiles  de  tous  les  Synodes  Nationaux  des  Egiises  Reformees  de 
France,  by  Aymon,  exhibits  a  complete  picture  of  those  important  assemblies.  These 
are  our  chief  authorities. 


THR     KM), 


LONDON  :    PRINTED    BY   JAMES    NICHOLS,   HOXTON-SQUAKE. 


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